What is tailspend SOW software?

As mentioned in the guide to getting work done differently, your software choice is a fundamental component of implementing a successful tailspend statement of work strategy.

 

The right choice will help you stay productive in the short-term, scale quickly and improve agility and performance in the longer term.

 

In this guide, discover:

The key features of tailspend SOW software

For any large organisation looking to implement tailspend SOW software, there are some absolute must-haves:

 

Your people and your suppliers are remote, on the move and busy. Your SOW software should offer a great experience on any device to enable projects to be created and appointed while on the move.

 

Your data and your suppliers' data must be secure first and foremost, governed by terms and conditions and privacy statements that you control. On top of that, you should have the ability to manage access rights, data retention rules and privacy settings.

 

The SOW software you choose needs to represent a significant improvement in user-experience than any incumbent system. Ease of use is a key component in ensure your users and suppliers adopt your chosen SOW software platform.

 

To scale the use of SOW engagements as a work delivery model, a large organisation has to leverage automation to support procurement and project teams. 

 

In addition to these fundamentals, there are a number of helpful features tailspend SOW software need to include to be an effective solution:

 

Configurable registration and accreditation workflows to enable you to grow your supplier network, whilst keeping tight control over quality and compliance.

 

Supplier ratings, profiles, supplier lists and flexible engagement campaigns will help you to keep suppliers connected and informed, even when they aren't actively working on a project.

 

This is a critical feature. An intelligent, insight-driven matching algorithm coupled with a detailed taxonomy will improve the speed at which you can find, shortlist and appoint suppliers for any given project.

 

Even with lightweight projects, being able to set, negotiate, manage and track milestones is another absolute must-have for working with SOW engagements, no matter how small.

 

Maximising the effectiveness of SOW engagements will require bespoke, configurable dashboards and reports

Wider considerations when choosing tailspend SOW software

As you'll appreciate, a software solution is much more than its list of features. In addition to ensuring you can enjoy immediate performance benefits, there are a couple of wider considerations to be aware of:

 

In addition to using smaller SOW engagements, large organisations will have a number of other programs of work delivery running in parallel. In order to make better end-to-end resourcing decisions, the tailspend SOW platform should be able to integrate with other platforms in the procurement technology stack. 

 

Future-proofing your software choice is very much about understanding its roadmap – ensuring there are development plans and priorities to continue to make improvements to the core processes of finding, onboarding and working with high quality suppliers and service providers through statement of work engagements.

Implementing SOW software

Tailspend statement of work SaaS platforms, like Zivio can be configured and deployed very quickly, but there a couple of tips for making implementation go smoothly:

 

Technically migrating your existing suppliers from your incumbent platform (which in reality could be spreadsheets) is straightforward. The more important consideration is to ensure your existing suppliers are aware of the change, the benefits of the new platform as well as any setup actions they are expected to complete.

 

Zivio's modern, consumer-grade user interface combined with contextual help articles and configurable labelling makes completing common day-to-day SOW related tasks simple. To ensure users adopt and maximise the benefits of tailspend SOW engagements, your procurement, finance and project management teams need to be informed about the new SOW software decision as early as possible and regularly updated on its performance and business impact.

Summary

Implementing a successful tailspend statement of work strategy depends significantly on the choice of SOW software platform. Considering specific features & functionality as well as overall platform user-experience and integration options will be what effects immediate improvements in process, efficiency and productivity and long-term resourcing agility.