The eSourcing 2.0 campaign hit both New Orleans and San Francisco this week where we were given three different opportunities to engage a groups of procurement pros on a variety of supply management topics, including eSourcing and eSourcing 2.0.
A quick reminder for those new to the campaign trail:
eSourcing 2.0 – Talking Points Volume 1:
eSourcing 2.0: Every negotiation that results in an executed contract should use an eSourcing solution.
eSourcing 2.0 – Talking Points Volume 2
We believe that departments that adopt the eSourcing 2.0 policy will fast-track any procurement transformation and gain significant, broad-based, and long-lasting benefits by doing so.
In one session, the conversation turned more broadly to the overall value of eSourcing (a topic worthy of its own series). If a procurement group is going to adopt the eSourcing 2.0 doctrine, it is important that it has a clear handle on what benefits enterprises derive from using an eSourcng tool. Here is a summary of that discussion:
Enterprises can use eSourcing tools to drive and retain more savings and lower the total cost of ownership in supplier contracts
- Competitive bidding to drive savings
- Powerful analytical tools to manage complex bids
- Improved visibility to improve communication during the process and compliance after it
Enterprises can use eSourcing tools to source more, source faster, and gain control over more spend
- Process standardization to improve sourcing cycle times and speed to market
- Develop and leverage best practices to improve results and retain knowledge
Enterprises can use eSourcing tools to source in a more collaborative way, delivering more value and reducing risk
- Leverage tools and visibility to better engage stakeholders throughout the entire sourcing process
- Leverage tools and visibility to better engage and communicate with suppliers
There are other benefits, but I think the above is a good start.
A separate discussion in a different session focused on the importance of user adoption and the change issues related to eSourcing (or any supply management solution deployment). A change management initiative (and eSourcing 2.0 is a change management initiative) will inevitably hit a few classic roadblocks. One of the likely hurdles for the project will be what I call the NIMBY (“Not in My BackYard”) contingent within your enterprise; these are the people who that believe that the new process/technology/policy is great, but that it just doesn’t, shouldn’t, or can’t apply to them. It is usually a blend of arrogance coupled with a fear of change that creates the NIMBY-movement within organizations. Even with a strong mandate in place, when it comes to eSourcing, NIMBY can pose real problems. Here are a few ideas on how you can counteract NIMBY:
- Argue the benefits of using eSourcing that are noted above: Savings, visibility, efficiency, knowledge capture and retention, best practice development, etc.
- Challenge the NIMBY-proponents on their arrogance, parochialism, and drawbridge mentality
- Maintain a list of all contracts that are executed without prior use of eSourcing, circulate it monthly to all procurement, finance, and business unit executives. Even the most arrogant individuals will try to avoid being on high-profile ‘negative’ lists.
Source of Lose 2012!
