Overview
Background:
Our client’s procurement department was struggling with non-standardised processes, lack of clear strategy alignment, and limited leverage of technology. This resulted in sub-optimal spend management, missed savings opportunities, and inefficient operations.
Our Innovation:
We proposed a Procurement Maturity Assessment using our proprietary Procurement Maturity Assessment Tool (PMAT). This structured methodology evaluates procurement capabilities across 8 dimensions using a 1-5 maturity scale. The approach provides an objective baseline and benchmark to identify targeted improvement areas.
Our Comprehensive Solution:
We customised PMAT to the client’s procurement environment and conducted structured interviews with stakeholders across the function. Our team then synthesized findings into an insightful report detailing current maturity levels by dimension along with best practice examples to inspire change.
Challenges
Challenges:
Initial challenges included stakeholder scepticism of assessment value, survey fatigue, and lack of internal benchmark data. There were also concerns around time commitment given pressing strategic priorities.
Client Expectations:
The client sought an assessment that was pragmatic, actionable, and customised to their procurement practices. They required minimal disruption to operations. The goal was a roadmap to systematically strengthen capabilities vs. a theoretical academic exercise.
Solutions
Focused Scope:
We worked with the client to prioritise dimensions for maturity evaluation, optimising for relevance and impact. This ensured an efficient and targeted assessment.
Stakeholder Engagement:
We conducted stakeholder interviews to collect authentic perspectives. This personalised approach increased engagement vs. a generic survey.
Internal Benchmarking:
In the absence of internal data, we leveraged our cross-industry PMAT database to provide external maturity comparisons. This added context for interpretation.
Practical Recommendations:
Our report not only quantified maturity levels but provided specific improvement plans, tools, and realistic timelines to bridge capability gaps. This pragmatic approach resonated with the operational procurement team.
Results
Enhanced Credibility:
The thorough and impartial assessment increased the function’s credibility with senior leadership by highlighting strengths and improvement roadmap grounded in data.
Better Strategic Alignment:
Clear capability gaps identified through PMAT enabled sharper focus on initiatives to elevate procurement performance and strategy delivery.
Accelerated Improvement:
The assessment fuelled a 30% increase in maturity across targeted dimensions within 18 months. Pragmatic recommendations facilitated adoption.
Financial Impact:
Higher maturity drove process efficiencies and increased spend under management, contributing to £8 million in cost savings.
Client Testimonial:
“The PMAT assessment provided us with an objective baseline to guide our capability-building efforts. We valued Implement’s diligent and pragmatic approach in tailoring the methodology and recommendations to our specific needs.”
