The SI engagement playbook
Make no mistake, your SI’s plan to secure a sole source award for your Implementation is set in motion from the moment they land resources to begin the strategy phase of your transformation initiative. There are several key tactics SIs will employ to lay the foundation to obtain a sole source implementation award:
- SIs immediately begin by endearing themselves to your senior leadership and quickly work to establish trust and gain insights into your organization. As that trust builds, they make it harder for other SIs to gain that access.
- Your SI strategy team works hard, as well, to establish trust and rapport with your project leadership team over the 6-10 weeks of strategy development, in such a way that your team can’t imagine reinvesting that time with another provider.
- The SI strategy team manufactures additional leverage in how they represent the timeline. SIs engineer their timeline in such a way that you couldn’t possibly go out to RFP without impacting the productivity of the team. They accomplish this by positioning quick wins post-award that leverage their depth of knowledge and understanding of your business, knowing you would be hard pressed to maintain that cadence should you select a new partner. They know full well you would lose traction and momentum on your implementation as you bring a new SI up to speed, essentially putting your project team on the shelf.
These specific tactics are intended to incent you and your organization to provide them a sole source opportunity to secure an award for your implementation and not take this opportunity to market.
Read More from This Article: IDG Contributor Network: Sole sourcing negotiations: SI tactics and CIO countermeasures
Source: IT Strategy