Forget RFPs. Here’s how to actually save money on your consulting and outsourcing spend.

We are now officially in a buyers market cycle of procuring services - this is where most clients make the mistake of using hard, aggressive tactics to get to outcomes that easily be value-enhanced by taking on a more strategic approach.

Just because you are in the driver's seat as a client, it doesn't mean you need to treat your providers badly.

You don’t need to wield that power recklessly or waste it on bloated procurement theatrics. At ValueKnox, we believe savings come from better thinking, not just better negotiating. Here’s how we help clients save serious money without running another 200-document market engagement:

1. Flip input-based contracts into outcome-based ones... with teeth

Based on the deals, we've advised - we know that most deals are still built around inputs; how many people, at what rate, for how long. That’s a fast track to mediocre delivery and rising costs. Instead, we help clients flip the script and pay for results, not effort.

How we do it:

• Define the right outcomes. Not fluffy ones. Real, measurable impacts. Think “cycle time reduced by 30%,” not “implement process improvements.” This created a mindset change in vendors.

• Reconstruct SLAs. “Resolution within 24 hours” means nothing if it’s for a trivial ticket. We design layered SLAs tied to value and urgency.

• Commercial alignment. We co-develop KPIs with vendors so they’re not just fair, but actionable. You hit the outcomes, you earn better margins. You miss them, you lose. Simple, clear and fair.

Why vendors get on board: It gives them certainty and the chance to increase profit by outperforming, not overstaffing. And it gives you transparency, not just time-sheets.

Our competitors or benchmarkers hate it: Because it allows the vendor to increase their margin potential. Our view is that you don't have to dress down a vendor and take everything. If you keep doing that, you'll pay through other means. It's just that you won't know you're paying for it

2. Remediate underperformance, don’t just tolerate it

Let’s call it. Most vendor underperformance drags on for far too long. Clients often feel stuck: the effort to switch feels worse than the pain of staying.

We help our clients get unstuck.

How we do it:

• Use hard data. We bring performance baselines to the table. Not theoretical metrics - actual delivery comparisons from similar vendors in similar industries.

• Run structured health checks. We review existing work streams with fresh eyes. Is this deliverable actually useful? Is the velocity acceptable? Where’s the lag?

• Drive formal recovery plans. If performance is off, don’t dance around it. Set up a 60-90-day structured improvement plan, tie it to commercial levers and monitor it weekly.

Why vendors respond: Because it’s still a chance to protect the relationship and they usually know they’ve slipped. If you’re direct and fair, most will want to make it right. If they don’t, we’ll help you find someone who will.

3. Run an Inverted Bid

Think of it as a reverse tender. Instead of issuing a long RFP and waiting for overengineered responses, you do the opposite.

How it works:

• You define the outcomes you want.

• You set the price point you're willing to pay.

• Then you challenge the market to show how they’ll deliver.

No long sales decks. No “here’s our global capability” fluff. Just: Can you do it, and how?

Why it works:

• Speed. You get to the right shortlist in a fortnight, not six months.

• Quality of response. You see who’s hungry, smart and agile enough to work within constraints.

• Value discipline. It forces vendors to design solutions from a client’s point of view, not a sales quota.

We’ve helped clients run inverted bids that surfaced world-class vendors they’d never have found via traditional tendering.

4. Consolidate where it helps...but also diversify to keep providers sharp

Consolidation isn’t always the answer, but if you’re struggling to get scale discounts or manage multiple small vendors, it might be.

What we look for:

• Redundancy across providers. Are three firms doing variations of the same thing?

• Fragmented commercial models. Too many different ways of billing for similar services often means hidden cost.

• Governance overhead. Each additional vendor adds management effort. Sometimes consolidation simplifies ops and saves money.

But equally...diversification is a powerful lever.

If one provider has become too big, too comfortable or too embedded, introduce targeted competition. Use niche vendors for specialist work or innovation trials. Keep incumbents honest.

We call it ‘horses for courses’ strategy - consolidate to gain scale where needed, and diversify to inject energy, creativity and competitive tension.

5. Review and agree co-investment models...but follow the money

Every vendor loves to say “we’ll invest in this partnership.” But scratch the surface and it’s usually the same three things:

• Some pursuit hours that were never going to be billed anyway

• “Free” SME for a workshop

• Recycled tools that cost them nothing to roll out

At ValueKnox, we unpack these promises and follow the money.

What we do:

• Demand line-of-sight to real spend. If there’s “investment,” we want to see it in a business case, a P&L line item or a committed budget.

• Agree what counts. We codify the difference between genuine co-investment (capital, assets, build cost) and BAU Senior Effort/Admin Costs.

• Negotiate for shared benefits. If they’re investing, we agree on more attractive terms - so it’s fair on both sides.

Why vendors engage: Because when they do have skin in the game, they want a commercial return too. And we’re fine with that - as long as everyone’s cards are on the table.

Bottom line? You don’t need to run a 16 to 20 week market process to get more value. You need a better procurement playbook.

At ValueKnox, we help clients reset vendor relationships, renegotiate smarter contracts, and run fast, creative processes that actually deliver savings.

We don’t help you beat up vendors. We help you build commercial relationships that work for both sides.