Telecom Category Management Planning 101

First and foremost, Telecom Category Managers must ensure that any telecom category management plan is developed and communicated with a clear mission, vision and guiding principles for the technology sourcing organization to align with, and support both IT and business strategies.

Plans should ensure key competencies are included such as:

• Senior stakeholder management– Collaborate with your CXO’s, SVP, VP, and MDs of information technology and business executives to develop strategies that leverage technology vendor ecosystems to achieve business and IT strategic priorities. Ensure the right vendors are used in the right areas for the right products and services.

• Supplier Management–Analyze your current vendors, spend, products, services and performance information is vital to your ability to develop a clear position to drive forward any plan or future state technology goals. Leverage this information to evaluate optimal sourcing options, taking into consideration outsourcing/cloud, hybrid and insourcing models.

• Key analytics and statistics– Evaluate and Identify the best options for your supply chain which may include acquisition of new technology products, outsourcing or insourcing, or other alternatives such as joint ventures, brokering vendor partnerships or potential technology acquisitions. Build an operating model that supports a bimodal sourcing approach.

• Finance– Develop recommendations and provide pertinent input to technology sourcing options as they relate to stakeholder financial goals and plans. Having a clear understanding of your network end of life cycle, inventory renewal pipeline and contract expirations is key.Once you’ve summarized your current suppliers and costs outline a plan to administer, lead, coordinate and manage any identified go to market RFP initiatives focusing on competitive bid process for technology products.  Understand your stakeholder’s current P&L, budget constraints, overlaid with technology goals and factor your current financial position into the overall team savings goals and expenditure goals.

• Project management of the strategies– Manage projects against an approved plan and objectives to ensure that commitments are met by monitoring, assessing, and resolving variances in budget, timing or quality of work across teams.  Summarize how initiatives will be prioritized, reported and tracked with key milestones KPIs and SLA and hold teams and suppliers accountable.

Finally communicate with executives and build support Promote and communicate the sourcing strategy to the organization’s senior executive team, ensuring that it is well-socialized and well-supported by key stakeholders.  ** TIP develop an action plan to evolve sourcing into a strategic business function (i.e. you have a seat at the table and your team is viewed as key to their success vs here go get this contract complete this is what were doing.)

Once everyone is onboard:  Administer,  Lead, Coordinate and Manage the goals and objects set forth within the category plan through to execution.

Temforce – Category Management SaaS enabling teams to manage their Telecom, IT Categories and Suppliers through 1 easy to use application.