Cardiac Safety Category Procurement Intelligence Report

Several macro changes in the dynamics of overall Science and Environmental Research as well as Cardiac Safety procurement trends are poised to change the business practices and procurement thumb rules. There are only a handful of \"Tier 1\" vendors in the Cardiac Safety market and they have traditionally enjoyed a premium in their pricing. However, Tier 2 suppliers are giving them a tough competition now as they can provide similar services at a lower cost. Many tier 2 suppliers achieve this parity by finding right talent at a relatively lower cost and maintaining lean operations without any frills.

Most suppliers of Cardiac Safety are moving up the value chain and offering integrated services that go beyond just Cardiac Safety. Buyers are increasingly collaborating with vendors who can offer one-stop solutions as they now have fewer suppliers to manage and can achieve greater cost savings that arises out of awarding a larger contract to a supplier.

The market is rapidly showing signs of a great divide - at one extreme is a low-cost market with almost commoditized services and at the other end is the market for high cost specialized services. Cardiac Safety vendors are adopting starkly different business models and cost structures to address both the markets.

Category managers need to take note of the potential of these developments and reassess the changes required in their procurement practices.

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 Cardiac Safety. To help quick decision making, this report advises on several procurement best practices that have worked well for category managers.

For example, Buyers should invite bids from all potential service providers that can meet overall requirements. Bids must be evaluated based on pre-defined parameters such as reputation, service offerings, geographical knowledge and expertise, and track record. Buyers can use standard scorecards to evaluate service providers and provide necessary comments to rationalize the given scores. This helps effectively document the decision-making process for buyers.

Buyers must provide all key requirements in detail and ensure that service providers offer precise details regarding processes, systems, manpower, and expected outcome. Regular and effective communication between buyers and service providers are crucial during the contract formation phase, as well as across different phases of the project.

Buyers must clearly define clauses related to ownership of subcontracting services that are not part of their preferred partners' portfolios to ensure service consistency and control of sensitive data that are shared with subcontracted firms. The roles and responsibilities of subcontractors should be clearly defined by supplier to provide visibility on the quality of main service provider vs sub-contractors.

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