Sourcing consultants come from many sources themselves: strategic management consulting, information technology, human resources, finance, law, and business.
Role of Buy-Side Consultants for Enterprise Customers
Enterprise customers need consultants to assist in structuring their sourcing models, selecting suppliers, negotiating agreements and monitoring and management the performance of the service providers. Consultants help introduce enterprises to new ways of thinking and operating to seize the opportunities and manage the risks of business process management, including shared services organizations, captives, insourcing and outsourcing.
Role of Sell-Side Consultants for Service Providers
While service providers may develop their own internal consulting services on sourcing issues, they still hire consultants to assist in senior management and dealmakers. Among other things, sell-side consultants help identify anomalies and opportunities in pricing, services, terms and conditions, organizational structure, corporate finance and business development.
Selecting a Consultant
Every consultant has a different perspective, though their methodologies may be similar. Enterprise customers should be aware of the impact of the consultant’s methodologies upon the type of outcome and the eventual relationship with the service provider(s). In selecting a consultant, the fit of the enterprise’s corporate mission and values is more valuable than the cost, within a reasonable range of cost.