IT Procurement Consulting & Cost Optimization | Services
From strategic sourcing and RFX processes to vendor negotiations, cost-out and procurement transformation. The focus is on clear decision-making, commercial impact and actionable results.
Reduce IT Costs
Cut costs, realize savings
Negotiate Strategic Vendors
Prepare contracts, lead negotiations
Source IT Services & Technology
Create competition, run tenders
Build Better IT Procurement
Improve processes and steering
Procurement Strategy
Strategy, operating model and sourcing logic for effective IT procurement.
Problem — IT procurement often grows historically: responsibilities are scattered, vendors are managed decentrally and sourcing decisions follow no consistent model. This makes cost control, negotiation and governance harder.
Approach — I develop a clear target picture together with procurement, IT and finance – including category and sourcing strategies, make-or-buy decisions, vendor segmentation, governance and a prioritized roadmap.
Typical outcome — An actionable procurement target model with clear responsibilities, decision paths and measures that connects cost, speed and risk control.
Typical building blocks / deliverables:
- Procurement Target Operating Model
- Category and sourcing strategies
- Vendor segmentation and governance
- Make-or-buy decision models
- Roadmap and implementation plan
IT Procurement Optimization
Making existing procurement processes faster, clearer and more controllable.
Problem — Slow approvals, inconsistent tenders, missing standards and unclear interfaces between IT, procurement, legal and finance increase effort and reduce negotiation leverage.
Approach — I analyse end-to-end processes, roles, templates, decision logic and data flows. Standards, governance and meaningful automation or tool support are then defined.
Typical outcome — Shorter cycle times, better comparability, clear responsibilities and a scalable process for recurring IT procurement.
Typical building blocks / deliverables:
- As-is process and pain-point analysis
- RACI and governance
- Standardized RFP/RFQ templates
- Approval and escalation logic
- Procurement playbooks and guidelines
- KPI-based process steering
RFX Execution
The right tender format for every maturity level of a requirement – carried through consistently to the end.
Problem — Large IT tenders create risk through incomplete requirements, non-comparable bids, unclear evaluation logic and commercial or contractual topics being addressed too late. A classic RFP is often set up reflexively, even when the market should still be explored or suppliers should be given deliberate room for their own solution.
Approach — I support the RFX process along the right format: from a market-sounding RFI, through a sharply structured RFP, to a solution-open RFS that gives suppliers room for their own approach. Demand consolidation, format choice, bidder communication and evaluation are managed as professionally as negotiation, contract signature and award.
Typical outcome — Comparable bids, a robust decision basis and a negotiated overall package of service, price, contract and risk – regardless of whether the process is run as an RFI, RFP or RFS.
Demand Specification
First, we determine what demand is actually needed and how it must be precisely specified – as a solid foundation for every following step.
Demand Optimization
Demand is further optimized – for example through technical alternatives or the right licensing model. The goal: use every degree of freedom before approaching the market.
RFP / RFS
Here we decide: an RFP, because the solution is already defined, or an RFS, where the supplier proposes the solution approach. The format choice determines the market's room to manoeuvre.
Negotiation Excellence
A professional strategy is developed for the negotiation: negotiation team, BATNA analysis and structured preparation significantly improve position and outcome quality.
Typical building blocks / deliverables:
- Format choice RFI / RFP / RFS
- Demand and scope consolidation
- RFX structure and bidder pack
- Evaluation model / scorecard
- Negotiation strategy and scenarios
- Award recommendation and contracting support
Procurement Controlling
Top priority: maximum transparency and targeted data analysis as the basis for every steering decision.
Problem — Without consistent KPIs and unified savings tracking, it stays unclear which initiatives create impact, where risks arise and which topics need management attention. Spend data is often fragmented – by category, supplier or cost centre – but rarely analysable together.
Approach — The central instrument is the Spend Cube: a multi-dimensional view of procurement along the questions what is bought, from whom and by whom. Building on this, I develop a focused KPI and reporting system for spend, savings, pipeline and contract status – tailored by role for management, category managers and operational procurement.
Typical outcome — A transparent steering model with a few relevant metrics, a clear pipeline of measures and traceable results.
Typical building blocks / deliverables:
- Spend Cube (category × supplier × cost centre)
- KPI framework: spend visibility, spend under management, savings
- Savings definition and tracking
- Procurement pipeline
- Role-specific vendor and contract dashboards
- Management reporting and escalation cadence
IT Cost Management
Uncovering structural optimization potential in the IT organization – not just negotiating prices.
Problem — IT costs often hide not in individual prices but in structure: parallel managed-service contracts with overlapping scope, services delivered both internally and externally, and budget processes that entrench inefficiencies rather than surface them.
