Buying Professional Services: How to Get Value for Money from Consultants and Other Professional Service Providers - Hardcover

Czerniawska, Fiona; Smith, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846683254 ISBN 13: 9781846683251

Publisher: Wiley, 2010

Synopsis

Public and private sector organisations are spending huge amounts of money buying professional services, and most are doing it badly, without sufficiently rigorous procurement processes or an adequate understanding of the marketplace, resulting in wasted money and disappointing outcomes.

Even among those organisations with formal procurement processes and techniques, many are applying them inappropriately and therefore acheive similary poor results. On the other side of the fence, many professional services firms don't understand how the increasing application of procurement processes could affect the way they get business and work with clients, the way they charge and, ultimately, their profitability. Furthermore, while they are working together, both professional services providers and their clients too often behave in ways that reduce the potential benefits to both parties.

Using real examples from a range of private sector firms, government departments and the professional services firms themselves, this book explores what users and providers of professional services need to do to ensure that the users' money is well spent and the providers' earnings are well earned.

"A practical and thought provoking guide that gets to the heart of the matter about what differentiates this category of spend."—Helen Wilber FCIPS, Senior Procurement Manager, Professional Services, Group Procurement, Royal Mail

"This insightful book will help buyers and providers of professional services get a better understanding of the issues – and achieve better results."—Lindsay Morgan, Partner and Head of Global Real Estate, Norton Rose LLP and Group

About this title

Book Description

Private and public sector organizations spend huge amounts of money buying professional services, and most are doing it badly. Many lack strong procurement processes or an adequate understanding of the marketplace, resulting in wasted money and disappointing outcomes. Others apply procedures inappropriately.

Furthermore, many professional services firms don’t understand how the increasing application of professional procurement processes could affect their business model, client engagement and, ultimately, their profitability.

Using real examples from a range of private sector firms, government departments, and from the professional services firms themselves this book explores the world of procurement.

From the Inside Flap

Huge amounts are spent on consultancy, legal and other professional services, but in many cases both the user and the provider of the services end up disappointed. This book outlines how both parties can work together effectively to achieve their desired results. It is in seven parts and contains more than 20 chapters.

Why is Buying Professional Services Different?
The Professional Services Sector.
Why Organisations Buy Professional Services.
The Challenges of Buying Professional Services.
The Supplier Perspective.

The Role of the Purchasing Department.
Aligning the Purchasing Approach with the Business Strategy, Structure and Culture.
Requirements and Specifications.
Acting as an Intermediary.

Purchasing Approaches.
Governance, Influence and Demand Management.
Category Management.
Frameworks and Approved Suppliers.

Choosing the Right Supplier.
The Selection Process.
Selection Criteria.
Scoring Bids and Tenders.

Negotiating and Contracting.
Negotiation.
Understanding Structures and Costs.
Payment and Commercial Models.
The Contract.

Managing the Service Provider.
Contract and Performance Management.
Supplier Relationship Management.
Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Conclusions.
What Makes a Successful Assignment?
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The Future of Professional Services.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1846683254
• ISBN 13: 9781846683251
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256