The Challenge You Face
You're facing a high-stakes technology or transformation procurement with tight timelines, political visibility, and limited in-house commercial expertise. The risks are significant, and the consequences of getting it wrong are severe.
You're navigating:
- Complex procurement regulations - Public contract rules, thresholds, and challenge risks
- Vendor manipulation - Suppliers who know the rules better than you do
- Specification uncertainty - Unclear requirements leading to costly change orders
- Commercial naivety - Limited experience negotiating complex contracts
- Lock-in risk - Contracts that become impossible or expensive to exit
- Hidden traps - Terms that seem reasonable but create future problems
- Political pressure - Demand for speed conflicting with procurement diligence
One procurement mistake can cost millions and delay transformation by years.
What We Deliver
We provide end-to-end procurement expertise to navigate complexity and avoid traps:
- Procurement Strategy - Route to market, contracting approach, and risk mitigation
- Requirements Definition - Clear, testable specifications that reduce ambiguity
- Market Engagement - Effective supplier dialogue and RFI processes
- Tender Documentation - Legally sound, unambiguous procurement documents
- Evaluation Framework - Fair, defensible criteria for supplier selection
- Commercial Negotiation - Contract terms that protect your interests
- Contract Review & Red-Lining - Identification of problematic clauses before signing
- Vendor Management Framework - Governance for supplier performance
- Exit Planning - Commercial terms that preserve your ability to change direction
We bring procurement expertise combined with technology understanding and public sector realism.
How We Deliver
We work with your commercial and technical teams:
- Procurement Planning - Define strategy, timelines, and governance
- Requirement Workshops - Facilitate definition of clear, testable requirements
- Market Research - Understand supplier landscape and realistic pricing
- Tender Development - Draft procurement documents with legal review
- Supplier Dialogue - Manage market engagement and clarification questions
- Evaluation Support - Score responses, conduct presentations, and check references
- Contract Negotiation - Negotiate terms that balance risk and value
- Award & Mobilization - Manage contract award and supplier onboarding
- Governance Setup - Establish vendor management and performance frameworks
We bring independence and commercial nous without conflicts of interest.
The Hidden Traps We Help You Avoid
Public sector procurement is full of traps:
- Vague specifications that allow suppliers to claim everything is a change order
- Unrealistic timelines that force corners to be cut
- Lowest price obsession that sacrifices quality and sustainability
- Vendor lock-in clauses buried in standard terms
- IP ownership ambiguity that limits future flexibility
- Exit cost penalties that make changing suppliers prohibitively expensive
- Governance gaps that give suppliers too much control
- Benefits vagueness that makes accountability impossible
We've seen these traps before. We know how to avoid them.
Deployment
This service typically deploys early in transformation:
- FOUNDATION - Develop procurement strategy and secure budget
- MOBILISE - Plan the procurement and build internal capability
- DISCOVER - Use discovery to inform requirements
- DESIGN - Develop detailed specifications for tender
- PREPARE - Run procurement, award contract, and mobilize supplier
Good procurement at the start prevents expensive problems later.
Domains
This service addresses three domains:
- Contracts - Commercial strategy, contract terms, and vendor relationships
- Process - Procurement processes, governance, and vendor management
- Technology - Technical requirements, architecture constraints, and supplier evaluation
The contracts domain is our specialty. Most transformation advice ignores commercial strategy. We don't.
Leaving a Legacy
When we exit, your organization will have:
- A fair, defensible contract that protects your interests
- Clear requirements with testable acceptance criteria
- Vendor governance framework for performance management
- Enhanced commercial capability in your procurement team
- Documented procurement process for future use
- Lessons learned from the procurement captured
- Supplier relationship set up for success, not conflict
This isn't outsourced procurement. It's capability transfer through delivery.
Use Cases
We've supported procurement for:
- Enterprise cloud platforms - Multi-million pound cloud infrastructure contracts
- Casework management systems - Benefits administration and citizen services platforms
- Data analytics platforms - Cloud data warehouses and AI/ML capabilities
- Transformation consultancy - Complex advisory and delivery partnerships
- Managed services - Long-term application support and infrastructure management
Related Services
This service combines powerfully with:
