Why mobilise a buying team
Mobilisation, in this context, means getting everyone ready to work together. Mobilising a core buying team gets members on the same page about project objectives, roles, and ways of working.
Mobilisation can be a quick activity with big rewards. It sets teams up with a foundation to produce and share their best work. Without it, team members can find themselves with mis-aligned assumptions, expectations or priorities. Not mobilising can result in weeks or months of delays much later in the project.
An aligned and collaborative team
Teams that mobilise effectively can build relationships and contribute their individual expertise while focusing on the long-term success of the buying project. They set up practices like effective lines of communication that help them plan, make decisions quickly, foresee risks, and save time down-track.
To mobilise, buying teams should come together to:
- align on proposed approach and outcomes
- align on deliverables, timelines, key milestones, assumptions and risk mitigants
- plan what people and roles need to be involved, and how
- plan for effective communication and collaboration
- contribute to effective decision making in a transparent and timely manner
- ask questions and challenge assumptions
- focus
- set cadence and get started.
When to mobilise
Mobilisation should happen after Pathway Triage and before the Innovation scope is defined, or the procurement strategy drafted. This ensures the right expertise can contribute to the scope and strategy steps.
Teams will often find they need to tweak their procurement approach from Pathway Triage as a result of new expertise - this is normal and encouraged.
Expand headings below for more detail on when to mobilise a core buying team and the key outputs of mobilisation.
A core buying team should mobilise:
- after buying pathway step
- during or after buyer discovery activity (if this has occurred)
- before the innovation scope or procurement strategy are locked in
- before suppliers have been engaged to ensure probity provisions and risks have been considered.
Mobilisation outputs are used to establish:
- project outcome
- align expectations
- agile project management including cadence
- a RACI that identifies buying project stakeholders, and describes their roles and responsibilities
- buying project governance
- agile ways of working.
Who to involve
At the start of the buying project, the buyer and procurement officer should develop a common understanding of the business objectives and agree how they will work together.
Depending on the complexity of the engagement, they may identify and engage other key subject-matter experts (SMEs) to join the core buying team. Some SME contributions may occur later in the buying project, but they should still be briefed and engaged. This allows SMEs to contribute their expertise to the procurement strategy, and reduces the chance of new information slowing down the process later.
Expand the boxes to learn how this guide supports each role in the buying team in Mobilisation.
This guide supports buyers or their agents (product owners or project managers) to:
- brief a procurement officer on the business objective and desired business outcome
- share and agree on anticipated stages, activities and timelines
- identify project stakeholders, roles and responsibilities in a RACI matrix
- identify subject matter experts (SMEs) for the core buying team
- identify approvers and criteria for their support
- conduct an initial core team briefing
- align the core team on ways of working and cadence
- workshop risk mitigants with the core team.
This guide supports procurement officers to:
- align with the buyer on the business objective and desired business outcome
- give advice on anticipated stages, activities and timelines
- identify project stakeholders, roles and responsibilities in a RACI matrix
- identify subject matter experts (SMEs) for the core buying team
- identify approvers and criteria for their support
- conduct an initial core team briefing
- align the core team on ways of working and cadence
- workshop risk mitigants with the core team.
Subject-matter experts (SMEs) are identified by the buyer and procurement officer and invited to join the core team. SMEs may include ICT, digital, risk, innovation, probity and/or legal representatives. SMEs should:
- attend the buying project core team mobilisation briefing and workshop
- align with the buyer on the business objective and desired business outcome
- understand and give advice on anticipated stages, activities and timelines
- align on ways of working and cadence
- help identify project stakeholders, roles and responsibilities in a RACI matrix
- help identify other key subject-matter experts (SMEs)
- help identify approvers
- contribute to workshops on risk mitigants, assumptions and questions.
Learn about stakeholder roles and the SMEs you might need to include in your core team mobilisation.
Next steps
Mobilisation resources
The key milestones for effective agile alignment.
A session to align buyer and procurement.
Form a core buying team and brief the key people.
Hold a kick-off workshop with your buying team.