Supplier selection is a huge topic across industries and their procurement departments who have internal professionals with day-to-day expertise in the discipline.

However, when digital transformation is required, more in depth knowledge of the subject in question is required than just cost, quality and delivery.

Not getting things right the first time means wasted resources, effort and time resulting lost business, productivity and operating expenses and should be avoided at all costs. This is why the subject of scoping and specifying are so important, whether done before supplier selection or with the selected supplier.

The abundance of available solutions and their suppliers is a very large minefield. Not having the knowledge in this area is usual for organisations and they should seek professional independent assistance to ensure that the selected supplier can undoubtedly deliver on time and on budget.

We have seen so many projects fail for many reasons, some of which are caused by the organisation’s lack of preparation and resource which can not be governed by their supplier but should be flagged by them before they become an issue, better still if originally circumvented by an external consultant.