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Buying Tech Development Capabilities in an Agile Way

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 09:40:33 GMT

Author: Melanie Humphries

CEO

BUYING TECH DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES FROM PARTNERS

Procurement of software and other development capabilities from a partner sounds easy right?... WRONG!

MOST IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN PROCURING DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES

Desired Outcomes

Establishing your business and technology Desired Outcomes helps to create a 'north star' to assess if suppliers and their approach to tech development will support your goals which are commonly faster or cheaper or skills capability - or typically all three!

Delivery

The development capability market is saturated with suppliers and options, deciding on your requirements and narrowing the market accordingly is a key first step. It's no longer as simple as a question off offshore / nearshore / onshore, technical capability, availability of resources, approach to delivery, macro-political and environmental issues all need consideration.

Relationship

Identifying the key stakeholders and ensuring their involvement in selection is vital to successful development capability partnerships, in particular the support of the Product Owners is key.

HOW CAN AGILE SOURCING HELP IN PROCURING DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES?

Speed

Using agile sourcing methodologies such as Horizon Sevens S-FAST® means moving fast while meeting high standards or procurement. Rapid short listing narrows the market quickly based on Desired Outcomes.

Collaboration

Moving away from arms-length to collaborative face-to-face processes enables you to really test the abilities of the actual people doing the delivery, and, the suppliers style and approach rather than relying on written 'sales' responses.

Capabilities

Agile sourcing provides a real opportunity to test capabilities in real time, rather than relying n written, arm-length responses. Can the potential suppliers really do that they say? Do they have the people available? Do you rate those people.

TOP TIPS FOR DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITY PROCUREMENT

Robust Understanding

Robust understanding of your Desired Outcomes which includes input from all key stakeholders including Product Owners is critical, use these to narrow the market and choose your supplier.

Supplier Relationship Management

Supplier Relationship Management is vital to extracting the best from your suppliers, the end of the procurement is only the beginning...

S-FAST® Agile Sourcing

Agile sourcing is used to accelerate pace while driving high standards for procurement. Horizon Seven's trademarked methodology, delivers a tried and tested process that has been developed by experienced practitioners and refined since it's inception over 7 years ago.

Accelerating ERP Success - Strategic Procurement & Implementation in the Cloud Era

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 16:06:41 GMT

Author: Melanie Humphries

CEO

introduction

ERP systems are central to modern business infrastructure, yet over 55% of ERP projects fail to deliver on time, budget, or promised value.

With pressure mounting from boards and stakeholders, organisations must move beyond outdated selection models and embrace a modern, agile procurement process that aligns platforms and partners to business outcomes.

This whitepaper synthesises practitioner insights from Melanie Humphries (CEO) and Natascha Polderman (Senior Consultant), two seasoned ERP procurement leaders focusing on how to buy ERP smarter, avoid common pit falls, and deliver value faster.

55% to 75% of ERP implementation projects fail to meet their

objectives - whether measured in terms of cost, timelines,

functionality, or expectedbusiness benefits."

Gartner 2025

the c-suite perspective

Today’s ERP projects are increasingly led from the top. The appetite for digital transformation has returned, and boards are excited again, but they’re also cautious. This renewed interest comes from a belief that modern ERP systems, particularly cloud-native platforms, can finally deliver the automation, insight, and agility that businesses have been promised for years.

But expectations have changed.

Executives want ROI in months, not years. CFOs and COOs, not just CIOs, are demanding systems that can scale, comply with regulatory demands, and integrate seamlessly with their existing data stack.

One common misstep is that too many organisations jump straight to choosing a platform before understanding what business problems they’re solving.

Instead of leading with a technical RFP, successful projects start with a business-led “North Star” -a shared understanding of what success looks like, what’s broken today, and what risks must be mitigated.

common pitfalls - what goes wrong and why

Despite new technologies and better tooling, many ERP implementations still fail due to avoidable missteps.

There are a handful of key recurring mistakes and challenges observed across the industry, these issues typically emerge early during the procurement phase and compound over time.

1. Choosing a Platform Too Early

Many companies believe that selecting a platform is the first step, however, in reality at this stage organisations are often not ready.

Natascha and Melanie have seen this many times ”If you don’t know the outcome you’re driving toward, any platform will look good in a sales demo.”

The result? Features are purchased that don’t align with the organisation’s real needs, and delivery becomes a game of chasing scope rather than achieving value.

The right approach starts with business alignment.

“You need to know why you’re buying ERP-not just what you’re buying.”

2. Misjudging the Role of the Implementation Partner

In traditional models, the platform and partner are often sourced together, but as often experienced by the consultants at Horizon 7, this can create a false sense of security.

Each should be approached as two distinct decisions. The platform is the foundation, but the partner builds the house. The partner must bring more than just manpower. They must:

Understand your industry Bring accelerators and tools tailored to your platform
Fit culturally with your team
And commit to outcomes, not just hours.

3. Running a Slow, Paper-Heavy Selection Process

Shockingly many procurement processes remain outdated and unfit for purpose , organisations are still spending 6 to 12 months gathering requirements, running RFPs, and reviewing slide decks, only to discover that the original business need has shifted.

With the introduction of AI within the bidding process, buyers are often not evaluating real delivery capability but who can write the slickest generic proposal, designed to score maximum evaluation points.

beyond traditional procurement - agile sourcing ( s-fast® )

Cue Horizon 7 and our agile sourcing methodology S-FAST® , developed by our team of procurement practitioners and SMEs, S-FAST® sets the standard for the modern way to source technology.

Instead of relying on paperwork, S-FAST® champions live, sprint-based evaluation models focused on real demos, workshops, and joint planning.

This approach not only speeds up procurement (typically under 20 weeks) but also engages internal stakeholders meaningfully.

Traditional ERP procurement methods typically centred on long-form RFPs, static scoring metrics, and months of paperwork, are increasingly unfit for today’s fast-moving digital agendas.

These legacy approaches often create more confusion than clarity, they prioritise documentation over dialogue, theoretical fit over practical delivery, and process over progress. The result?

Stalled decisions, underwhelming implementations, and mismatched expectations.

