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Remote Work – Setting Up For Success
Jan Malasek • Apr 06, 2020
This might be the first time that some of us work remotely. Sure, there are those occasional Fridays when remote work happened, but this is very different. A lot of us are forced to deliver in much more challenging conditions. Being ready and being effective remotely is important. As someone who has worked virtually since starting OnDemand Resources, and someone who recently prepped several consultants starting new roles at new clients virtually, I want to offer a few thoughts that you might find helpful, especially if this is the first time doing it, and especially for new clients – it is very important to start strong and make a great first impression.
- Make sure that you are available at all times during work hours – be very quick responding to emails, and, in case you miss a phone call from someone at the client, return it/respond very quickly – you want to create a sense that you are 110% engaged despite the fact that you are not on site. This is especially important if you are new to the team, and don’t have existing relationships to draw upon.
- Be proactive in reaching out and introducing yourself to members of the client team, and key stakeholders. This means to initially build a list of people that are key to your projects – proactively use your sponsor and others on the team to help you. If you need additional help, use other consultants on the same project to help you navigate and get a sense of client’s culture, you are in this together.
- Create a dedicated work space – as much as you can, dedicate a space for work – hopefully you are able to curve out a room, or at least a quiet corner where you can fully work without interruptions. Dedicated space, however small provides for much better work environment that allow to focus, and get the job done.
- Ensure that your technology infrastructure supports your needs – Zoom and the likes have become very important tools in connecting with others. There is nothing worse than cutting in/out of video calls, etc. If needed, buy additional bandwidth, and invest in better wi-fi equipment – small price to pay for much higher level of productivity and better engagement.
- Be professional and take the job seriously from the first minute – I know this goes without saying, but I also know that it will be harder on you than being able to walk into the client’s office and be successful, so again, the first impression is very important!
I know that many of these are obvious, yet important. I hope you find them helpful!
Structured approach, cross-functional leadership and rigorous analytics are key to procurement success. I asked a member of our OnDemand Professional Network Priya Kumar to share her approach. Here is her example. SITUATION OVERVIEW Biotechnology company wanted to establish a procurement function for their $120 MM global external operations. Priya was brought in as a Procurement leader to work with the organization to develop a strategic procurement function to drive savings and improve efficiency. APPROACH She worked closely with engineering teams, product development, manufacturing operations and global planning to understand current processes and business priorities. Additionally, she conducted a supplier activity and spend assessment to analyze the current landscape. A thorough analysis of current challenges and gaps in processes revealed the following: Supplier relationships with significant spend were highly transactional Risk and relationship oversight was complex and arduous Frequent planning and forecasting changes led to additional costs, cancellation fees and high risk exposure Supplier contracts were often one-sided, with limited benefits for the client EXECUTION & BENEFITS Priya successfully crafted a robust category strategy to effectively manage and optimize the $120 million expenditure with suppliers . This strategy encompassed thorough market analysis, supplier evaluations, and strategic sourcing initiatives aimed at maximizing value and minimizing risks. Her next step was to streamline processes across the organization, while building a truly strategic procurement function. She built the foundation for strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management and contract lifecycle management. This fostered harmonization in supplier engagement, elevating the value extracted from deepened supplier relationships. By aligning procurement activities with organizational goals and industry best practices, she also fortified the supply chain operations to withstand dynamic market conditions and unforeseen challenges. In partnership with other stakeholder groups, she implemented robust visibility mechanisms within procurement , leveraging advanced analytics and reporting tools to enhance spend transparency and facilitate informed decision-making. This heightened visibility empowered stakeholders to proactively address potential bottlenecks, mitigate risks, and optimize resource allocation. Priya’s greatest achievement was the immediate identification of several contract re-negotiation opportunities that served as quick wins to show procurement value early. Priya developed the negotiation strategy and conducted negotiations with many key suppliers, ensuring alignment with the category strategy and business objectives. In an ever-changing landscape, Priya showed excellent insight and maturity in making agile decisions that would mitigate loss and risk throughout the lifecycle of the contract. She achieved >$15MM of cost savings for Year 1 & 2 through execution of the newly developed category strategy. By leveraging strengthened supplier relationships and employing rigorous negotiation tactics, she secured favorable contract terms and pricing arrangements, driving tangible bottom-line results while maintaining quality standards and service levels. Meet PRIYA KUMAR - OnDemand Professional Network Member Since 2018
Many organizations benefit from implementing Contract Lifecycle Management System (CLMS). The key issues that implementation of a CLMS addresses include (i) lack of a central repository for contracts, documents, and reports, (ii) lack of direct access to documents outside of the contracts organization (email is used to share documents with employees who are not in the contracts organization) and (iii) potential document version control issues . OnDemand recently helped a client with their initial phase of Contract Lifecycle Management System implementation. I want to share the approach and lessons learned as I believe that you will find them helpful as your organization considers enhancements to the way contracts are managed.
As companies move to IT Cloud-based computing infrastructure, many are finding that costs far exceed budgeted forecasts. Such was the case with an organization that recently moved to Cloud-based systems and needed to find ways to reduce and mitigate the unexpected costs.
Tom Donatelli Joins OnDemand To Enhance Our Client Service Capabilities And Broaden Our Market Reach
OnDemand Resources, the leading provider of independent project and interim talent in Strategic Procurement, Supply Chain and Operations is delighted to announce the addition of Tom Donatelli, a seasoned senior executive with significant experience driving cost reduction, process efficiency and business effectiveness across Fortune 500 companies as our new Vice President Client Services. In this role, Tom will work with clients on identifying new opportunities for enhancing their business results and engaging the right talent to achieve exceptional outcomes.
Let’s say you’re committed to reducing costs whether it be direct materials or indirect materials and services. Where do you start? This article covers the essential steps for conducting a spend assessment which has a number of key challenges from “dirty data” to stakeholder alignment.
By Steve Miller – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemiller-coo/ Mike Nolan of SourceSuite.com noted that “the first traces of procurement can be seen throughout ancient history, including the Egyptians in 3,000 BC.”1 Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua made a company’s lead procurement role both famous and infamous over 30 years ago by first helping GM to “save billions of […]
The post CPO Corner – Is Procurement Getting Better, Or Just Older??? appeared first on OnDemand Resources.
March 29, 2023 OnDemand Resources, the leading provider of independent project and interim talent in Strategic Procurement, Supply Chain and Operations is delighted to announce the addition of Gary Long, a seasoned consultant with significant experience supporting clients in their efforts to achieve exceptional results as they pursue cost reduction and efficiency improvement initiatives to the […]
The post Experienced Procurement and Supply Chain Consultant Joins OnDemand Resources To Enhance Client Service Capabilities appeared first on OnDemand Resources.
A global confectionary company with HQ in the US has embarked on a mission to reduce cost and improve strategic supplier relationships. While making strong progress in most areas, Brand and Marketing has been a challenge to engage due to their perception that Procurement lacks subject matter expertise. In order to address this perceived shortcoming, […]
The post BRAND & MARKETING SOURCING – ENSURE SUCCESS BY HAVING DEEP SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE, STARTING SMALL AND BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS appeared first on OnDemand Resources.
Digitization of strategic procurement processes and capabilities has been the biggest advance in the world of procurement over the past 10 years. This enablement allows companies and their suppliers to be more efficient, effective and accurate and hence significantly adds to increasing value across the extended enterprise. Read how a global oil services company went […]
The post Digitize Source-To-Pay For Improved Efficiency, Visibility and Accuracy appeared first on OnDemand Resources.