We help you achieve better results at lower costs through the Best Value Approach

What is it about?


A supply chain approach

The Best Value approach has long been known as a procurement system: the vendor who demonstrates to be the expert, ‘wins’ the contract. Fortunately, more and more organisations are becoming aware that Best Value is about improving performance throughout the supply chain: it is a supply chain approach!

How to run Best Value in a simple way:

Enable smart people to apply their expertise.
Plan projects from beginning to end, identifying and controlling potential risk and risk mitigation measures.
Track performance and deviations in projects and apply that information to improve performance.

  • Best Value enables selection of the vendor with the best value, based on performance and price
  • The vendor proposes a plan, the client accepts the vendor’s offer
  • The vendor creates a transparent environment that increases accountability
  • The vendor minimises communication and decision-making by using metrics and deductive logic
  • The vendor has no risk; the client is financially responsable for all occurring risks
  • The vendor is responsible for risk mitigation management
  • The vendor uses metrics to track performance and deviations from plan and uses the information to improve performance

Background

Failure cost reduction in the chain

‘Best Value’ has been developed by Dr. Dean Kashiwagi in cooperation with Arizona State University, in order to improve the procurement and execution of projects and services. It uses deductive logic, data, and transparency and was originally developed to reduce failure costs in the construction sector. Best Value is increasingly being applied in ICT environments and the service sector.

Best Value is gaining popularity in the Netherlands. Other names are Best Value Procurement, Best Value Sales, Best Value Performance and the Best Value Approach.

  • Developed in the USA since 1994, applied 1750 times, total contract value of $6.4B
  • In the Netherlands since 2008, applied 500+ times, total value of more than €3B
  • > 500 people in the Netherlands are certified: A + certification is the highest level, most are certified at level B
  • The book ‘Prestatie inkoop’ (Best Value Procurement) (Santema & Van de Rijt) has sold more than 5,000 copies. In 2014, the third edition was published ‘Prestatie inkoop – Best Value for successful projects’
  • In 2013, the book ‘Prestatie verkoop’ (Best Value Sales) – Winning clients with Best Value’ (Verheul et al.) was published

How simple can it be?

Different attitude, different behavior

Best Value works simply, based on a number of basic principles. However, it is precisely these basic principles that make it difficult: we have to ’think differently’. In our experience, it takes at least 3 Best Value projects before organisations are able to continue developing Best Value independently.

The principle of Best Value Procurement is that not the client, but the expert vendor, knows best with regards to the reality of the supply chain. We help you to ‘let go’ by learning how to identify and utilise expertise and facilitate the expert in the operation.

In Best Value Sales, it is essential to reserve time for identifying and utilising experts and expertise before you can start acting as an expert. We teach you how you can collect performance data and other relevant metrics, and how to use this for your clients so they can identify your expertise.

  • Best Value is a paradigm shift that few people can do without coaching.
  • Investing in Best Value is worth it: our clients also apply Best Value principles in more traditional client environments. As a result, expectations are better aligned and there is less hassle in the execution.
  • Best Value is about aligning expertise through the supply chain: it would therefore be strange not to use our expertise if you want to apply Best Value.