S-FAST® replaces traditional, waterfall-style selection with an iterative, insight-driven model that aligns executives, accelerates platform and partner decisions, and builds momentum before contracts are even signed.

Each module of the S-FAST® methodology is anchored by internal collaboration and external engagement and desired outcomes, done in short, structured bursts:

1. Define the 'North Star'

Align business and technology leadership around key objectives.

What does success look like?
What risks must we avoid?
What do we need from our platform and partners

2. Select the implementation partner

Only evaluate partners authorised or experienced with the shortlisted platforms.

Run live workshops .
Speak to references .
Ask how they handle risk .
Finalise commercials alongside delivery planning.

3. Evaluate platforms

Invite a small number of suppliers to participate in structured demos based on real business scenarios.
Don’t ask for 300 line requirement responses, ask to see how they solve a particular workflow or compliance challenge.
Begin commercial conversations early.

4. Sign aligned contracts

Finalise both contracts (platform + implementation) with clear success metrics and mutual accountability .
Agree on a phased roadmap for delivery.

Delivering Value Faster - From Blueprint to Business Benefit

Too often, ERP implementations are treated like a marathon with an ambiguous finish line somewhere years down the road. The reality, however, is that modern businesses cannot afford long timelines, delayed ROI, or stalled momentum - speed to value is now a core executive expectation.

Gone are the days when ERP programs could spend 18 months in design before a single module went live. Executives are asking when they’ll see results before they’ve even signed the contract and this pressure is not just about impatience, it’s about survival.

Market volatility, shifting regulations, and competitive pressure mean organisations need tangible benefits early to justify the investment and keep stakeholders engaged. But delivering faster doesn’t mean rushing. It means being more deliberate, focused, and agile in how implementation is approached. Removing waste!

Importantly, this approach also relies on tight collaboration between business and delivery teams.

The IT team can’t do this alone; business ownership is required from day one.

There are practical ways organisations can shift from blueprint to business benefit quickly without cutting corners or compromising long-term scalability.

Deploy in phases

Don’t wait for a monolithic go live. Start with finance or procurement modules and show early success.

Use what’s available

Don’t over configure. Partners often have accelerators and preconfigured templates, use them to your advantage.

Get the business involved early

Assign product owners from the business side. Train users before go-live and build change champions across teams.

Perhaps most importantly, fund post-go-live optimisation. The project doesn’t end when the system goes live - it begins. Users will need support, iteration, and improvement.

AI, Automation & ERP Hype

ERP marketing has evolved fast, Cloud, AI, machine learning, and intelligent automation are front and centre in supplier pitches but be warned against getting distracted.

To cut through the hype:

Ask suppliers for live demos using your data or your processes – not generic walkthroughs.

Don’t judge a demo on polish - judge it on relevance and challenge claims with real scenarios and test cases.

Focus on delivery credibility over slick marketing.

a smarter way forward

ERP procurement is no longer about ticking boxes on feature lists or choosing the most familiar supplier. It’s about clarity of purpose, agility in selection, and discipline in execution.

Organisations that succeed treat ERP as a business transformation and not just a tech refresh. They define what outcomes matter most, select platforms that support those outcomes, and engage implementation partners who can deliver on time, in scope, and with measurable impact.

FIVE TAKE AWAYS

Start with the ‘why?’, not the platform.

Break down procurement into fast, focused sprints.

Select a partner that fits your culture and based on delivery strength, not just reputation.

Keep the process lean, focused, and business led

Ensure executive sponsorship and broad internal alignment.

New Tech, Old Tricks

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 13:02:13 GMT

Author: Melanie Humphries

CEO

Author: Claire Agutter

SCOPISM

Modernising Technology Sourcing for Increased Business Value

Technology sourcing is undergoing a transformative shift. As organisations increasingly adopt emerging technologies such as AI, VR/AR, and platform-based solutions, legacy procurement processes are failing to keep pace. Outdated methods not only delay time-to-value but also introduce inefficiencies and risks that jeopardise the success of digital transformations.

This whitepaper, based on insights from Horizon Seven CEO Melanie Humphries and Scopism Director Claire Agutter, presents a compelling case for evolving technology procurement and integration practices. It explores how agile sourcing frameworks such as S-FAST® , AI-enabled decision-making, and structured service integration (SIAM) can empower CIOs, CTOs, CPOs, and other senior leaders to navigate complexity, mitigate risk, and deliver measurable ROI from technology investments - rapidly.

Industry Context: Pressure to Modernise

Modern enterprise technology ecosystems are increasingly diverse and complex. Organisations are sourcing solutions from a mix of vendors, many of which are AI-driven, cloud-native, or delivered "as-a-service."

Key Statistics Highlighting the Shift:

70% of digital transformations fail. Over 50% of technology procurements do not meet expectations.

65% of procurement leaders are betting on AI to enhance decision-making and productivity.
80% of major suppliers are now using AI to respond to PQQ’s, RFI’s, ITT’s RFPs etc

These trends indicate a rapidly changing landscape—one that procurement and IT leaders must adapt to or risk falling behind.

The Problem with Legacy Procurement Practices

Traditional procurement practices are increasingly unfit for sourcing innovative technologies. Legacy processes are slow, linear, cumbersome and lack the agility needed to handle dynamic technology environments.

Traditional methods often operate at arm’s length, lack real-time collaboration, and treat the selection process as transactional rather than strategic. This detachment can obscure critical factors such as cultural fit, adaptability, and long-term delivery potential. Furthermore, once suppliers are selected, contract negotiations typically begin from scratch, introducing delays and friction that erode trust before implementation even begins.

The implications are severe. Not only is time-to-value delayed, but the organisation often ends up with a solution that fails to deliver on its intended business outcomes. The result is wasted investment, underutilised technology, and stakeholder disillusionment.

Modern Procurement Strategies: Horizon Seven’s Agile Sourcing Model S-FAST®

To address these challenges, Horizon Seven has pioneered a 7-sprint agile procurement process that emphasises collaboration, clarity, and speed. This approach centres on outcomes, iterative engagement, and face-to-face workshops with shortlisted suppliers.

