Railway Engineering Services Market Procurement Intelligence Report

Several macro changes in the dynamics of overall Consultancy as well as Railway Engineering Services procurement trends are poised to change the business practices and procurement thumb rules. Suppliers across the value chain are increasing their investments in technologies and incorporating systems integrated with IoT, AI, Big data, and data analytics to generate efficiencies and better serve the evolving demand patterns of buyers. This is expected to impact the cost structure of suppliers in the short-term but will help bring down the costs in longer run as suppliers recover the costs of current investment cycles.

To attract investment and drive long-term value, suppliers are building unique business models and implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and stakeholder engagement programs. Such strategic initiatives are pivotal to acquire a social license to operate, generate consumer awareness, and have easy access to input commodities.

Construction activities and manufacturing of construction supplies are known to be a large source of emissions across the world. Regulatory and social pressures to keep emissions in check have transformed the way construction industry operates. Sustainable practices have penetrated the traditional business processes. There is an increasing demand for green buildings, low carbon concretes and other low emission construction aggregates and renewable energy solutions. All these factors are contributing to a significant change in the procurement standards and practices within the category.

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

Sometimes, procurement functions are unable to timely alter their practices while responding to market conditions. Industry experts acknowledge that periodically reviewing procurement best practices and adopting learnings from across procurement categories can help procurement teams respond to market needs in a more agile way. This report combines our experience of other categories with Railway Engineering Services procurement insights and hand picks best practices that can work for category managers delving in this market.

For example, Buyers should engage with service providers that offer a wide portfolio and can act as a one-stop solution provider for multifaceted requirements of projects. This enables buyers to save significant costs and increases their spend visibility.

Service providers may outsource certain aspects of the project if they lack the required expertise or to expedite the project progress. If the subcontractor is not covered by a reliable liability insurance or does not abide by the same terms and conditions that were laid down for the main contractors, then it can hinder the main contractor's ability to perform its services. It may also entangle the buyers in legal complications and negative publicity.

Large firms should prefer to engage in long-term contracts with a preferred set of suppliers that can provide integrated solutions for all scales of projects (small, mid-sized, or large). Partnerships with preferred service providers lead to category-level innovations and enable buyers to avail customized services.

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