Mistakes Done in Choosing Supply Chain Consultancy

A supply chain consultant will enable a business to have actionable market intelligence for proactive procurement. More procurement professionals are recognising the need to be able to know more about their procurement categories, suppliers, and supply chains. Knowledge in those matters will enable procurement specialists to be in a better position to proactively plan and act. With supply chain consultancy, the business can have cost-effective procurement intelligence solutions that can result in comprehensive, actionable, and critical information throughout the procurement life cycle. However, company owners are advised to proceed with caution when choosing a supply chain consultancy. Here are some of the most common mistakes company owners make when selecting a supply chain consultancy firm or service provider for their business:

• Hiring inexperienced consultants – Experience is important when it comes to understanding supply chains and the requirements of every business. Hence, company owners must make sure that they are hiring consultants with significant experience in offering supply chain and procurement consultancy services. Likewise, they need to make sure that the firm has worked with companies in their industry. That way, they can be confident that the consultants can easily understand their requirements and deliver what they need efficiently. Seasoned consultants are accredited and ISO 9001:2008 certified, and they have a highly-experienced management team that can work closely with every client throughout the cycle of a project.

• Choosing the cheapest supply chain consultancy service – Companies must get a proposal and a quote on the services from the consultants, but they should be careful not to choose the cheapest provider. They must compare different consulting firms and find out which one can provide the highest-quality services at a reasonable cost.
  
  
• Not understanding what supply chain consultancy can do for their business – Supply chain consultants can do more than merely give advice and tips to generate actionable insights and intelligence for category managers, chief procurement officers, and other stakeholders in a company. They can measure and benchmark the performance of incumbent suppliers, monitor the changes in procurement categories, ensure compliance requirements in supplier monitoring, and strengthen the company’s relationships with suppliers. Hence, it is crucial to know what the consultancy service can provide, so the company can make the most of it.