Core Principles of the S-FAST® Methodology:

Begin with Business Outcomes: Define value and desired end states before market engagement.
AI-Accelerated Discovery: Appropriate use of AI to speed up early-stage market research and supplier filtering.
Condensed Supplier Engagement: Limit detailed engagement to a maximum of three suppliers to reduce overhead.
Workshops Over Written Responses: Shift from document-based RFPs to interactive workshops that reveal true cultural and functional fit.
Parallel Contracting: Negotiate under competitive tension during the process to avoid post-selection delays and tension.
Supplier Underwriting: Require bidders to underwrite their promises, aligning risk and accountability with capability.
Contract Anchored in Value: Every agreement maps back to defined business outcomes and strategic goals.

This model has proven capable of delivering full-cycle sourcing—from business case to signed contract—in as little as 12 weeks, even for complex deals.

Integration and Value Realisation: The Role of SIAM

While agile procurement can streamline sourcing, value realisation depends heavily on effective integration. Claire Agutter highlights how poor onboarding, fragmented supplier coordination, and misaligned goals often lead to “value leakage.”

Common Integration Challenges Include:

Delays in onboarding new suppliers.
Fragmented incident and problem management across service providers.
Duplication of effort due to “man-marking” by retained IT teams.
Poor visibility into total cost and performance of sourced services.

SIAM is not just a framework—it’s a mindset. It offers a way to structure relationships, roles, and responsibilities across complex vendor ecosystems. By embedding governance, standardised onboarding and offboarding, and performance alignment into the operational fabric, SIAM creates the conditions for sustainable value delivery.

SIAM (Service Integration and Management) Includes :

Structuring onboarding and offboarding processes.
Providing governance and performance alignment across suppliers.
Enabling real-time decision-making and cross-vendor collaboration.
Establishing end-to-end accountability for value delivery.

Crucially, SIAM doesn’t require an overhaul of an organization’s IT or procurement models. Instead, it provides principles that can be layered into existing processes. This integration-centric thinking ensures that technology adoption is not just fast—but effective, secure, and measurable.

Strategic Recommendations for C-Suite Leaders

For CIOs, CTOs, and CPOs looking to modernise sourcing and integration practices, the following strategic actions are recommended:

Define Outcomes Early: Anchor sourcing around business needs—not technical features.
Embrace Agile Sourcing Models: Replace static RFP processes with iterative, workshop-based engagement.
Leverage AI Responsibly: Use AI for speed and insight, but ensure human-led collaboration and evaluation.
Integrate Contracting into Evaluation: Don’t defer negotiation—build it into the supplier selection process.
Adopt SIAM Principles: Establish structured integration frameworks that reduce friction and drive ROI.
Invest in Cross-Functional Collaboration: Engage procurement, IT, operations, and finance from the start.
Continuously Measure ROI: Track outcomes, not just deliverables. Align KPIs to strategic objectives.

The gap between technology potential and delivered value often lies in outdated procurement and integration practices. As organisations invest in AI, cloud, and other transformative solutions, the processes used to source, onboard, and govern these services must evolve.

By adopting agile procurement methodologies such as Horizon Sevens S-FAST® and SIAM-based integration strategies, C-suite leaders can transform technology sourcing into a competitive advantage—reducing risk, accelerating time to value, and aligning every penny spent with business impact.

About the Authors

Melanie Humphries is CEO of Horizon Seven, technologists, specialising in technology procurement. Her firm helps global organisations modernise their sourcing strategies and accelerate time-to-value through agile, outcome-focused procurement methodologies.

Claire Agutter is Director of Scopism and a leading authority on service integration and management (SIAM). She advises organisations on how to build integrated service ecosystems that enable innovation, resilience, and operational excellence.

Buying Tech Enabled BPO - Using Agile Sourcing

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 11:37:47 GMT

Author: Clare Martin

Consulting Director

BUYING TECH ENABLED BPO

Procurement of BPO platforms and services is tricky. What comes first? – the technology or the BPO Services?

MOST IMPORTANT STEP IN PROCURING TECH-ENABLED BPO TECH & SERVICES

Sourcing Strategy

Careful consideration whether to separate the BPO services from the BPO tech is a vital first step - will you choose two suppliers, one for each priority - or will you bundle both into one supplier?

Desired Outcomes

To help with sourcing strategy - establishing your business and technology Desired Outcomes helps to create a 'north star' to assess if products and services will support your strategy and meet your requirements begin with the end in mind.

Value

Procuring tech-enabled BPO is typically no longer about saving money as a first priority. Establishing what good value looks like for your business is a critical first step alongside sourcing strategy and desired outcomes whether that be customer experience, tech capability, automation, efficiency etc.

ADVANTAGES OF AGILE SOURCING IN PROCURING TECH-ENABLED BPO TECH AND SERVICES

Agility

Using agile sourcing processes such as Horizson Seven's S-FAST® enables you to stay dynamic on your choice between one supplier for tech and BPO services, or two. Testing all option and enabling emerging ideas and information to inform your choice.

Collaboration

Moving away from arms-length to collaborative processes enables you to text the 'can we work with these people' question. It is vital this is part of your assessment and is so much easier to do within an agile sourcing approach. It also enables you to test the 'can these people work together' question if you choose two suppliers who need to collaborate.

Capabilities

Agile sourcing provides a real opportunity to test capabilities in real time, rather than relying on written. arms-length responses. Can the potential suppliers really do what they say?

TOP TIPS FOR PROCURING TECH-ENABLED BPO TECH AND SERVICES

Sourcing Strategy

Align the sourcing strategy for tech enabled BPO to the wider technology strategy rather than solely focusing on the functional business needs.

Two Sponsors

One for business services and one who champions the product and the technology roadmap.

To Conclude

In choosing one to or two suppliers for the BPO and the technology, focus on how your choice will achieve your Desired Outcomes and sourcing strategy and consider information from soft-market testing.

Buying ERP Technology Solutions - Using Agile sourcing

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 14:59:31 GMT

Author: Melanie Humhries

CEO

BUYING ERP TECHNOLOGY

Procurement of ERP platforms and implementation services can be a minefield, extensive requirement gathering and conflicts between the business and technology needs of the business hard to overcome. Everyone has a view on platforms they've used before!

