Importance and Management of Procurement Services in IT Sector

by Xperteks - IT Services NYC Managed Service Provider

The dictionary meaning of procurement is "the act of procuring or obtaining something." All the working and non-working professionals are familiar with the term Procurement when it comes to IT sectors.

But, have you given it a thought that what does procurement means in IT industries or why is it important? Or, how do you manage IT procurement? I know you haven't because either you are not interested or nobody explained it to you in the correct way.

If you fall under the latter case, I am your savior for the day. In this piece of text, I will explain you (or try to) about procurement from my understanding and by mixing it with facts and knowledge present out there.

I will answer three questions....What is it? Why do we need it in the IT sector? How do we manage it?

What is Procurement?

It's a process of agreeing to terms, obtaining or buying goods and services from external sources. It includes planning, competitive bidding, preparation and processing of a demand.

The process makes sure that the buyer receives the goods or services within the best price deal without any lack in quantity, quality or time or you can say a comparative study of quantity, quality time and location is done to strike the best deal.

Procurement is a strategy used by any company because the operations will continue only when a company has the power to buy specific material.

If the cost of the end product is less and more money is spent on obtaining the material the company won't be able to survive.

So, now that we know the basic definition and its uses in the industrial sector. Let's not beat around the bush and address the elephant in the room or more like on the blog! (haha)

What is IT Procurement and How to Manage it?

Series of procedures and activities are required to obtain IT product & services.

It involves strategic and administrative roles. Some of the duties require-

a) Management and creation of a request for quotations

b) Proposal request

c) Request for Information

d) Management of supplier relationships

Everyday task includes-

a) Run market research

b) Negotiate pricing.

c) Setup T&C for services

d) Resolve invoice discrepancy

e) To communicate status if purchase with the internal customers

To make your company more efficient, it is essential that the IT and procurement department work together. It any purchase is caused by the latter for the IT department it's pretty obvious they will end up purchasing something that doesn't help the organization.

Similarly, if IT is not familiar with the procurement processes and methodologies or procedure they go through for a cost-effective purchase.

They will end up making suggestions that aren't beneficial.

When they fail to be cooperative and have a productive relationship, it could result in deteriorating morale of the employees.

It's essential for these departments to sync together correctly for the betterment of the company.

Management includes everything that's associated with the governance of procurement services in IT. These procedures are throughout the same for all purchasing events in a company.

Following services are included in the group-

Management of the Vendor- It includes the tasks in connection with the customer-supplier relationship and how to optimize it so that it's useful for the business.

It helps in developing procurer strategies, measuring purchasing performance, taking care of IT supplier relations and communication with the contractors.

Asset Management- It refers to ‘make the maximum’ out of all the resources present in the company throughout their lifespan to achieve best practices regarding IT procurement.

Practices includes are-

1) Developing and maintaining strategies for asset management.

2) Administering information systems

3) Analysing the cost of IT asset

4) Managing asset disposal policies.

Quality Management- This makes sure the IT procurement teams introduce and implement new processes in the management processes to create it's quality better.

This process has its own subparts, like-

a) Product testing

b) Acceptance testing

c) Product quality checks

d) Facility audits

e) Contractor reviews

The above-mentioned pointers and sub-pointers define the creation of the foundation for carrying out efficient purchases, and the end goal is to reach best practices.

Xperteks for IT Procurement Services

If you have a company and you are looking for procurement services. Xperteks is just the company for you.

Get in touch with them for quality IT Procurement services; they will set a benchmark for you-

Visit our website to know more: Xperteks