Professional Services Solutions delivering Indirect, Procurement & Supplier Cost Optimisation
With the rapid pace of change in professional services, often the last thing firms will want to devote their own precious resources to is the procurement and category management of supplies and services.
Professional Services firms’ operating expenses can represent 20-25% of total revenue. Encompassing everything from IT and outsourced services to travel, document production and stationery, the vast majority of these costs represent opportunities for your business to find considerable cost reductions and service improvements – if you know where these costs come from and how you can challenge them.
Our expert consultants place you in full possession of the facts enabling you to make informed decisions across a range of options. Our clients value the leverage we bring and our ability to help them to navigate through supplier markets they may engage in only every 3 or 5 years – or less often
With a fully independent approach to procurement we’re not an agent for unnecessary change and will always give your incumbent suppliers the best possible opportunity to retain your business if that’s an outcome you desire.
The savings we release and deliver on a sustained basis can instead be committed to core priorities such as investment in technology or growth opportunities.
Download our Professional Services Solutions white paper today to explore a wide variety of helpful insights including specific actions you can take within your own business.
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Introduction to Expense Reduction Professional Services
Expense Reduction Analysts provide a wide assortment of innovative, industry solutions to help our clients achieve their goals. Here, Jason Adderly, who leads our Professional Services group, explains how we can help your business and some of the key areas we focus on. To find out more about Expense Reduction Professional Services Solutions, download the full white paper today.
"As technology is not cheap, nor is change cost-free it’s important to remember that before investing in fancy new ideas, you should make sure that you’re maximising the benefits of the technologies you already own. Very often this is not the case."
Professional Services Industry Insights
Technology
The procurement of new technology can be a risky business. It’s important to accurately scope the outcomes desired and ensure these are adequately reflected in the schedule and SLA. The commercial aspects of contracts can also be opaque a when you’re buying a service for the first time.
Merger and Acquisition
In a mature market where growth is steady, but slow, many firms have sought to grow scale and capability through merger, acquisition or lateral hire.
Post-merger integration presents its own challenges of supplier fragmentation, inconsistent buyer behaviour and duplication of services which can be time-consuming to address. What’s more, bodies are often buried in the contractual arrangements of the firm you may be acquiring, which can lead to a nasty shock.
Regulatory Change
Professional Services firms are bound by strict regulations, so compliance and risk management are integral to all significant supplier decisions.
Supply chain management needs to address social challenges such as the Living Wage and Modern Slavery together with data and environmental protection all under scrutiny.
Howard Kennedy Case Study
“Most recently ERA forensically interrogated our Travel expenditure to draw out leakage and potential breaches of policy. The resulting analysis has brought much greater visibility to our expenditure and behaviour, and has allowed us to enter into new arrangements in full possession of the facts.” Alan Hutchinson, Facilities Director, Howard Kennedy. Howard Kennedy is a leading London law firm with 54 Partners and has particular strengths in Real Estate, Dispute Resolution, Corporate & Commercial Work. Following successive mergers, ERA’s Professional Services team first began working with Howard Kennedy in 2013. Facilities Director Alan Hutchinson was appointed in 2014 and together with ERA has piloted through several projects.
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"Where a firm lacks category-based procurement expertise firms often react, rather than plan, for an impending contract expiry and can be “vendor led” into inappropriate and costly arrangements."