What's most important to assess to get an unbiased view when it comes to buying ERP platforms and implementation partners?

WHAT

In our experience, establishing common ground between the technology requirements and the functional business requirements is key, building Desired Outcomes helps to create a 'north star' to assess if products will fit the bill.

HOW

Establishing whether a platform meets your needs;

(a) natively, out of the box

(b) through some configuration,

(d) through development

is critical. A clear idea of the functional taxonomy and how this is achieved is key and should lead your choice together with price.

WHEN

In our experience, establishing common ground between the technology requirements and the functional business requirements is key, building desired outcomes helps to create a north star to assess if products will fit the bill.

HOW CAN AGILE SOURCING HELP IN ERP PROCUREMENT

AGILITY

In our experience establishing common ground between the technology requirements and the functional business requirements is key, building desired outcomes helps to create a 'north star' to asses if product will fit the bill.

COLLABORATION

Moving away from arms-length, to collaborative processes enables you to test the 'can we work with these people' question. It is vital this is part of your assessment and is so much easier to do with agile sourcing.

PRICE

Using an agile sourcing approach reduces the cost of the platform licenses through a clearer understanding of requirements and how these are delivered by the platform. Agile sourcing also reduces implementation partner costs through collaborative working to a solution, thereby reducing the risk of the unknown, and the contingency supplier may otherwise build in.

TOP TIPS FOR ERP PROCUREMENT

Reconcile technology and business requirements through functional fitness and non unctional fitness assessment and clear mapping to desired outcomes.

Run an agile procurement approach to keep flexibility to platform and implementation partner selections.

Establish the benefits to the whole business using desired outcomes and don’t be afraid to use collaborative approaches to reduce risk and price.

Technology procurement & SIAM

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 09:00:58 GMT

Author: Lauren Bower

Founder

The often-overlooked critical relationship between technology procurement and SIAM.

It never ceases to amaze me how many organisations fail to recognise the importance of the Service Integration and Management model in their organisation when procuring new technology services and products. And sometimes it amazes me even more that organisations don’t have an effective SIAM model and operation.

Every technology purchase ultimately needs to plug into the organisations SIAM operation, without this operational integration, landing technology solutions effectively into your organisation will be like trying to plug your hair dryer into jelly – messy and ineffective.

We cannot expect technology services to run in isolation once we’ve bought them, and yet considering the ‘run’ needs of the solution is often forgotten during the procurement process and thrown over the wall at the IT Service Management function once bought.

So why do so many organisations fail to consider both the SIAM and target operating model that will receive the newly procured technology?

WHATS NEEDED IS AN EFFECTIVE UNDERSTANDING OF SIAM AND HOW TO INTEGRATE IT WITH TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT PROCESSES

An effective SIAM operating model is a recipe for success when it comes to integrating different sources of technology supply, whether that’s big service solutions which may have been outsourced like service desk or hosted managed services, SaaS services or software subscriptions – all technology products and services need a docking station to plug into.

Effectively considering your organisation’s SIAM model during procurement means understanding how your new product or service will be supported once the contract is signed, and impact the rest of your technology estate.

SIAM is an important assessment criterion for making your technology selection and shouldn’t be neglected compared to say, the lowest price. Good procurement should practically ‘road-test’ what living with your new product or service looks like, it goes beyond the SLA’s that can be negotiated and gets into ‘how’ the product or service will practically be supported in life.

WHY SHOULD WE CONSIDER SIAM REQUIREMENTS AS A KEY CRITERION – SAY COMPARED TO PRICE?

SIAM model requirements are often neglected in the key criteria for making technology procurement decisions, its not seen as important as other criteria like functionality and price for example which tend to have greater sponsorship in procurement, however, we always recommend to our clients that SIAM should be considered as a key category alongside other important evaluation criterion .

Key Evaluation Criterion including SIAM

There are four good reasons why SIAM is so important to technology procurement , so why are organisations continuing to neglect SIAM when it comes to technology procurement?

1. BENEFITS CONCIEVED FROM TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT CAN’T BE REALISED WITHOUT EFFECTIVE SIAM

No matter how fantastic the functionality, how effective the price, how transformational the technology, without effective integration with a good SIAM model the benefits are at risk of unravelling if the new product or service cannot be effectively supported or integrated with the rest of the technology estate.

Leaving the exercise to understand how this integration will happen until after the procurement process is a BIG mistake, involving the SIAM professionals in your organisation too late risks having to bootstrap the new service into your organisation with the inevitable ‘clunky’ sub-optimal service.

By including and testing SIAM requirements during procurement, the end-to-end run model including its support can be properly understood, without it, the benefits are at risk if the product, or solution cannot be properly supported, or run effectively.

2. TECHNOLOGY RISKS CAN BE HIDDEN IF SIAM IS NOT PROPERLY CONSIDERED BEFORE PURCHASE

By focusing only on the functional benefits, price and technology opportunities, we run the risk of not properly evaluating the non-functional requirements. Big ticket items like security standards and data protection are often considered, but the capability of the supplier to support the product, or service can be missed when SIAM is not considered up front.

Asking yourselves (and the suppliers) SIAM questions can be very revealing about how the product or service is architected – occasionally revealing some nasties you’ll be happy to have the opportunity to consider before selecting your preferred option.

3. SERVICE LEVELS ALONE ARE NOT ENOUGH TO ENSURE PROPER SUPPORT

Relying on service levels alone (even a good set) is not sufficient to test that your new product or service will meet the SIAM needs of your organisation, SLA’s alone will not compensate your organisation when your product or service is unavailable, or instable, or you have no idea who to talk to for support at the supplier.

What is required is a thorough understanding of the makeup of the supplier organisation (assuming we’re not talking Microsoft of Amazon here), and how they run their SIAM processes. The greater the complexity of the service the deeper you should dig on how this is designed and operated.

Nevertheless, a good set of SLAs is still important and those should be carefully examined and the implications calculated to ensure that handoffs are properly handled and restore time is properly understood.

4. SIAM FACILITATES THE INTEGRATION WITH OTHER SERVICES AND IDENTIFIES DEPENDANCIES

Its unusual that a technology product or service stands alone, and has no touch points, dependencies on, or relationship with other products and or services. Understanding those upfront are critical since the knock-on effect of the purchase may be changes to scope, scale or support elsewhere. SIAM needs to understand this impact during the procurement process and provide the impact assessment for each option since each may be different in its demands of the existing technology estate.

Getting this right will mean no surprises for the organisation or your other third parties, which are sometimes only discovered when the first incident occurs, which we all know delays resolutions and hits the internal and/or external customer satisfaction hard.

WHATS IN IT FOR ME? THE BENEFITS OF BETTER INTEGRATION BETWEEN PROCUREMENT AND SIAM

Practice tells us that effective inclusion of SIAM during the procurement process gives exponential benefit to realising results from technology procurement and successful integration with the existing and future planned technology estate .

One of the main issues we find is that many organisations simply don’t have a comprehensive and/or effective SIAM solution defined, this can make it difficult to include SIAM requirements into tech procurement, this is a critical problem to be solved in any organisation.

SO, WHAT DOES A GOOD SIAM MODEL LOOK LIKE AND HOW SHOULD IT BE INTEGRATED INTO PROCUREMENT?

A comprehensive SIAM model covers the end-to-end lifecycle management of technology and thinks about the IT products and services from a supply and demand perspective. Good SIAM ties together the disparate parts of technology via common practice, language, process, and tools to present a single/seamless engagement for all customers (internal and external). Done well, it helps the organisation to achieve its technology and business goals;

• Achieves standard processes, tools and governance processes

• Manages competing priorities and demands on resources

• Builds an effective service eco-system, focussed on business objectives

• Builds accountability and responsibility for end-to-end service

• Flexibility and scalability of service/resourcing Integrating niche demand quickly and effectively • Transparency of the cost (TCO), Return on Investment (ROI) and quality of the delivered service • Accountability for end-to-end controls (e.g. legal, regulatory and risk)

• Ensuring robust financial management to optimise cost

• Supplier collaboration to ensure service delivery optimisation

• Focus on service management, ensuring incentivisation on quality of end-to-end service

• Embedding change to ensure complete “adoption”

Integrating SIAM into procurement processes is relatively straightforward, provided SIAM is considered as a set of requirements that are effectively prioritised alongside other, more ‘popular’ requirements. The key though is that SIAM is able to effectively set out its stall of standards and processes as a set of clear requirements, these can then be integrated into the assessment criterion of the product or service. Simples

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Without the effective integration of SIAM as a set of requirements and as a stakeholder in the procurement of technology products and services, organisations are unlikely to realise the planned benefits, or worse, expose themselves to risk of failure of performance or support post procurement. Gaps and cracks often appear as soon as the service goes live (or tries to), when interdependencies with other technology and suppliers are identified, impacting the internal and/or external customers at the very outset.

Why technology procurement deserves its own AGILE process.

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 10:57:08 GMT

Author: Lauren Bower

Founder

Despite its global persistence, the repeated failure of technology outsourcing to deliver the expected results presents a significant problem for organisations ¹ for approximately 50% of businesses using outsourcing realise ‘poor’ outcomes ² .

Our technology solutions are changing faster than ever ³ , our organisations want and need to consume more technology to solve global problems faster than ever ⁴ and yet, we have for decades been following the same procurement processes for technology. In order to deliver value from technology solutions quickly – that has to change.

What we need now are procurement processes that are focused realising full potential value – faster.

In this article, I argue that technology procurement warrants a new and technology-specific approach that delivers higher value from technology solutions/ services - quickly , while addressing the specific commercial risks and opportunities presented by technology solutions.

In my experience, employing agile practices for technology procurement can help us to overcome the limitations of outdated arms-length RFP processes and to achieve technology procurement that delivers promised results much more quickly , facilitates more creative solutions and reduces the risk produced by out-of-date traditional RFP approaches.

Leveraging my own research and development, practitioner experience and the combined experience of Horizon Seven, I will share the issues caused by traditional-RFP-based procurement, what an agile approach can do to eliminate these issues and maximise opportunities from technology procurement and outline the benefits for buyers and suppliers from cooperating in agile technology procurement.

What’s wrong with RFPs? They served us so well.

In summary, there are four main reasons why RFPs are no longer serving technology procurement well. So why are so many organisations still relying on traditional procurement approaches for technology?

1. Firstly long, drawn out written procurement processes are too slow. Typical procurement projects take anywhere from 12 to 18 months from conception to service start date which typically isn’t even the point which value is realised, that can come up to 2 years after the procurement starts, this is just too long in today’s markets. Often driving this timeline is the RFP’s wide approach to the market with an overly complex set of complete input requirements, and the need for (too many) suppliers to dictate their response in writing, followed by the lengthy process of evaluating responses and the inevitable ‘beauty parade’.

What we need now are procurement processes that act fast to capture the business requirements and deliver required value as quickly as possible.

2. Secondly, technology solutions are typically significantly more complex compared to other stuff we procure, arms-length written RFP’s struggle to capture and articulate this complexity, necessarily they also seek to define the solution required from the supplier in order to compare it ‘apples with apples’ against other responses. This approach only serves procurement and the need to administer the responses while minimising risk and cost. RFPs simply don’t allow for co-creativity (between supplier and buyer) and bespoke solution, while also allowing for careful comparison and assessment of risk and value.

What we need now are procurement processes that enable creativity of suppliers to craft solutions (they can in fact deliver), with their buyers to meet business objectives at value for money.

3. Thirdly, arms-length and waterfall-type processes are not responsive to emerging requirements. No matter how much effort is put into building complex input requirements, things (and information) can change during the process. Macro-economic, micro-internal, new ideas and information discoveries can all crop up changing our requirements. Once the RFP is ‘published’ it is very difficult to adapt and incorporate these kinds of changes. Written arms-length processes do not afford an opportunity to learn from the process and suppliers’ creativity, adapting our requirements and solutions mid-process. In seeking to avoid risk by writing everything down, we create new, greater risk by locking ourselves into fixed requirements.

