Contract Management
Organisations in both the public and private sectors are facing increasing pressure to reduce costs and improve financial and operational performance. New regulatory requirements, globalisation, increases in contract volumes and complexity have resulted in an increasing recognition of the importance and benefits of effective contract management.
Contract life cycle management is the process of systematically and efficiently managing contract creation, execution and analysis for maximising operational and financial performance and minimising risk.
We work with our clients to establish the critical contract metrics and risks to be managed during the contract phases. Our expertise covers the complete contract life cycle and we can assist you through all or part of the cycle.
Training and Skills Development
Proven, cost-effective learning solutions to rapidly advance the skills of your procurement related team members.
The challenge for sourcing and procurement is to continually reduce costs whilst also delivering new kinds of value to the organisation by becoming more innovative, commercially-driven and agile.
MB Associates can help meet the needs of your organisation to achieve a broader and more integrated employee skill set through the deployment of advanced and effective training courses and development programmes to meet your short and long-term needs.
We offer an extensive, proven sourcing and procurement training framework, which is aligned with our delivery of programmes in a variety of specialty skills in areas such as contract and relationship management, high performing procurement team leadership, quality and process excellence, project management, risk management and sustainability.
With broad consulting, outsourcing and project management experience, MB Associates can help your organisation drive measurable improvements in the performance of your sourcing and procurement team, increasing the real-world value it delivers to the entire organisation.
We can tailor a training course around your specific requirements and have a series of off-the-shelf training courses at your disposal, which we are also able to tailor to meet the specific needs of your organisation:
Call us to learn more.
Procurement Maturity Assessments
What is a Procurement Maturity Assessment?
A Procurement Maturity Assessment is an independent detailed assessment of your procurement capability and provides you with tailored recommendations and an action plan for improvement, as well as a benchmark scores against similar institutions. The purpose of this is to help you to understand your current procurement maturity, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your procurement functions, provide a road map for improvement, which can, in turn, lead to significant savings and added value.
How can MB Associates help?
Our experienced procurement team have been involved as procurement change agents in both the public and private sectors and understand the dynamics of change. Our clients receive the following:
Assessment is based on over 80 data questions supported by an in depth investigation of source data and processes, covering eight procurement elements.
Call us to learn more.
Strategic Sourcing
MB ASSOCIATES’s Strategic Sourcing service provides a rigorous and disciplined process for category management which can drive cost savings and improve supplier service.
MB ASSOCIATES’s Strategic Sourcing service starts by establishing category cost baselines, identifying the total cost breakdown, and analysing relevant supplier markets. From this we recommend appropriate strategies for the category.
Our team can then produce the procurement plan and RFP/ tender documentation and the approaches and commercial models they require. We look at the appropriate methodologies for evaluating quotations and tenders and the negotiation strategies to be employed.
We can write implementation plans for new strategies to plan for the category success. Our extensive and international experience across categories and sectors provides a unique foundation to all sourcing strategies.
Procurement Interim Management
MB ASSOCIATES’s procurement interim management enables you to overcome short-term capability deficiencies and introduce international good practice delivery and innovation.
Organisations frequently face short term or unexpected requirements that place additional strain on procurement resources – MB ASSOCIATES can help bridge this gap through effective interim management.
Our support enables you to maintain and improve procurement agility in the short term while working out your longer term solutions. Our broad experience, tools and processes enable us to hit the ground running with our experienced consultants and subsequently delivering rapid results.
We give you immediate access to our local and international expertise across categories and sectors, as well as links to our extended network of capabilities such as analytics and market research. We can provide this on a consultancy assignment. Where appropriate, we provide interim management from procurement assistant up to CPO level.
We ensure that the knowledge and insight we gain is transferred to your Procurement team, and doesn’t just reside with a particular individual. We buy-in to the delivery of your business objectives.
Procurement Transformation and Organisational Change Management
The role of Procurement is evolving rapidly from a tactical team focused on cost reduction to a strategic entity driving organisation-wide value.
MB ASSOCIATES adopts a holistic approach toward procurement transformation that focuses on building a high-performance procurement organisation in the shortest period of time.
Like any transformation program, the real challenge is in the implementation. MB ASSOCIATES differentiate ourselves by supporting our clients throughout the transformation journey.
Organisational Change Management
Planning and managing significant cultural, process or technological change is one of the greatest challenges faced by any organisation. The rewards of successful change can be great but the risk of failure is high and is often not simply restricted to the change at hand, but to future change too.
MB ASSOCIATES not only assists our clients in navigating the change landscape, but also in building up change management competencies and confidence across the client organisation.
