Overview
Procurement professionals often struggle to find effective approaches to performing market research, locating the necessary information, and then applying this information to their purchasing strategies. In-depth and high-quality market research can help procurement professionals make better decisions about what to buy, how to buy it, and when to buy it.This presentation reviews key concepts in market research such as researching the industry, understanding market forces, identifying market risk, setting benchmark pricing, and applying this approach to the procurement strategy.
As procurement professionals look to assess the risks that can affect procurements, such as legal challenges, lack of bidders, and a constrained budget, they can also look at the success of the subsequent contract through robust market research.
This process can be overlooked, often viewed as a burden when the government purchasing process is already complex and lengthy. Procurement professionals and internal subject matter experts can be lulled into thinking that they already have all the information they need to develop their solicitations—they know the supplier community, the industry, and what a reasonable price is. However, by skipping this research, procurement professionals =miss out on opportunities to identify new industry trends, new suppliers, important risks, and alternate contract sources. Understanding how sister states procure and decisions they have made can help direct seasoned decisions.
Fundamentally, good market research can help procurement professionals establish answers to the questions their executive team, stakeholders, and taxpayers will ask:
-Why are you buying this good or service?
-How much will it cost?
-Are you buying the right good or service?
-What is the best strategy to buy this good or service?
With increasingly tight budgets and high demands on taxpayer dollars, procurement professionals need remain committed to buying wisely. Market research can help direct purchasers away from looking at only the price tag to making smart decisions for the sake of best value.
What You'll Learn
After completing this online training session, learners will be able to:
2. Perform market research and apply to purchasing strategies