What we need is an agile, dynamic processes that minimises risk and maximises opportunities by enabling learning/ adapting to emerging requirements mid-process.

4. Fourth, RFP processes do not allow for competitive approaches to contractual negotiation and commercial design, leaving the negotiation until the back end of the process and treating pricing as a flat best and final approach. In today’s technology market many suppliers can deliver our technical requirements, the competitive landscape needs to include a focus on commercial and contractual solution. By leaving the contractual discussion to the end on BAFO the buyer is left with little leverage, contracts are often too generic, rushed, and carry inherent risk. By running contract and commercial design negotiation alongside solution procurement buyers can expect more creative solutions (better value for money, often more cost-effective), more effective technology contracts and lower risk.

What we need are procurement processes that creatively address the commercial and contractual opportunities and risk in technology solutions.

Why we need Agile approaches to technology procurement?

Research and sourcing practice into the causes of delay, sub-optimal procurement results and long-term post contract issues in the main, stem from poor procurement processes. My research and practice deploying agile practices (agile sourcing) for technology solutions address these (and other) issues with the traditional-RFP approaches to technology procurement. Agile sourcing can achieve;

A much clearer understanding of the potential benefits (and risks) of the technology solution up front in outcome terms, captured by an effective business-case.

The move off paper-based requirements and solutions to a collaborative process between the buyer and just a handful of carefully qualified suppliers fuelling creative solutions.

An agile approach to resetting or adjusting requirements based on learnings during co-creation of solution options maximising opportunities.

The opportunity to do dynamic down selection of suppliers not meeting requirements or misaligned culturally to your organisation.

Parallel and competitive contract negotiation dynamically responding to changing requirements tracks to the solution development and delivers a solution-specific contract quickly ( sprint contracting ).

An agile and open approach to commercially creative solutions by suppliers that drives value for money for the buyer, maximises opportunity and minimises risk for both parties.

Open transparency of risk as solution is codeveloped between supplier and buyer, early identification and mitigation of risk is identified at solution design stage.

Process, solution, and contract is anchored to a business-value based business case which becomes the point of comparison (as opposed to price).

What’s in it for me?

Practice tells us there are benefits for both the buyer and supplier by taking an agile approach to technology procurement – everyone’s a winner!

By taking an agile approach and ditching the written RFP process, the buyer and supplier can quickly get into dialogue about the solution and explore the realities of delivering a solution that meets the business value expectations .

Benefits from taking an agile procurement approach for the buyer;

Accelerates time to value commencement.
Clarifies and quantifies the risks of unknowns.
Holds supplier to account for knowns.
Provides for price certainty and flexibility.
Removes unnecessary contingency and assumptions by the supplier.
Maximises opportunities from working closely with suppliers to co-create solutions.

Benefits from taking an agile procurement approach for the supplier;

Reduces the competitive field and increases the chance of winning.
Accelerates time to contract and revenue recognition.
Addresses the risk of over commitment to unknowns.
Makes clear the dependencies on the buyer.
Clarifies and quantifies the risk of unknowns.
Enables the buyer to be better informed.
Makes it much easier to identify and add new scope opportunities to the contract.

How do I move to agile sourcing?

I believe that the results from agile sourcing over traditional RFP arms-length approaches are infinitely beneficial, not only do they deliver more value - more quickly as well as minimising risk. However, for me the most important benefit is setting up the relationship and delivery for success into the future.

The process for agile sourcing

There are some changes you’ll need to make to adopt agile sourcing;

A move to a clear business value case from the outset (which can adapt) against which to evaluate the supplier solutions.

Acceptance that suppliers need freedom to be creative, with you during the process.

Be prepared to make adaptions and changes which may release opportunities and/or minimise risk during the process.

Be ready to negotiate contracts with all your shortlisted suppliers during the selection process (which requires more resource).

Clear understanding of the market of suppliers before going to market, and the ability to intelligently and quickly shortlist.

Stakeholders will need to get stuck in with a workshop-based process which is quicker, but more intensive for a period (effort which is saved in reviewing many, huge written responses).

Skills to assess the outcomes of the agile process against the business-value case, and select accordingly.

Concluding remarks

After over a decade practicing, researching and developing agile sourcing (and agile contracting) I have seen first hand the benefit of deploying agile principles to technology procurement, for me the long-term effects of improving the solution and performance of the outsourcing deal is by far the greatest result.

I’m always happy to share the details of agile sourcing helping organisations to get more value more quickly from technology outsourcing is my passion. If you would like to chat more about agile sourcing I’d be very happy to help you understand it better.

Notes:

1: various see below

Bhattacharya, A., Singh, P. J., & Nand, A. A. (2015). Antecedents of buyer opportunistic behavior in outsourcing relationships. International Journal of Production Economics, 166, 258-268.

Gorla, N., & Somers, T. M. (2014). The impact of IT outsourcing on information systems success. Information & management, 51(3), 320-335.

Kim, S., & Chung, Y. S. (2003). Critical success factors for IS outsourcing implementation from an interorganizational relationship perspective. Journal of Computer information systems, 43(4), 81-90.

Koh, C., Ang, S., & Straub, D. W. (2004). IT outsourcing success: A psychological contract perspective. Information systems research, 15(4), 356-373.

Ngwenyama, O., & Sullivan, W. (2007). Outsourcing contracts as instruments of risk management: Insights from two successful public contracts. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 20(6), 615–640.

Qi, C., & Chau, P. (2013). Investigating the roles of interpersonal and interorganizational trust in IT outsourcing success. Information Technology & People (West Linn, Or.), 26(2), 120–145.

Schwarz, C. (2014). Toward an understanding of the nature and conceptualization of outsourcing success. Information & Management, 51(1), 152–164.

Wolverton, C. C., Hirschheim, R., Black, W. C., & Burleson, J. (2020). Outsourcing success in the eye of the beholder: Examining the impact of expectation confirmation theory on IT outsourcing. Information & Management, 57(6), 103236.

2: Lacity, M., & Willcocks, L. (2017). Conflict resolution in business services outsourcing relationships. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 26(2), 80-100.

