Maximizing Value in Professional Services Procurement

What Every CFO and CIO Needs to Know

Consider your organization’s professional services spend: are you truly maximizing value and efficiency? The reality is, there is often substantial untapped potential for cost optimisation in this area—regardless of whether your company is just beginning to formalise procurement processes or already has robust policies in place. The PIR approach to professional services procurement provides clear pathways to achieving double-digit savings while increasing service quality and organizational agility.

We have found that even mature buyers of professional services struggle to keep up with changes in priorities, demand, markets and technology development. In practise, this means that if you have not directed significant improvement efforts in this area during the last 12 months, you are likely to be leaving significant money on the table.

PIR promotes a proactive, commercially focused approach. This involves continuous alignment between sourcing efforts and business strategy, leveraging data-driven spend analysis. Key levers for cost optimization include more effective demand management, competitive bidding, adoption and optimization of digital tools to streamline administration, as well as adaptation of contractual arrangements to reflect evolving organizational needs. Recent PIR initiatives have delivered impressive results—achieving average savings of 17%, with some organizations realizing up to 24% through renegotiation and improved governance.

Ultimately, the focus extends beyond cost reduction. It is about enabling operational flexibility, mitigating risk, and ensuring that your external workforce becomes a true competitive asset. Sustained optimization, from quick wins in renegotiation to strategic sourcing and process improvement, yields the best long-term results. In today’s environment, proactive management of professional services procurement is essential to avoid leaving significant value unrealized.