Fifty-eight per cent of IT services companies, faced with growing challenges in the IT procurement ecosystem, have increased their number of active suppliers in the past three years, a new report by U.S. software solutions provider Aspire Technologies (developer of sales quoting software, QuoteWerks), released yesterday, found.

The report, titled 2023 Trends in IT Procurement Report, features insight from nearly 400 IT services professionals who were asked about current and past technology purchasing activities, the use of sales and automation tools, and experiences with pricing, availability and logistics.

“The procurement ecosystem for technology professionals continues expanding to address the mounting demands of business clients and the growing complexity of the solutions they sell, implement and support,” said QuoteWerks vice president Brian Laufer.

The report shows that IT services companies now have more choices of suppliers, with distributors maintaining number one spot at 48.6 per cent, followed by e-tailers at 32.06 per cent, and vendors at 12.21 per cent.

Source: QuoteWerks report

One respondent explained that IT services companies are adding procurement partners to continually assess new capabilities and reduce complexity. 

With the growing number of managed services providers and emerging technology businesses, IT services companies are increasingly evaluating key factors such as availability and competitive pricing, particularly of products and components in short supply due to persisting supply chain issues.

Supply chain concerns affected 19 per cent of providers. However, that represents nearly a 30 per cent drop from 2022.

But budget constraints and economic downturns continue to impact companies, and because of that, IT providers need to create an “optimal quote profile”, based on the use case, order frequency, compliance requirements, etc., to better support their clients, especially as adoption rates keeps surging. 

In fact, the report shows that 42 per cent of survey respondents procured between US$25,000 and US$100,000 in hardware and supplies over the past 12 months, with 49 per cent securing more than US$100,000 in that period.

Source: QuoteWerks report

“Understanding the average quote value for individual companies and the industry helps providers set benchmarks and better evaluate future goals, from both a client and organizational perspective,” the report reads.

Many IT firms, including managed and cloud services companies, are scaling operations and boosting sales through technology investments such as quoting tools. These tools, the report stresses, seek to ensure the profitability of each transaction and help to consistently evaluate the average quote value and adjust processes and policies when possible.

Talent shortages across the industry also contribute to the drive for greater efficiency, so IT firms must strive to optimize every part of their operations, the report adds.

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