3: Wahiba, N. F., & Mahmoudi, D. (2023). Technological change, growth and income inequality. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 13(1), 121-131. doi:https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.13831

4: Mokhber, M., Vakilbashi, A., Zamil, N. A. M., & Basiruddin, R. (2016). Impact of entrepreneurial leadership on organization demand for innovation: Moderating role of employees’ innovative self-efficacy. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(3), 415-421.

Outsourcing disappointment could be a thing of the past

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 16:34:04 GMT

Author: Lauren Bower

Founder

Outsourcing was conceived in the 1960's, and since then it has become a pervasive management approach (Wolverton et al., 2020; p2). Why is that and why haven't we yet figured out how to make it work effectively?

In this article I set out the hygiene and hidden factors of outsourcing that organisations must pay attention to, to avoid the disappointment of outsourcing failing to meet expectations.

The global outsourcing industry is worth $526.6 BN , a rough estimate is that 50% of these deals fail to meet performance expectations (Lacity and Wilcocks, 2017). It is fair to say this causes organisations substantial issues [1] that we at Horizon Seven spend most of our waking hours preventing/ resolving with great procurement.

Why is outsourcing still so widely used given its poor delivery of expectations?

This question has troubled me for a whole decade now. I am fascinated with why organisations continue to employ the outsourcing approach given its often poor performance.

I believe we can resolve the performance issues in outsourcing.

Clues from outsourcing literature

Outsourcing's foundations come from transaction cost economics theory or 'cost driven' [2]. It makes sense for buyer organisations to ask supplier organisations to provide services at scale that would cost the buying organisation more to deliver themselves. It is perhaps not surprising that the main focus in outsourcing is on the commercial and contractual relationship between the buyer and the supplier [3].

My review of the last 30 years of outsourcing literature reveals two really interesting observations;

Outsourcing was primarily focused on the benefits on offer from outsourcing (between 2000 and 2007) [4] then it gave way to literature focused on behaviours in outsourcing (2006 to now) [5] with a focus on inter-organisational relationships [6]
There is an ongoing concern (1996 - now) in how to achieve performance in outsourcing. [7]

The first point (1) represents a shift in focus in the literature f rom the need to justify outsourcing in terms of its benefits, to methods in managing inter-organisational relationships and behaviours to achieve the promised benefits. The point at which the literature adapted from justifying outsourcing, circa 2006-7, to the ways in which to extract and manage benefits at the inter-organisational level is (likely to be) the point at which outsourcing became an accepted-without-question management approach that no longer needed justification.

The second point (2) shows how the extended and continued research focus on how to achieve outsourcing success demonstrates that despite outsourcings persistent use as a management approach, achieving the anticipated results continues to be problematic.

So why isn't outsourcing delivering expectations?

The thing is, no one - not ever - has challenged outsourcing as an effective management approach. It's been called a 'management fashion' (Price 2012) and 'fad' (Lonsdale and Cox, 2000), but we are talking two authors here in a whole history of academic thinking on outsourcing.

Hygiene practices in outsourcing

In a survey of our clients, 100% said they weren't following good outsourcing hygiene practices

Let's put to one side the fact that I believe something else is going on here that drives the outcomes of outsourcing, there are just some hygiene factors that every organisation needs to get right before we can even think about maximising performance and outcomes of outsourcing.

There are four types of hygiene factor that set outsourcing off on the right foot;

A good sourcing strategy that maps to business and technology strategies is the foundation of success.
Good procurement processes address the imbalances of power and poor commercial deals.
A transparent and appropriate contract that is outcome-based and a useful, flexible tool for the future.
Well defined and properly managed governance will ensure communications are good, and the relationship stays healthy.

It is clear from working with lots of buyers - that these hygiene factors are simply not being met in preparation for, and execution of outsourcing deals.

So, let's assume you are one of the very few organisations that does meet these hygiene requirements, you may be wondering why then, your outsourcing deals still fail to meet your expectations.

On top of the hygiene factors, there are four hidden factors which block performance of outsourcing.

Hidden factors in outsourcing

Creating a joint understanding of the deal and what both parties get out of it overcomes different ways of thinking.
Creating your own language that describes the outcomes in a way you both understand and sign up to in the beginning.
Embrace the mutual gains to be had from the contract, do not conceal how much you will save or profit – and balance this out. Think win-win!
Create one team , sit together if possible. Have regular face-to-face and informal governance.

We do a lot of work with organisations, having bought outsourcing well, that still find it difficult to meet the original expectations of outsourcing deals. This is because two organisations are coming together with completely different cultures, language, and organisational objectives - that often compete with each other (covertly if not overtly). The hidden factors are all about addressing this by building one culture.

How do I fix my outsourcing hygiene/ hidden factors?

Well that is a question for the next instalment - or if you're really keen you could give us a shout and we can explain.

Want to be part of the Horizon Seven R&D programme? we love speaking to buyers and suppliers in the technology outsourcing world, get in touch!

References

[1] Koh, Ang and Straub, 2004; Bhattacharya, Singh and Nand, 2015; Gorla and Somers, 2014; Kim and Chung, 2003; Ngwenyama and Sullivan, 2007; Schwartz, 2014; Qi and Chau, 2013 and Wolverton et al., 2020.

