Understanding the total costs of acquisition of any product or service is key to optimising the savings that can achieved when negotiating any contract. This is the approach that Purchasing Solutions adopts when procuring categories of spend. It has yielded millions of €’s in savings for our clients. Take the purchase of Legal services as an example:

• Exactly what type of Legal Advice is required (e.g. Conveyancing, Corporate, Civil, Debt Recovery, etc.)
• How much is going to be spent in the 2 to 3 years overall and on specific requirements
• Establish whether retainers and/or hourly/daily rates are most appropriate
• Tender as appropriate to Firms capable of providing specific and/or overall requirements
• Negotiate with selected Firms and put in place contracts and service level agreements (SLA’s) including rebates for spend thresholds
• Ensure that you receive regular management information reports detailing the all aspects of each project including spend to date
• Ensure that all appointed Firms advise when 50% of the various projects budgeted spend has been consumed so that Client stays in control of legal costs
• Ensure proper internal drawdown procedures are put in place to ensure that all aspects of the SLA and cost control measures are adhered to.