With the industry shifting towards value led procurement, are all layers of the supply chain approaching a ‘Gandelf Moment’? Our belief is that unless they can shift their behaviours and culturally align themselves to the new world, indeed they are….
Across the Infrastructure, Defence and Energy sectors there is an aspiration from client organisations to become more ‘intelligent’. What this means varies from organisation to organisation with some having a strong grasp of their vision, some using the likes of Project 13 principles to aid said vision and others having no idea, being driven by the pain of an inefficient current state but having no real clue as to what a different world could look like.
This results in new procurement models, entering clients and the supply chain into unfamiliar commercial relationships. These reward in a different way, often more enterprise in construct focusing much more keenly on outcomes. As part of this shift, the academia of the new models has been thoroughly and expertly thought out, laid out and executed. So why once in contract are these so hard for all parties to understand, obtain value and ultimately deliver?
Simply put, it comes down to minimal focus being put on behavioural change.
Clients that have taken a different direction by embedding behavioural and cultural assessment within their procurement process, have seen an improvement in the delivery of their programmes. By engaging in a more competitive dialogue, clients and their supply chain partners have been able to cut through the sales pitch to address the real client requirement and articulate the ‘how’ and ‘why’ in a way that enables more equitable partnership.
Will this in isolation fix all the problems, no it won’t. But the supply chain knowing ‘You Shall Not Pass’ unless they engage seriously and honestly around behavioural change, cultural alignment and long-term people development has certainly turned the dial!