[2] (Coarse, 1937; Williamson, 1985 both cited by Weeks and Galunic, 2003: p1310) (Shepherd and McKelvey, 2009: p137) (Lonsdale and Cox, 2000)

[3] Handley and Angst, 2015; Handley and Benton, 2012

[4] Fan, 2000; Dean and Kiu, 2002, Dhar and Balakrishnan, 2006; Ngwenyana and Sullivan, 2007

[5] Rebernik and Bradac, 2006; Hofer et al, 2009; Hartman and Grahl, 2011; Bhattacharya et al, 2015; Amster and Bohm, 2015; Steinbach et al, 2018

[6] Handley and Benton, 2012; Vaxevanou and Konstantopoulos, 2015; Handley and Angst, 2015; Schoenherr et al., 2015; Lacity and Wilcocks, 2017; Magnani et al., 2019; Wei, 2021

7] Embleton and Wright, 1998; Lonsdale, 1999; Darwin et al., 2000; Koh et al., 2004; Gottschalk and Sollisather, 2005; Qi and Chau, 2013; Schwarz, 2014; Gorla and Somers, 2014; Wolverton et al., 2020

RIP RFP - Why moving to Agile IT Sourcing adds more value, rapidly

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 16:39:04 GMT

Author: Lauren Bower

Founder

IT outsourcing contracts nearly always fail to meet expectations, it’s a fact! I've made it my business to find out why. One conclusion is that the methods we use to procure our IT outsourcing deals are outdated. In this article I'll show how the Agile Sourcing approach is :

1. Advantageous over traditional Sourcing

2. Increases opportunity & Reducing risk.

3. Great for suppliers

Traditional RFPs coupled with back-ended, arm’s length legal exchanges fail to deliver high value quickly. This is already being exacerbated as businesses IT outsourcing increasingly moves towards SaaS, PaaS, cloud, and automation technologies. The main challenges I have with traditional processes are.

Pace - They take too long to deliver value into the business
Lack of collaboration - They are run at arm’s length and afford little opportunity for the supplier and buyer to collaborate on the solution.
Process heavy and restrictive - Their format dictates lengthy and similar responses with little opportunity for creativity.

My research shows that the impact of these challenges is a long, expensive (for buyer and supplier) and low value process, that results in a contract that provides for a gap in expectations, and a poor starting relationship.

Agile Sourcing delivers high value outcomes, quickly.

Having researched the problem for over a decade, I have designed and iterated an Agile Sourcing approach to respond to these challenges and had the pleasure of running the approach many times for our clients at Horizon Seven .

Agile sourcing addresses the issues with traditional sourcing methods in 6 ways;

Starts by defining the buyer’s outcomes, in real terms from the sourcing project
Defines a clear, outcome-based business case before going to market
Brings the shortlisting to the front of the process to focus on few suppliers.
Face to face collaborative design of solutions in agile workshop sprints -client and supplier understand each other’s ways of working prior to selection
Parallel run contract negotiations enable evaluation and best contract for the solution as well as rapid execution
Typically taking 4 months from conception to contract signature, for even the most complex deals – compared to a typical cycle which takes 12-18 months

Ultimately, Agile sourcing delivers greater outcomes, and reduces risk

Compared with traditional, and even hybrid approaches, Agile Sourcing identifies and deals with risk rapidly and identifies and enables opportunity realisation more quickly.

Agile sourcing is better for suppliers

Typically, the industry has little sympathy for the supplier community and wasted effort expelled through bidding processes. With this approach suppliers benefit from.

More highly engaged, informed clients leads to a better engagement with the suppliers.
Suppliers have the freedom to be creative with the client, face to face.
The whole response is well understood by the client.
The solution and the contract evaluated and on more than just price.
Suppliers are engaged and shortlisted quickly; they can have more confidence about a well-run process.
An efficient process it costs less to bid, with more likelihood of winning.
A well-defined, concise process it is unlikely to derail or miss its deadlines.

In summary, not only is the RFP dead- it should have been buried a long time ago! There is a better, proven way to achieve higher value, lower risk - all more quickly. I'd be happy to share more on Agile Sourcing with those keen to know how to change their IT sourcing world for the better.

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Buying Tech Development Capabilities in an Agile Way

Author: Melanie Humphries

CEO

BUYING TECH DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES FROM PARTNERS

MOST IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN PROCURING DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES

Desired Outcomes

Delivery

Relationship

HOW CAN AGILE SOURCING HELP IN PROCURING DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITIES?

Speed

Collaboration

Capabilities

TOP TIPS FOR DEVELOPMENT CAPABILITY PROCUREMENT

Robust Understanding

Supplier Relationship Management

S-FAST® Agile Sourcing

Accelerating ERP Success - Strategic Procurement & Implementation in the Cloud Era

Author: Melanie Humphries

CEO

introduction

55% to 75% of ERP implementation projects fail to meet their

objectives - whether measured in terms of cost, timelines,

functionality, or expectedbusiness benefits."

Gartner 2025

the c-suite perspective

common pitfalls - what goes wrong and why

1. Choosing a Platform Too Early

2. Misjudging the Role of the Implementation Partner

3. Running a Slow, Paper-Heavy Selection Process

beyond traditional procurement - agile sourcing ( s-fast® )

1. Define the 'North Star'

2. Select the implementation partner

4. Sign aligned contracts

Delivering Value Faster - From Blueprint to Business Benefit

AI, Automation & ERP Hype

a smarter way forward

FIVE TAKE AWAYS

New Tech, Old Tricks

Author: Melanie Humphries

CEO

Author: Claire Agutter

SCOPISM

Modernising Technology Sourcing for Increased Business Value

Industry Context: Pressure to Modernise

The Problem with Legacy Procurement Practices

Modern Procurement Strategies: Horizon Seven’s Agile Sourcing Model S-FAST®

Integration and Value Realisation: The Role of SIAM

Strategic Recommendations for C-Suite Leaders

About the Authors

Buying Tech Enabled BPO - Using Agile Sourcing

Author: Clare Martin

Consulting Director

BUYING TECH ENABLED BPO

MOST IMPORTANT STEP IN PROCURING TECH-ENABLED BPO TECH & SERVICES

Sourcing Strategy

Value

ADVANTAGES OF AGILE SOURCING IN PROCURING TECH-ENABLED BPO TECH AND SERVICES

Agility

Collaboration

Capabilities

TOP TIPS FOR PROCURING TECH-ENABLED BPO TECH AND SERVICES

Sourcing Strategy

Two Sponsors

To Conclude

Buying ERP Technology Solutions - Using Agile sourcing

Author: Melanie Humhries

CEO

BUYING ERP TECHNOLOGY

What's most important to assess to get an unbiased view when it comes to buying ERP platforms and implementation partners?

﻿

WHAT

HOW

WHEN

HOW CAN AGILE SOURCING HELP IN ERP PROCUREMENT

AGILITY

COLLABORATION

PRICE

TOP TIPS FOR ERP PROCUREMENT

Technology procurement & SIAM