Approach — I analyse which managed services can be consolidated, where internal and external service delivery exist in parallel, and how budget processes are set up – including whether they can be made leaner. In addition, I review the organizational structure and processes for structural inefficiencies that drive cost without showing up in a classic price analysis.
Typical outcome — Concrete consolidation and organizational measures, prioritized by impact and feasibility – with a clear picture of where structural, not just commercial, levers lie.
Typical building blocks / deliverables:
- Managed services portfolio analysis and consolidation options
- Make-or-buy comparison: services with internal/external duplication
- Review of budget processes and steering logic
- Analysis of organizational structure and processes for inefficiencies
- Prioritized action roadmap
Cost-Out Programmes
Structured cost reduction instead of isolated one-off measures.
Problem — Cost targets are often set short-term, while contracts, renewals and technical dependencies run on different time horizons. Without programme steering, potential stays unprioritized or is realized too late.
Approach — I build cost-out programmes along clear levers: demand reduction, license optimization, renegotiation, competitive sourcing, vendor consolidation and commercial contract mechanisms. Every measure gets a baseline, owner, timing, risk and savings logic.
Typical outcome — A prioritized savings pipeline with realistic business cases, clear implementation and transparent tracking through to realized results.
Status Quo (Baseline)
The starting point of every cost-out programme is a solid cost baseline: all contracts, licenses, volumes and running costs in the category are consolidated and normalized to one baseline year.
Examples
- Contract and license inventory across all units
- Current prices, volumes and usage per vendor
- Reconciliation against actual demand
Demand Consolidation
Starting situation
Different entities and countries with varying specifications, use cases, hardware and license types.
Approach
A full overview of what is deployed where, then a critical check: does the install base match actual future need?
Result
A transparent view of current demand across countries and entities.
Demand Optimization
Starting situation
The consolidated demand per country or entity.
Approach
Two levers: fit-to-purpose (what's actually needed – e.g. E5 vs. E3, Intel vs. AMD) and type consolidation (fewer vendors, standard models across regions), backed by structured stakeholder management.
Result
A reduced, standardized requirement profile matching actual need.
Vendor Selection
Starting situation
The optimized, standardized demand.
Approach
Checking whether the incumbent vendor still fits, or a switch offers more potential. The RFP creates genuine competition and a credible BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) – which also strengthens the negotiating position itself.
Result
The right vendor for the optimized demand, plus a credible alternative for the negotiation.
Negotiation
Starting situation
The vendor(s) and BATNA from Vendor Selection.
Approach
Clarifying goal and alternative (BATNA), aligning communication strategy, defining the negotiation team and mandate. The counterpart's position is analysed to find – or create – own levers. Preparation scales with deal size; professional negotiation support throughout is essential.
Result
A professionally supported negotiation with a clear strategy and maximized position.
Optimized Outcome
The result of all applied building blocks is an optimized cost model for the respective use case or scenario – including tracking, so planned savings are actually realized, not just negotiated.
Examples
- New annual cost level after implementation
- Savings tracking against baseline and business case
- Governance to ensure realization
Illustrative savings bridge along typical cost-out levers – values are indicative and depend on the starting position and category mix in the actual project. Hover or focus a bar for details.
Typical building blocks / deliverables:
- Savings opportunity funnel
- Measures and business case logic
- Prioritization by value / effort / timing
- Negotiation and renewal roadmap
- Savings governance and reporting
Procurement Opportunity Analysis
Quickly identify where the biggest procurement and cost levers lie.
Problem — Companies know their IT spend, but often not the actual quality of their contracts, pricing positions, usage, competitive intensity or upcoming renewal risks.
Approach — I analyse spend, contract portfolio, vendor dependencies, price and volume logic, the renewal calendar and available sourcing and optimization levers. Results are prioritized by economic potential and feasibility.
Typical outcome — A fact-based opportunity map with concrete initiatives, expected impact, timing and a recommended next step.
Typical building blocks / deliverables:
- Spend and contract screening
- Renewal heatmap
- Vendor/category potential
- Pricing and commercial review
- Prioritized opportunity roadmap
How I Work
Build the facts
Consolidate spend, contracts, volumes, usage, demand, deadlines and stakeholders. No negotiation without a solid baseline.
Levers & scenarios
Systematically assess cost drivers, sourcing options, contractual levers, alternatives, risks and walk-away scenarios.
Competition & negotiation
Design RFX, bidder dialogue, scorecard and negotiation agenda so that comparability and competition are preserved.
Think contract early
Negotiate price, service, risk and flexibility together. Address critical clauses before the supplier decision, not after.
Run contract negotiations professionally
From preparation and setting the negotiation narrative through to successful execution – a systematic, structured and professional approach.
Secure implementation
Turn award, contract, savings, governance and open actions into a clear implementation and steering logic.