Being a good customer of consulting Part 2: Driving value and successful outcomes by aligning RFP scope to supplier skills
Conclusion: When engaging the market for consulting services, estimating the resource mix, including experience and skills, can form an excellent basis for evaluating if what is being proposed by consultants is likely to be optimal for the scope, and effective, given the environment of the purchasing organisation.
There are four main elements that should be considered:
- Engagement and project management
- Technical, strategic or design elements
- Guided, repetitive or high-volume elements
- Intellectual property.
The rationale for these, and approaches to consider when evaluating each, are discussed below.
About The Advisor
Michael Smit
Michael Smit was an IBRS advisor between 2019 and 2020 who focused on project and program management, procurement and general IT business management. Michael’s experience began in tier 1 consulting and was further developed across a range of industries with a particular focus in oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and government sectors. Michael’s IT career began in project management and procurement, broadening into program management and ultimately into a head of department role, which he is currently active in. Michael has recently completed a full strategic roadmap delivery from definition to operations. The roadmap covered implementation of a Cloud-first strategy across infrastructure and end-user computing, delivery of new core business applications and full desktop refresh across seven countries. Michael’s active role in industry allows him to support clients with highly practical consulting services that are applicable in real-world scenarios.