UK Healthcare Provider

Our experience...

We were approached by the Client to deliver a sourcing project which involved the procurement and distribution of training materials to be used at training events across the UK at 90 venues.

This sourcing project involved the following:

• Confirmation of the business requirements with the Client to confirm the list of training material required for the pharmaceutical events and supporting logical requirements;
• Formulation of the most appropriate kit and sourcing strategy for the project; and
• Strategic sourcing via multiple Request For Quotations (“RFQs”) with the supply market for the sourcing of each item required in the kit lists, and for the sourcing of the logistics element of the project for the pick, pack, stock holding and delivery of the kits to the training events.

Our approach…

Our approach to delivering the project was underpinned by our deep knowledge and experience of best practice principles with regards to strategic sourcing. This best practice approach is designed to ensure that the products and services sourced fully satisfy the Client needs with regards to both the technical and commercial requirements.

The sourcing team at Procuring commenced the project by confirming the business requirements with the Client. The requirements focused on two core areas; the kit list sourcing requirements, and the logistic sourcing requirements for ensuring the kits arrived at the venues correctly in preparation for the training events.

Our Client provided us with a high-level specification which covered the list of equipment required for the events, the number of events being held, and the number of attendees per event. The equipment list for a training kit included differing quantities of items such as stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors, and pulse oximeters, through to other items such as hand gels, antiseptic wipes and batteries. 

We held a mobilisation working session with the Client to examine the business requirements in greater detail. Discussions focused upon the specifications and quantities of each item required in the training kits, and those requirements associated with the logistical elements of the project. The information gathered in this mobilisation stage was used to plan the upcoming sourcing activity. 

Following these discussions, we formulated a kit strategy which focused upon splitting the equipment list into two types of training kit. These were reusable kits and disposable kits. A reusable kit would be held at the different venues and a disposable kit would be delivered in advance of a training event to the venues. This strategy allowed us to reduce wastage and costs where possible by minimising the quantity of stock which needed to be purchased to fulfil the training events. 

Once the kit and sourcing strategy has been finalised, the next phase of the project was to commence our sourcing activity with the market. Our approach to sourcing the equipment for the training kits involved the use of RFQs. We conducted a series of RFQs with suppliers the market for the equipment contents of the reusable kits and disposable kits. 

In addition to engaging with the market for the procurement of the training equipment, we also engaged with suppliers in the market for the logistics element of the project. RFQ processes were similarly conducted for this sourcing activity which included the pick and pack services, stock holding services, and courier services requirements of the project.

Following this market activity, we produced a report for the Client which detailed the results of our sourcing process. This detailed the content, specifications and lead times of the equipment included in the reusable and disposable training kits, along with our approach to the logistics of the project, and our transparent costings model.

Organisational benefits…

The core benefit to the Client was that our team of consultants managed the total sourcing solution from start to finish. This provided the Client with a simplified sourcing process and the piece of mind that their requirements were being managed by industry experts. Our approach enabled the Client to focus on their business-as-usual activity, whilst being provided with one direct point of contact for the occasions that they had any questions about the project. 

Another key benefit of our approach was that the Client was presented with full visibility into the costings of the total sourced solution with our clear and transparent price model. Our approach ensured that the Client was provided with a cost per reusable and disposable kit, along with a breakdown of the individual prices of each item included within the kits.