Many have been sharing their thoughts on LinkedIn around the area of Service Procurement and SoW frameworks. I really enjoy reading, laughing at the debates, discussing and commenting on the subject with😉 Louise Aslam Maurice Benz, CCWP and SOW Expert Maarten Hansson Jamie Gannaway Mickey Pelletier Ben Laker. If you are at the start of your Service Procurement Journey, I would suggest you connect with these experts!

Here are My top Five challenges that have been presented to me when trying to include Services Procurement into an External Workforce Management Program:

5.      “I’m not putting my Service Procurement spend into a HR tool…“

There seems to be a bit of a misconception that a Vendor Management System (VMS), only manages the Contingent worker category.

4.      “Procurement Empowerment”

In some organisation, each subcategory has their own agenda based upon stakeholder’s requirements and desires. While Procurement may have influence, final purchasing decisions often sit with subject matter experts within the business.

3.      “We are different”

Each category may have distinct requirements, governance, and controls. While a VMS aims to standardize processes, automate where possible and use templates, resistance to change from Procurement and stakeholders can be a challenge.

2.      “Why would I hand my Procurement Category to a Staffing Provider?”

This is an interesting one. Different providers have different capabilities. Some Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have great capability around this space, becoming an extension of Procurement. This should always be evaluated thoroughly!

And the number 1, biggest blocker that I can think of is:

1.      “We don’t have the Executive owner”.

To drive change, professionals need to make the risks and opportunities visible to leadership—sometimes even at the risk of pushing boundaries😉.

Scott Wilson: “Sometimes you almost have to get fired multiple times, to make change happen”