How to Buy the Best VMS
(rather than have one forced upon you)
“Create a sourcing strategy for the major software providers. The AD&D leader should analyze her relationship with the major software providers and the alignment between their product road maps and her BT strategy. She can then decide where to build on success and where to reduce dependence on a too-powerful incumbent.”
“Every program is different, and every provider has a unique value proposition in how they approach the market. Partnerships and ownership structures may be one consideration among many. It is nonetheless vital to your long-term success to rigorously evaluate the technologies that match your specific program requirements and select a long-term partner based on their technological and service approach.”
Duncan Jones, Forrester Research, “The New Way to Choose Business Applications,” Selection: The Business Applications Playbook
Staffing Industry Analysts
When an organization selects a new contingent workforce management solution, the final choice is often between a maker of “integrated suites” of software and a “best-of-breed” solution that addresses the organization’s particular needs.
In many cases, the decision on which provider to choose is not made on the merits of the particular software solution, but on the merits of adding another software vendor to the organization’s supplier roster versus rationalizing the number of suppliers to be managed. Even if one supplier’s solution is not ideal, the reasoning goes that if the software is “good enough,” the benefit of having only “one throat to choke” outweighs the advantages offered by the superior solution.
Success has many owners; failure has only one
The problem with the “one throat to choke” theory is that, too often, the wrong throat gets choked.
If you are responsible for your organization’s contingent workforce management program, you need a vendor management system (VMS) that will address all of your organization’s CWM priorities, now and for the foreseeable future. If the VMS you choose fails to meet your company’s needs, whose throat gets choked? Your ERP provider? Your VMS provider? You?
At that point, it will be too late to point out that a solution that appeared to be “good enough” was really not, and that it will cost less in the long term to replace a VMS solution that is not up to the task than to pressure the vendor for performance that their system—or its provider—can’t deliver.
“More and more we are talking with companies about factors beyond pure VMS functionality. Things
like implementation services, ongoing support, and integration
capabilities are increasingly important as clients look for help in designing, implementing, and maintaining their VMS.”
“Playing the executive influence game (CIO, CFO, CEO) helps no one in a formal selection process, which should be fundamentally procurement-led and bestpractices based.”
Brightfield Strategies
Jason Busch, Spend Matters, “Procurement Technology Tip: When Ariba/SAP Plays the Executive Card, What Should You Do?”
Expert advice on VMS procurement strategy
Among the most important criteria are the depth and breadth of the solution’s functionality, including the capability to manage not only traditional contingent staffing, but also more complex services procurement functions, and new, emerging talent sources, all in a single platform. As organizations increasingly focus on talent as a strategic differentiator, VMS solutions are also expected to provide increasingly sophisticated analytics to deliver the insight required to support total talent management and workforce optimization solutions.
As a result of intensifying VMS functionality requirements—and the implementation services, ongoing support, and integration capabilities required to maintain them— industry experts advise contingent workforce managers and their C-suite champions to go beyond pro forma product capability checklists. They advise buyers to probe deeply into providers’ track records and product roadmaps to determine whether their performance matches their promises, and whether their commitment to innovation is robust enough to protect their customers from future threats and capitalize on future opportunities.
In addition to comparing VMS acquisition costs, experts advise conducting a rigorous analysis of the total cost of ownership of all VMS solutions under consideration. This should include program office staffing needs, which can vary dramatically based on the VMS selected, MSP service and support requirements, and hidden costs for VMS implementations, integrations, customizations, and other services not included in the initial VMS program contract.
“A procurement technology company
can’t acquire its way to integrated solution excellence.”
“Enterprises often purchase software from different vendors to obtain the best-of-breed offering for each application area... Although enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors offer numerous enterprise applications and claim that their integrated system is a superior solution, all modules in an ERP system are rarely best-of-breed.”
Pierre
“Don’t Fall for the Myth of Integrated ERP Procurement,” Spend Matters
Gartner IT Glossary
What is software-as-a-service without the service?
For VMS solutions, too often the VMS provider is not equipped or inclined to provide the level of support the program office requires. If the VMS provider provides little more than “break-fix” support once the system goes live, the program office or the MSP will end up having to provide both the operational expertise to manage ongoing activities and the strategic acumen to determine whether and how to expand the system to meet needs involving new geographies, new labor categories, or other requirements.
Lifecycle services to keep your CWM program “future-proof”
A better alternative is to choose a VMS provider whose service starts even before your program does—to meet your particular requirements and set up the training program you will need to ensure that your users and stakeholders get full value from your program.
Then, during VMS implementation, a dedicated team will shepherd your program (people, technology, and processes) through a smooth transition from launch phase to operation. Once in operation, your program should receive not one, but three, levels of support: a relationship manager responsible for strategic counsel, an operations manager responsible for day-today operations and all client deliverables, and a 24/7 support organization ready to address any critical issues for your team, your users, and your suppliers.
SpendMatters
“Buyers face now the choice of going with a solution that is a part of a larger software company or going with a specialist. One of the things that has impressed us about Beeline is that it has continued to innovate in new product and external labor areas. Today, when there is so much change occurring in the world of contingent workforce and technology, customers should turn to their VMS for new ideas and capabilities.”
“Even if you want to keep your SAP-first strategy, you should still look at the broader market.”
Duncan Jones, Forrester Research, “Create A SaaS Migration Road Map That Is Fast, Not Perfect,” Road Map: The Business Applications Playbook
The “Myth of the integrated ERP procurement system”
When the discussion centers on the question of “one throat to choke,” it is worthwhile to consider what SpendMatters calls the “myth of the integrated ERP or HRIS procurement system:”
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on calls with procurement organizations who are frustrated with their IT departments that mandate the selection and use of an ERP vendor….
The bottom line…is that practitioners, in my opinion, can no longer reasonably honor the promise of cross-product integration that ‘runs on the PowerPoint platform’ to get manifested into actual product at a cadence near what procurement executives should expect (especially given the poor track record of delivering products even close to original promise dates).”
The best VMS is the right VMS
The fact is that all leading VMS solutions can integrate with all leading ERP or HRIS solutions. If the integration functionality is essentially the same between a VMS offered by an independent provider and a VMS offered by an ERP or HRIS provider, the decision on which VMS to buy should be based solely on this question:
“Which VMS provides the best combination of functionality, flexibility, configurability, implementation services, integration capabilities (with all relevant software applications), and strategic and operational services to support current and future requirements?”
If you are going to bet your career on the answer, isn’t this a better question to ask than “Which VMS is owned by our ERP or HRIS provider?”
Are you ready to benefit from the best VMS?
For over 20 years, Beeline has empowered businesses worldwide to achieve competitive advantages with their extended workforce. Beeline’s contingent workforce management solutions give companies the visibility to mitigate risks, achieve cost savings, and meet dynamic business needs. With tailored solutions that solely focus on the complexities of the extended workforce, clients leverage Beeline products that fit their unique requirements. Through thousands of integrations, clients can connect their extended workforce data from all technology stacks, including major procurement and HR systems.
Join the list of renowned brands benefiting from Beeline’s deeply seasoned experts, collaborative innovation, and industry-leading partner network.
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02122024