ACA Compliance Software Category Procurement Intelligence Report

The market for End User Software and Hardware and its sub-segments such as ACA Compliance Software are at an interesting intersection. The cut-throat competition in the category is compelling suppliers to go aggressive on their pricing structure and increase their spend on sales and marketing activities. As a result, most suppliers are feeling a pressure on their margins and trying to offer higher margin value added services to have a better control on their profitability.

The supply market has undergone several structural changes including introduction of several new vendors every year, M&As and vertical integration efforts of suppliers. This has resulted in some issues such as erosion of previously established supplier relationships but has also opened new opportunities to onboard new suppliers that offer a solution with better fitment or a wider range of offerings in .

Rise in the cost of certain essential assets and supplies required to deliver ACA Compliance Software is making a significant addition to the supplier's overall expenditure. This could have an inflationary impact on buyer's procurement expenditure in the ACA Compliance Software market.

Trends like these and many others discussed in this report are necessitating a relook at the way ACA Compliance Software is procured and the procurement cost saving opportunities that exist.

It has become imperative for category managers to remain as agile as possible in terms of their procurement practices. However, it is not always easy to quickly spot and implement alternative practices in a category like ACA Compliance Software. To help quick decision making, this report advises on several procurement best practices that have worked well for category managers.

For example, Needs of buyers can vary depending on the industry where buyers operate. For instance, buyers from the financial services industry give high importance to regulatory compliance and data security, whereas buyers from the e-commerce industry prioritize high throughput, low response time, and high scalability. Hence, service providers with a strong knowledge of the security, compliance, and governance needs of buyers' industries and a proven track record of performance with respect to these aspects should be prioritized.

Developing a strong understanding of the potential vulnerabilities of service providers can help buyers limit their potential losses and also gives the bargaining power to demand services from more robust measures in the SLA.

Buyers must clearly define clauses pertaining to the ownership of subcontracting services that are not a part of preferred suppliers' portfolios. Subcontractors should be bound by the same terms and conditions as the main contractor to ensure consistency in quality and manage any adverse event such as data breach.

ACA Compliance Software procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for ACA Compliance Software procurement. Some examples include: