Now here’s a scary word – procurement! I’ve just finished an e-bid process and I still don’t know if we’ve won. The system had a magic button that, when pressed, automatically made your bid the cheapest. To me, it’s like playing roulette and yet the procurement team told me it was their favourite button! The question is: ‘does procurement really add value in communications?’ By pressing the magic button aren’t we reducing our proposition to a commodity? Can we really compare hiring our services to buying a tin of baked beans? I passionately don’t think so.  It’s about achieving that ideal combination of value, quality, creativity and price. What’s more, every communications company offers something different within these criteria. Of course, your client has to trust that you will deliver what you say you will but how do you communicate this in an e-bid or in a procurement discussion where, more often than not, the only topic seems to be money? Do I think procurement reduces costs for clients?  Absolutely and, of course, competition is healthy from all perspectives. But, at the same time, do our clients trade-off creativity for price through the procurement process? Unfortunately, I often think they do. Successful communication companies have built their business and reputation on the relationships with their clients – How does procurement fit into this process? So what’s the answer? Maybe it’s about embracing the procurement teams and trying to love them as much as we do our day-to-day clients.  Sometimes it’s really difficult though, particularly when the pitch process is de-personalised to the point of an e-bid. What I do know is if you can get on to a procurement roster and build a relationship with the procurement team based on creativity and trust then it works. You gain a huge amount of credibility and your client gains peace of mind, knowing that you have been fully scrutinised and have passed the procurement test. Author: Simon King-Cline