Expediting The Services Sourcing Process With Master Services Agreements

Of the complaints about RFP-driven services procurement, one of the most persistent is that the RFP process takes too much time to complete. One of the principal reasons why RFP-driven procurement processes tend to take significant amounts of time is negotiating terms and conditions, which can take three months or longer and can be inimical to rapid sourcing of IT services. In response, a growing number of sourcing teams are establishing master services agreements (MSAs) with suppliers to form the basis for preferred provider relationships. With the MSA in place, client and supplier have a contractual foundation upon which individual statements of work (SOWs) can be issued. However, clients should take a structured approach to deciding when MSAs are useful, since MSAs have their limits. Sourcing and vendor management professionals seeking to expedite the services sourcing process should link their approach to establishing MSAs with the type of services sourcing that they envision.