Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
With 20 years in the industry, we are fully established as the “independent evaluation geeks” when it comes to strategic sourcing; the fact we have 20+ white papers on this single subject says it all. Whilst we love this reputation, evaluation is not all that we do.
Our solution AWARD® has been developed and adapted over the years to meet the challenges you face, the legal regulations you need to follow, and the types of projects you’re managing.
Our solutions span far further than just the evaluation activity; right from market engagement, requirements capture and criteria development through to definition of value for money, robust reporting and links to our expert training. All these combine software and services into a holistic ‘solution’ approach to support the delivery of the best possible outcomes for our clients – our ultimate aim.
So, whilst we are evaluation geeks to our core, we have also learnt a thing or two about how auxiliary/supporting activities have a fundamental impact on the decision-making process – below we provide a quick overview of how else we can help:
1. Providing secure data storage
Our AWARD® Dataroom module provides a secure, resilient cloud data environment allowing you to safely store and share project documentation in real-time with suppliers. With the ability to control the access levels of your project team members, and a clear and transparent audit trail to protect you from challenges, you can efficiently and securely manage the multiple communications that take place throughout your procurement.
2. Enabling collaborative working
Collaboration is at the very heart of AWARD®, and is core throughout the entire solution. It’s specifically designed to manage the collaborative and multi-dimensional nature of complex evaluation; wherever your team members are located, whatever the roles they play and whatever access they require to information. This includes internal and external team members and can be facilitated through our AWARD® Interaction and supplier self-registration module capabilities (dependent on the type of project and whether a sourcing tool is in place or not).
AWARD® has been built with ease-of-use in mind – it allows you and your team (and suppliers/bidders, as appropriate) to collaborate quickly and efficiently. The agile nature of the solution means that it’s able to support you with many of the challenges of the current working environment. It enables teams to continue to collaborate and coordinate with each other; keeping timelines on track and maintaining full transparency through all the critical stages of procurement evaluation, from moderation/consensus scoring through to reporting. You no longer need to all be together to run your procurement efficiently and effectively.
3. Asking great questions and ensuring value for money
Whether it’s the AWARD® Structured Criteria Development module, which has been designed to help teams to author, collaboratively review and capture a project’s criteria, right from the outset of a procurement; or the Requirements Development functionality, which offers each stakeholder the same up-to-date view of each requirement and its associated detail – AWARD® is all about the presentation of information and decision-making in a clear and transparent manner. Our workshops and software combine in the pursuit of clarity and agreement across your stakeholders – getting to the core of a question to ensure that it can be read, understood and answered by your evaluators, rather than throwing up more queries and clarifications.
Delivering value for money is crucial for any project, but unfortunately a lot of the commonly used approaches that aim to do so are flawed. Our Real Value for Money (RVfM) methodology has been specifically designed as a pioneering alternative, and embedded into AWARD’s RVfM module. RVfM provides a robust approach to help you define value for money and undertake sensitivity analysis. It also allows bidders to optimise their bid so they can deliver you the best value for money solution possible.
4. Creating a robust audit trail
Throughout the procurement process, AWARD® provides controlled access and the ability to record all competition data within the platform. It provides clear visibility of the entire process and a robust automatic audit trail, helping you to confidently and efficiently select the best supplier for your procurement. This in turn can protect you from any bidder challenges.
5. Delivering expert thought-leadership and guidance
We offer a wide range of expert services, including the very latest industry insight and innovative thinking. Our team of consultants provides best practice support for every stage of your procurement, from thought-leadership and workshop facilitation to complex tender evaluation design and delivery, which can be tailored to your individual needs. Our hands-on expert guidance supports you to deliver the best possible outcome on the most complex of procurements.
6. Upskilling you and your team
Whether you’re looking to excel in your job role, upskill your team or discover best practice software tips, we have a range of training courses run by our expert team. From the CPD accredited Principles of Tender Evaluation, to our AWARD® Accreditation Scheme, you can get ahead with help from the AWARD® team.
Our ‘hands on’ approach, supported by tutorials, interactive classroom teaching and training courses, provides a practical working knowledge of the key capabilities of our AWARD® software solution, along with the latest in thought-leadership.
By providing more than just evaluation, we provide an all-inclusive approach to getting better outcomes. You could have a great evaluation process in theory, but if your market isn’t engaged, your weighting isn’t right and /or you’re using the wrong MEAT methodology, you won’t end up with the best possible outcomes.
Take a look at our 6 Steps to Better Procurement Outcomes for some further reading here.
If you’d like to find out more about any of the above, get in touch below.
