As part of our commitment to enabling member success and sharing best practices from peers, One Nucleus hosted a roundtable bringing together procurement and legal experts. What emerged from these discussions was a clear understanding that procurement can significantly impact your investor story, making it an extremely valuable lever for growth.
The roundtable focused on developing a strategic approach to procurement processes within life science organisations of all types and sizes. The presenters, Mark Hollison of Biotech Procurement Solutions and Rachel Bradley of Penningtons Manches Cooper, shared their experiences on transitioning from a limited, decentralised approach to one that is centrally coordinated and aligned with the organisation's overall strategy.
Participants openly discussed their own challenges, including how their organisations currently view and manage procurement activities. They highlighted internal obstacles to gaining stronger support and commitment, such as communication gaps between procurement and scientific staff, which is key for improving processes and establishing a robust strategy and plan for enhancing and delivering greater value.
In today’s increasingly complex global environment, life science companies are operating amidst regulatory shifts, geopolitical pressures and evolving investor expectations. This landscape makes supplier decisions more critical than ever.
The roundtable discussions underscored how changes in R&D tax credit qualification criteria when subcontracting and the proposed Biosecure Act present additional risk factors. These evolving factors highlight the essential role of robust due diligence and early legal engagement as key components of strategic procurement.
Key takeaways:
- It is essential for strategic procurement to align with the organisation's strategy and objectives by focusing on risk and innovation as well as cost optimisation.
- Developing a robust procurement process that clarifies and enables effective engagement can increase agility and deliver significant value to life sciences organisations, regardless of their size.
- The 'equity story' for potential investors can be enhanced by providing assurance that suppliers and the supply chain are well managed, can adapt and scale, and that risks are known and controlled through suitable contractual arrangements.
- Initiatives and actions for improving procurement should range from easy-to-implement quick wins to strategically transformational activities that deliver lasting value.
- Engaging your legal team in the process is essential to ensure that you have the right agreement in place with terms that enable teams to use the procured goods and services in the manner necessary.
- Future investors, acquirers or partners will conduct full due diligence on the agreements that you have signed, and incorrect terms or commercially unfavourable terms will raise concern and could impact on the deal.
- Undertaking due diligence on suppliers before you sign your agreement, in terms of their compliance with industry requirements in areas such as data security and GXP operating, is key.
One Nucleus supports members with operational best practices via our events, including discussions like this roundtable, our Training portfolio, and Facilities Management support. Further details are available at www.onenucleus.com or contact us to find out more. If you’re interested in joining future roundtable sessions on procurement strategy, please contact [email protected].
Blog by Mark Hollison, Biotech Procurement Solutions, Rachel Bradley, Penningtons Manches Cooper and Alicia Gailliez, One Nucleus.