More value for money on 100% of SaaS contracts for Lead Forensics

The Challenge

As Lead Forensics grew its operations and market reach internationally, every team re-examined how technology could be used to improve efficiency.  

This was not just a matter of increased spend. This also created extra workload in re-examining and restructuring existing contracts, and evaluating new vendors - a responsibility that fell on the senior leadership team. 

After deciding to hire a part-time supplier relations manager to take on the management and renewals of nearly 100 contracts, ranging from minor vendors to strategic partners, it was still evident that this would need more expertise and resources.

“We found that we were taking on more and more suppliers, but the irony was that while this was all with a view to increase efficiency, we just didn’t have the capacity to manage those suppliers as well as we should - it was becoming a burden we couldn’t stay on top of.”
Alan Yonge, CFO

The Solution 

Lead Forensics began looking for a partner that could not only add capacity, but also bring the skills and experience to deliver the best deal possible for every contract - and found Vertice.

Vertice began with a detailed audit of Lead Forensics’ software stack - which was previously managed and updated manually on a spreadsheet. 

All contract details were uploaded into Vertice’s single, unified platform for superior tracking and visibility. Contract details and terms were automatically extracted - ranging from user numbers and product tiers to cancellation terms - and then visualised on dashboards, including a SaaS contract renewal pipeline.

“Once we’d signed up, within just one or two days we had all our SaaS contracts uploaded successfully. The more spend you have in the platform the more there is to work on. Vertice has now become our go-to place for all our contracts, and understanding their status, spend, size, terms and renewal timelines.”

The new total visibility then allowed Lead Forensics to hand over SaaS contract negotiations to Vertice’s expert procurement team - both new purchases and renewals. The first renewals that Vertice handled were some of Lead Forensics’ most strategic SaaS vendors, which actually made Lead Forensics a little nervous. 

“Naturally, we had some trepidation at the start. We prided ourselves on our ability to negotiate contracts ourselves and we were worried that maybe our relationships with key suppliers would be damaged. But Vertice put those concerns to bed with the very first contract.”

Because the procurement team was so experienced, they were able to strike the perfect balance between Lead Forensics’ needs and the vendors’ priorities. 

“Vertice judged it just right with every negotiation. They could play the tougher cards when necessary, but crucially without damaging a single relationship - and in fact improving them. It built our confidence instantly.” 

Crucial to Vertice’s success was its benchmarking and vendor intelligence data, spanning over 16,000 vendors. This proprietary, real-time dataset allowed Vertice to benchmark vendors’ offers against what prices they knew were possible; and identify additional features or concessions that they knew from the team’s global experience were accessible. 

This data could then be used in conjunction with the platform’s SaaS usage analytics, and Vertice’s knowledge of Lead Forensics’ needs and preferences.

Vertice could also use the dataset to identify suitable alternatives for discussion with Lead Forensics’ stakeholders. 

“One of the unexpected benefits of working with Vertice was their wide industry knowledge. When our existing vendor’s renewal was outside our budget, or was proving unsuitable for our future plans, Vertice was able to come to us with alternative suppliers who we could then investigate, and have even subsequently chosen - always with either improved capabilities, reduced costs or both.”

The Results 

The results were strong, and beyond expectations. With Vertice at the helm, SaaS negotiations were concluded far quicker than before, averaging less than 40 days from initial request to contract signature. 

Vertice also delivered value for money improvements on every one of Lead Forensics’ SaaS contracts, across $1.5m of annual SaaS spend.

On top of this, because of Vertice’s thoroughness, and the user-friendliness of the platform, Vertice has been quickly accepted by senior stakeholders across the business.

Importantly, Vertice and the supplier relations manager have also worked very positively together. The introduction of Vertice has increased his capacity, allowing him to keep up with the workload, and function more strategically.

“Since Vertice joined, our supplier relations manager has been freed up to take on extra responsibilities across the wider team, creating job satisfaction for him and increased efficiency for the business.”