Procurement Strategy and Business Case Development
Expectations in the board room are rising – and to meet them, procurement organisations need to innovate, reinvent and transform themselves.
At MB ASSOCIATES, we believe in aiming for procurement excellence. So it’s not about being better, it’s about being best-in-class. We can help you develop an organisation-wide procurement strategy or a dedicated project strategy – aligned to your business objectives – that’s engineered for success.
The business case sets out the policy, business and contract objectives and the issues that affect the decision, procurement options and the investment. It should seek to establish that the proposed contract will meet the need, that it is achievable and affordable, and it should address the following issues:
At MB ASSOCIATES, we believe that procurement should be thought through at the very earliest stage of the project life cycle and at business case stage the procurement options are essential.
We are well experienced in the production of Business Cases across many diversified sectors together with the production of associated procurement plans.
Tender Management
Exploit MB ASSOCIATES’s decades of experience in crafting procurement and sourcing strategies and learn what it takes to develop a compelling proposal winning EOI/RFP response.
There are various types of contracts available in New Zealand, MB ASSOCIATES have multinational experience and are well suited to advise on what would be the most suitable and productive in getting the best result your organisation requires. The process of tendering requires that you obtain the best value and not necessarily the lowest price. We can carry out the full procurement process from EOI to RFP to the issuing of the purchase order.
While price is an important part of any organisations buying decision, it is frequently not the number one criteria. Buyers want to know that their suppliers are responsive to their needs, innovative, have good quality products and services; and ultimately that their suppliers will be good business partners with them in the future.
As an international procurement consultant, MB ASSOCIATES has designed thousands of EOIs/RFPs. We have evaluated multitudes of proposals to secure the highest quality services at the best prices and advantageous terms and conditions.
MB ASSOCIATES’s Procurement Solutions go beyond the typical engagement
We not only help you identify and negotiate with suppliers, we remain involved to ensure ongoing compliance with terms and conditions. We share sourcing knowledge, lessons-learned, and insights gleaned from working for the most successful organisations worldwide.
Richard is an accomplished professional with 25 years of strategic, commercial and procurement leadership experience of infrastructure and facilities management projects. He has extensive programme leadership roles in procurement in strategy definition and execution, options analysis. business case development, strategic sourcing, tendering and bidding and negotiation, implementation and operational and facilities contract management.
He has led the procurement and capital programme management, operational management and commercial negotiation for 50+ large scale capital intensive programmes (Value of c£1.2bn each), 35 of which were PPP schemes. He has extensive client and stakeholder change management experience, strategic planning, business planning, developing commercial structures (PPP’s, JV’s, alliances, SPV’s) contract management and project financing skills.
Having had P&L responsibility for a $120m operating division, he is at home in financial and commercial management, business development, stakeholder management and contract and claims management. A risk management public speaker and author of various trade and journal articles. Richard has international capital procurement and facilities management experience in England, Hungary, Slovakia, Canada, Greece, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Cyprus, New Zealand.
Richard is an MBA qualified management accountant and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS). He is a PRINCE2 qualified practitioner and also Member of the Association of Project Managers. Richard has provided strategic procurement advice and leadership to a series of major public and private sector clients in various sectors including Higher Education, Waste Management, Schools, Hospitals, Defence, Emergency Services, Civil Engineering and Recreation.
Specialities: Strategic procurement, contract management, change management, negotiation, performance improvement, risk management, business case, procurement training
Dave is Partner and heads up our Procurement Advisory service offering. A high calibre, commercially astute, business development focused leader and manager. A coach and mentor that guides teams to make an immediate impact to bottom-line profit and corporate growth.
Dave has more than 30 years’ experience in both the private and public sectors and possessing a unique blend of skills; someone who can improve efficiency, define strategy and streamline operations; open doors and generate revenues; build long-term strategic relationships and also manage major projects, commercial operations building, empowering and motivating teams to success.
Technically and commercially qualified; leads by example; a hands-on facilitator and deliverer of growth and development – translating strategy into operational success.
Experience includes:
• Property, Facilities, Services, Engineering and Technical management. NZ, Europe and UK.
• Strategic and operational procurement and supply management and consulting
• Project and Programme management in the UK, Germany, France and Spain
• Commercial, Procurement, Operations and Sales management in NZ and Internationally.
Collaborating to get you the best result
We’re looking for associates to join our team, if you think you have the skills and experience we need, use the form below to send us your CV.
We are looking for procurement and contract management professionals at all levels who are passionate about making a difference.
