On a recent Next Level Purchasing Association webinar, an attendee asked an interesting question.<\/p>\n
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That question went something like this:\u00a0 \u201cIdentifying and evaluating procurement technology vendors is very time consuming. Are there any resources available to try to shortcut the initial investigation process?\u201d<\/p>\n
My short answer was \u201cyes and no.\u201d<\/p>\n
And I had a long answer, too.<\/p>\n
Let me explain\u2026<\/p>\n
There are indeed a large number of procurement technology vendors.\u00a0 To thoroughly investigate them all would be a process that would take an impractical amount of time.<\/p>\n
But there are really two parts to this attendee\u2019s question.\u00a0 One is are there any shortcuts to identifying<\/i> procurement technology vendors.\u00a0 And another is are there any shortcuts to evaluating<\/i> procurement technology vendors.<\/p>\n
With regard to identifying procurement technology vendors, there are plenty of resources.\u00a0 Blogs such as Sourcing Innovation and Spend Matters cover the procurement technology space fairly thoroughly.\u00a0 And analyst firms like Aberdeen and Gartner publish research that describes, and sometimes compares, procurement technology.<\/p>\n
Additionally, peers can be a great source for identifying procurement technology vendors.\u00a0 A few simple emails and\/or phone calls to fellow procurement professionals you may have formerly worked with or met at networking events like procurement conferences can yield some valuable recommendations.\u00a0 And a post on a procurement-related LinkedIn Group can often yield dozens of responses from people in positions similar to yours.<\/p>\n
So, are there shortcuts to identifying the procurement technology vendors that are the best potential fit for you?\u00a0 Absolutely!<\/p>\n
Now, for the second part, I feel that there are absolutely no shortcuts to evaluating<\/i> procurement technology vendors once you have identified<\/i> a healthy subset of competitors.\u00a0 If there was one procurement technology vendor that was the best fit for every organization, regardless of size, industry, culture, or unique business requirements, none of the other vendors would be in business.<\/p>\n
But there are a multitude of procurement technology vendors out there \u2013 and doing well \u2013 because each has value that they bring to the table.\u00a0 So, no shortcuts to evaluating them!\u00a0 Complete your typical supplier qualification:\u00a0 review financial statements, do site visits, see demos, do pilot projects, talk to customers, etc.<\/p>\n
A procurement technology purchase is a decision you\u2019ll have to live with for a long time.\u00a0 In some cases, the success and perception of the procurement department are dependent upon a successful vendor selection.\u00a0 Don\u2019t shortchange your organizations by taking shortcuts.\u00a0 You\u2019ll regret it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On a recent Next Level Purchasing Association webinar, an attendee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-procurement"],"yoast_head":"\n