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Friday Response: Procurement - what is the true cost?

  

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Small marketing agency perspective on the arrival of the 'super-procurement' team.

Chloe Malik's article on The Drum postulates that "Procurement divisions were set up initially to save money and streamline the supply chain but it could be argued this leaves the larger agencies on the roster with all the power, but what is the true cost?"

Whilst I have some sympathy with the plight of small agencies I think it is a far stretch to blame 'procurement' for their struggles. We're just clawing ourselves out of the worst financial crisis seen in most of our lifetimes and most brands have had to be very careful with the way they have spent their money during this period.

Large agencies had the flexibility to continue to market themselves well during these difficult times and took advantage of the situation we all found ourselves in. This led to some of the smaller agencies missing out on opportunities that may have gone their way prior to the financial calamity of 2007. This would, obviously, have included agencies like your own which focus on a niche area of marketing.

Your biggest challenge moving forward is one of distinguishing yourselves from the pack. I receive, on average, ten emails a week from agencies like yours that promise to deliver something that no one else can - the challenge is, they are all making the same promises. When it comes to working with one of our clients on selecting an agency to support them in their advertising needs we are always very open minded about including a broad mix of agencies that can meet the brief and we will normally include some smaller agencies that have managed to get through the mist of creds emails.

Unfortunately, when it comes to pitching, many of the big agencies have got this down to a fine art and are very good at grabbing the client's attention and making them feel like they can do the best job. Whilst good procurement professionals can challenge the client to look beyond the glitz of the pitch, we also have to support the client's decision and, more often than not, this veers towards the larger, more established agencies.

Whilst the above might have you reaching for the razorblades it's worth remembering that some of the smaller agencies that take part in these processes do win the pitch. These agencies then get the opportunity to deliver some great work to the client and build a reputation that increases the number of invites they get in the first place.

My advice to you, for what it's worth, is to find a way of marketing your agency to procurement folk so that next time around you get a call to take part. Once you get the opportunity it's up to you to prove your worth or move aside for the next hungry agency.