Facilities Management, Soft Landings and Whole of Life Advisory
MB Associates have a dedicated business line and team providing Facilities Management and Whole of Life Cost analysis and the associated ‘whole-of-life’ design and procurement advice[1]. We also offer Soft Landings Advisory services to clients in order to promote a well managed approach to pre and post building occupancy.
Soft Landings is not just a set of procedures and policies that should be adopted, its a different way of thinking and is intended to nurture greater understandings between the client organisation, designers, project managers, construction firms and occupiers about how to get the most from the building or built asset. Its not new but brings common sense to common practice.
Essentially whole life costing (WLC), also commonly referred to as “cradle to grave” costing, is a means of comparing options and their associated cost and income streams over a period of time. Typically, a building or asset is procured as a capital item without evaluating the ongoing cost of operation and maintenance which can be up to five times the cost of construction. Costs to be taken into account include both initial capital or procurement costs, opportunity costs and future costs. Only options which meet the performance requirements for the built asset should be considered – those with lower costs over the period will be preferred.
Whole-life cost analysis is often used for option evaluation when procuring new buildings or assets and for decision-making to minimize whole-life costs throughout the life of an asset. It is also applied to comparisons of actual initial and future costs for similar asset types and as feedback into future capital and operational investment decisions.
[1] Whole-life costing is covered by a British and International Standard: BS ISO 15686– service life planning of buildings and constructed assets.
Initial costs include design, construction and installation, purchase or leasing, fees and charges. Future costs include all operating costs, such as rent, rates, cleaning, inspection, maintenance, repair, replacements / renewals, energy and utilities use, dismantling, disposal, security and management over the life of the built asset. Opportunity costs generally represent the cost of not having the money available for alternative investments (which would earn money) or the interest payable on loans to finance work.
The primary benefit is that costs which occur after an asset has been constructed or acquired, such as maintenance, operation or disposal, become an important consideration in decision-making. Previously, the focus has been on the up-front capital costs of a building or asset, and organisations may have failed to take account of the longer-term costs of an asset.
Whole-life costs are considered a better way of assessing value for money than construction costs, which can result in lower short-term costs but higher ongoing costs through the life of the building. This can also apply to things such as design fees, where saving money on fees at the beginning of a project can be outweighed by very much higher ongoing costs through construction and occupation.
Call us for a chat on how Soft Landings and WLC can help you improve the efficiency of your building whilst reducing operating expenditure.
A selection of comments from colleagues and clients. For more, please refer to LinkedIn profile.
Richard has excellent interpersonal skills – a great motivator who always encourages and advises on ways to develop his staff. He has excellent commercial acumen aided by tremendous presentational skills. Good negotiator.
Richard was of tremendous assistance in developing a number of Defra funded projects across the country and was able during his time as part of our team to assist authorities move forward to completion.
Richard played an integral part in assisting my team and I become knowledgeable in a new market sector. He is able to communicate often complex subjects in a clear and understandable manner.
Richard has one of the most insightful and probing minds I have been privileged to work with. He has the ability to very quickly identify the nub of an issue and then to apply his extensive skills and experience to come up with practical solutions to it. Richard has excellent leadership skills but is also able to work very well and comfortably within a team and support/lead with his fellow team members as required. He is personable and engaging and has the ability to put more junior team members at their ease whilst getting the best performance from them. He commands respect from everyone he works with from the most senior executive downwards. It was a privilege and pleasure to work with Richard.
Richard is a self motivated individual with considerable experience within the PFI sector in both the negotitation, variation and closing of these long term contracts. Richard has exceptional financial acumen, is an excellent team leader and possesses outstanding influencing and presentation skills.
Richard is an excellent judge of a situation and his ability to give guidance and direction in complex processes is proven. Complemented with negotiation skills and a habit for making timely interventions and contributions this makes Richard such a valuable person in any high profile, complex or sensitive project or programme. Experienced in overseeing operational projects and comfortable in the political arena I benefited greatly from Richards support over two years and recommend him as highly suitable for a range of roles around major procurements and operational programmes.
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Richard McKenzie-Browne MBA, MCIPS2018-05-24 11:00:382018-05-24 11:02:07Want to make a real difference in Procurement? - Then join our team...
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Richard McKenzie-Browne MBA, MCIPS2018-05-24 10:19:452018-05-24 10:28:41MB Associates welcome Vikki Baker as Team Manager
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Richard McKenzie-Browne MBA, MCIPS2018-04-10 12:24:122018-04-10 13:05:16I know all about Procurement!
