Non-Clinical Trial Services & Expenses Category Procurement Intelligence Report

Business practices within Non-Clinical Trial Services & Expenses market are heavily influenced by changing trends across the category as well as within the broader Science and Environmental Research market. Proliferation of supply pool in regions such as APAC is expected to intensify supply market competition. This will compel service providers to compete on price points to attract new buyers, which is expected to offset some of the increase in procurement cost arising out of increasing supplier OPEX.

Data security and maintaining the confidentiality of client data and other sensitive information has towered over most of the discussions related to the category. Most geographies now have stringent regulations to protect data, privacy and confidentiality. Although suppliers now have a value proposition that puts data security and confidentiality at the forefront of marketing pitches, adherence to these standards have also increased OPEX of suppliers owing to increased compliance methods and requirement to change critical processes.

Service providers are increasingly investing in the adoption of automation software and advanced technologies to realize process efficiencies, broaden their service offerings and reduce time to market. This is increasing their OPEX, which will be passed on to buyers in the form of slightly higher procurement costs.

As a result, category managers need to closely monitor the Non-Clinical Trial Services & Expenses procurement trends and identify changes required in their procurement environment for the category.

Non-Clinical Trial Services & Expenses procurement best practices are moving towards a level of sophistication which is typically seen in traditional procurement categories. Category managers now have an attractive opportunity to adapt the best practices seen within this category as well as those being leveraged in other non-related categories. This report summarizes the best practices picked from across multiple categories that could work well for category managers involved with Non-Clinical Trial Services & Expenses procurement strategy.

For example, Adequate RFP response time should be built in for prospective suppliers to enable them understand the scope and performance requirements.

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.

It is crucial to develop measurable milestones that help monitor and benchmark the performance of service providers. In case of variations, buyers should discuss and find appropriate solutions in conjunction with the service provider, followed by the implementation of an effective strategy to avoid variations in the future. The performance of service providers can also be linked to a portion of their fee and can be paid upon rendering of services in a satisfactory manner. For instance, measuring performance based on adherence to budget and accuracy of data or information provided during research.

Non-Clinical Trial Services & Expenses procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Non-Clinical Trial Services & Expenses procurement. Some examples include: