Managed Solutions Generate a Lean Contracting and Procurement Operation

We’ve partnered with countless organisations looking for the best ways to run leaner. In this case, the leader of the technology department of one of the United States’ premier entertainment company was looking for ways to eliminate the disruption caused by a constant cycle of contractors while also driving center-led procurement and contracting decision-making and being the tip of the spear for contracting compliance. It was important to this client that the consulting partner they selected for this project understand its unique employee culture and be able to provide creative solutions that would meet the organisation’s evolving technology business demands.

From pain points to managed solutions

The client realised that the temporary resources they were using in critical human resources roles, tasked with managing a revolving door of vendors, was leading to significant challenges with internal transition and the inability to retain valued talent. Employees would start learning their complex roles but would leave the program in months. A 12-to-18-month timeline for contingent labor was considered above average.

The client’s technology leader knew she wanted to move to a managed solutions model, able to operate outside the company’s contingent labor parameters, and was looking forward to how Protiviti could assist the department.

Our consulting team’s initial assessment indicated that, in addition to a need for dedicated expertise in key areas of contracting and procurement, the client’s department had undefined and untracked key performance indicators (KPIs), leading to unclear project and individual performance, creating operational inefficiencies. A lack of reoccurring data reporting and analysis was also a contributing factor.

Meeting the client where they are

Protiviti’s legal consulting project team, working together with staffing experts from our parent company, Robert Half International, introduced the client to an integrated contracting and procurement management program designed from the client’s business perspective to help them meet their sourcing needs. The managed solutions team, full-time Protiviti and RHI employees, hired to fill specific capabilities, comprises three attorneys, several contract managers and contract analysts, and a procurement requisition manager. The latter is a new position, added to meet the growing requirements of this team’s work.

Our team facilitated workshops to develop and refine policies, procedures, protocols, program libraries and desktop reference manuals to reflect the work the new team would be taking on, ensuring the client’s objectives were being met. We introduced performance metrics and established reporting tools to track individual and program-level performance.

Additionally, we:

• Enhanced adherence to policies, driven by integrating compliance incentives into daily workflows.
• Developed well-organised and accessible contracts, facilitating better oversight and more effective decision-making.
• Introduced expert legal support in drafting contracts, RFPs, and other critical documents, ensuring each continue to meet necessary standards.

The managed solutions team covers the full lifecycle of a sourcing event, from developing the actual business need to issuing an RFP (or solicitation), reviewing RFP responses, helping negotiate business terms, negotiating legal terms, assessing risk, working with the business unit and the client’s internal legal team simultaneously to ensure contracts are as beneficial as possible. The managed solutions team now also shepherds the vendor through onboarding, including basic tasks such as checking insurance and setting up payment processes. Over time, the team has been able to take on expanded work unique to this client including security vendor checks and vendor risk assessments. Administering the contracts, extensive reporting, contract renewals and extensions also fall to this team, which has resulted in its ability to effectively manage the client’s technology procurement processes, managing several thousand contracts and vendors each year.

Significant ROI realised

The advantages of converting to a managed solution were almost immediate for the client and benefits have continued to be realised over time. We crafted more than 20 KPIs that were tailored to how the team could best integrate with and support the entire organisation. As a result, the team has never missed one of those measures in the nearly five years the program has been in place. The team's results are equivalent to three to four times the initial investment, a significant measure for any project of this nature.

Specific results include:

• Delivered significant program cost savings and cost containment in the procurement lifecycle.
• Expanded functional resources and capabilities to other departments across the organisation.
• Created streamlined reporting packages for project leadership to track high-level project status.

Moving to a managed solutions model is stepping outside the box for many organisations but this client quickly realised that the structure of a contractor-led program enabled them to realise goals such as streamlining headcount, and flexibility based on their needs and on their terms. The program team now has a well-established relationship with the client’s internal departments and the resulting institutional knowledge about how the company functions has generated additional soft savings.

The nine individuals currently on the program team have tenure (a few have been with the program since its inception) and have generated their own incredibly strong brand within the client’s infrastructure. The managed solutions team is now demonstrating world-class capabilities with its business unit fully dedicated to supporting contract execution more efficiently and effectively than ever before.

As organisations look to run leaner, this type of outsourcing model frees up internal bandwidth to focus on other strategic priorities while ensuring continuity and predictability of business operations.