Every team should have a Plan B

The match is finely balanced … but then you go 1-0 down. And there’s only 15 minutes left. What do you do?

As football fans will know, you need a Plan B.

When your keeper spills the ball into the net, your star player gets sent off, or there’s a siege around your goalmouth, then something needs to change. And fast.

In the past, the England team has been accused of being one-dimensional … unable to make a tactical switch during a game and turn the tide. Throwing on leggy Peter Crouch and pumping long balls into the box doesn’t always save the day.

Manager Fabio Capello has tried his best at adding more to the team. In fact, many overseas managers are renowned for their on-the-fly decisions. There’s José Mourinho (now at Real Madrid), or another former Chelsea boss, Claudio Ranieri (now at AS Roma), who was even nicknamed ‘The Tinkerman’ for his tactical tweaks.

What happens in the dug-out can change games. And the same is true for ‘managed’ procurement systems. You have to be prepared for the unpredictable.

Here are four tactical examples:

• Maximising performance: Unexpected spikes in demand must be accommodated seamlessly – to avoid system slow-downs. Good hardware boosts performance. But the best tactic is to get the database working intelligently, so it answers queries efficiently, first time around.

• Smart positioning: Storage doesn’t cost premier-league prices – but server space fills up quickly. It’s essential to think several steps ahead and make accurate predictions about your upcoming needs.

• Keeping pace with the game: Any decent procurement system will always be improving. The trick is to keep re-evaluating the functionality and finding better ways of working – while second-guessing customer requirements.

• Defensive measures: It’s vital to keep checking the system architecture to avoid weak points and maximise resilience and redundancy.

But the main thing is knowing your opponent. In this case, it’s the system itself – and the fast-changing business arena. A mixture of strategic thinking and responsive, in-house expertise is the key to success.

Procurement may lack the pizzazz of the ‘beautiful game’ – but none of the importance. There are billions of pounds at stake – with a vast crowd of purchasers and suppliers watching on. The game has started. But it never ends …