| |SEPTEMBER - 20238CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONTHE PROCUR EMENT CLOCK: MAXIMIZING VALUE THROUGH EARLY PROJECT ENGAGEMENTI have been asked thousands of times by stakeholders throughout my more than 30-year career in Procurement, "When should Procurement get involved in a project?" The answer I give is: "as early as possible," which prompts the question, "When is that?" My response is to think of a clock. Not a true ticking clock, but a timeframe flow with hourly or a block of hours' activities to bring clarity to a project. This can help determine the procurement process that offers the most benefit by being involved early enough in a project.Therefore, when asked "When should Procurement get involved in a project?" I tell the stakeholder, "I want to be the second phone call, text, email, etc. you make. The first should be your manager or other stakeholder(s) you need to inform of the idea/need. I realize this might not always happen, but it emphasizes By Steve Walker, Director, IT Procurement and Category Management, Delaware Norththe importance of getting information to Procurement as early as possible. Putting this all into a 12-hour clock, I start at 12:01. Keeping in mind that this 12-hour clock doesn't abide by the known space-time continuum in that there are a set number of segments (i.e., 720 minutes or 12 actual hours), the segments can be contracted (within reason) or expanded as necessary.12:01 - The stakeholder has the inspiration of an idea/need.12:02 - The stakeholder contacts their manager with the idea/need.12:03 - This is the time I would like to be notified of the idea/need. Procurement may not have a lot of input or work that needs Steve Walker
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