Opportunity Assessment

Cequel Consulting has the experience and knowledge to conduct an effective assessment of your procurement organization. The first phase of our methodology is to identify and prioritize sourcing efforts. Cequel will develop a comprehensive enterprise-wide view of the spend data based upon vendor, commodity and business unit. We will quantify and prioritize savings opportunity by commodity based on a thorough analysis of spending behavior, marketplace trends, the procurement process being deployed, and selective benchmarking of contract pricing. Lastly, we will develop an implementation plan for the timely realization of savings.

Our assessment will involve the following activities:

  • Enterprise-wide data collection
  • Functional interviews with key executives and operations stakeholders to fully understand the company’s strategy and processes. In addition, we will interview selected suppliers for an external perspective of your company as a customer.
  • Benchmark your company’s performance and business processes against best-in-class procurement organizations to identify potential areas for your operations’ improvements.
  • Identification and prioritization of savings opportunity based on spend levels, overall savings opportunity, marketplace trends, of the procurement processed currently being used, and ease of implementation.
  • Skills assessment of the procurement organization personnel, and suggested training curriculum.
  • Develop recommendations and an implementation plan that includes the proposed sourcing approach, estimated costs, necessary resources, benefits, and timing.

Project Implementation

Cequel Consulting can assist your organization in delivering rapid results in both direct and indirect spend categories. We are the perfect complement to procurement organizations that have limited resources, skills sets, tools or processes. We are implementation experts. This phase will include the use of our consulting services, project management, sourcing templates, and technology tools that are required to strategically source categories.

When you engage Cequel, your personnel will work side-by-side with Cequel’s consultants utilizing our category expertise and not only implementing, but also learning our proven, results-oriented delivery process. Cequel uses an 8-step methodology to achieve accelerated savings results. We provide hands-on execution to ensure aggressive, yet high quality implementation.

Our methodology will include:

  • Global Supplier Research: extensive analysis will be done to identify all potential global suppliers and assess their strategic fit.
  • Category Profile: using Cequel’s template as the foundation, Cequel will work with your cross-functional personnel to develop a Category Profile that will encompass all aspects of a traditional RFP, RFI, and RFQ.
  • Supplier Communication: this step includes communication plans and strategies to maximize supplier involvement, and provide assistance on the technologies used (e.g., web-based Category Profile).
  • Category Profile Analysis: qualitative and quantitative analysis of all Category Profiles returned from suppliers will be done to help facilitate the process for supplier selection.
  • Site Visits: additional market intelligence will be gathered by conducting site visits to significant suppliers. Information will not only assist in the selection of which suppliers negotiate with, but will also provide valuable information for the actual negotiations.
  • Negotiations Preparation: Cequel will facilitate the development of negotiable issues, and will assist in the preparation of negotiations through the use of various electronic tools and role playing.
  • Negotiations: detailed discussions with potential suppliers trying to negotiate the framework for a future working relationship. Depending on the category and the selected sourcing strategy electronic reverse auctions may be used.
  • Supplier Selection: recommend award of the business based on Category Profiles, negotiations, or auction results. Cequel to provide analytical support, including optimization tools to our clients in its selection of the supplier(s) with the best strategic fit and using a Total Cost of Ownership approach.

Through the use of this process you should see:

  • Accelerated and improved savings
  • Increased supplier participation and involvement
  • Focus on total cost of ownership for an improved supply base
  • Increased service enhancements
  • Knowledge transfer that will institutionalize the approach and process used in order to ensure long-term sustainability

Supplier Relationship Management

After supplier selection Cequel will work with our client’s cross-functional category teams to implement the new supplier alliances. Our job is not complete until our client is satisfied that the new supplier alliances are implemented, compliance and results can be tracked, and the category team can manage the relationship.

We will:

  • Teach our client’s a process for implementing its alliances.
  • Identify transition roles and critical success factors of a successful implementation.
  • Develop management tools to ensure agreements are delivering the expected results.
  • Utilize an annual review process that will be used to assess the effectiveness of sourcing agreements, and to maximize the sourcing benefits for the long-term through joint-cost reduction teams.