How QKS ROI Benchmark Framework™ Transforms Procurement Performance

 

Software procurement is a risky process. Let us consider a situation which is common for individuals and big companies: buying Microsoft 365 license/s. Both follow the basic process: choose a plan, compare features, evaluate price, and then subscribe. Both types of buyers share mostly the same risks. Key concerns include data protection, privacy, and compliance; weak identity and access controls; poor configuration under the shared-responsibility model.

Procurement ROI measures the financial value generated from procurement activities relative to their cost. It is typically calculated as: ROI = (Cost Savings − Procurement Costs) ÷ Procurement Costs × 100. This includes savings from negotiations, supplier optimization, and process efficiencies, helping organizations assess procurement effectiveness and strategic value.

Hidden supply-chain or sub processor exposure; service outages and weak incident response; limited logging, monitoring, and audit visibility; vendor lock-in caused by proprietary formats or difficult data export; and weak contract terms around residency, transfers, reporting, and recovery. Individuals are usually less concerned with issues like data residency and enterprise-grade contract coverage, though vendor lock-in can still matter to them.  

5Ps of procurement 

So, we know about the risks that come with procuring a product. What about the process of procurement itself? The process is marked by something called 5Ps. These 5Ps are: 

Planning: This part is about deciding what must be bought, when it is needed, from which source, and under what procurement method. Good planning reduces delays, mismatched purchases, and project failure risk.  

People: This is about the procurement team and stakeholders who run the process. This part covers having the right skills, clear roles, and dependable coordination so procurement activities stay aligned with project requirements and internal expectations.  

Pricing: This part involves making sure the organization gets competitive and valuable pricing, not just the cheapest quote. In practice, this means comparing supplier offers, managing budget impact, and renegotiating when needed to protect value over time.  

Proposal: This part focuses on the document or supplier submission that sets out the scope, expectations, and offer. A strong proposal stage helps buyers compare vendors properly and choose a supplier whose offer matches the organization’s needs.  

Project management: This P is about overseeing the full procurement effort after selection, including delivery tracking, communication, performance monitoring, and keeping cost, time, and requirements on track. This is what turns a signed agreement into a successful outcome.  

These 5 Ps describe the procurement process in an end-to-end manner: define the need, involve the right people, secure the right commercial terms, evaluate supplier proposals properly, and manage execution until delivery.  

Contain damage with these four strategies 

The four standards SaaS risk management strategies are: 

Avoid: Walk away from the SaaS product if the risk is too high, such as unacceptable data handling, weak security controls, or contractual terms you cannot accept. NIST lists avoid as one of the core negative-risk response options.  

Mitigate: This strategy reduces the risk through controls and safeguards, such as MFA, role-based access control, logging, encryption, tighter configuration, vendor due diligence, and contract controls.  

Transfer: Shift some of the risk to another party, usually through cyber insurance, contractual indemnities, SLAs, or by making the vendor contractually responsible for specific obligations. N 

Accept: Proceed only when the remaining risk is within your tolerance and the business value justifies it. 

In simple terms: 
avoid = reject the tool, mitigate = buy it but add controls, transfer = contract or insure part of the risk, and accept = proceed with the residual risk. 

This strategy can work as a minesweeper while making decisions about SaaS procurement.  

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