Procuring new systems and solutions

Libraries often employ a plethora of systems, often from a variety of vendors. It’s a very complex environment. The market is changing significantly including  changes in ownership of library system vendors and a new generation of ‘Library Services Platforms’ replacing the LMS/ILS. We can help you make sense of this complexity and find the best solutions to meet your needs.

Ken Chad Consulting can save your organisation tens of thousands of pounds while also substantially speeding up the procurement process. During our careers we have been involved in over 100 major procurements for library systems. As consultants we have helped a variety of libraries review their strategy, analyse their needs and  the market, make the business case for change and select new systems.

Library management system for Wales. Pre procurement support. LMS Cymru is a joint working arrangement of 20 of the 22 Library Service Authorities within Wales to share a library management system. The current contract is due to end in December 2024 and the consortium is starting work on re-procurement. Ken Chad Consulting assisted with the pre-procurement phase of the re-tendering process. This involved working with a range of stakeholders including library staff, members of the public and library system vendors to better understand and define needs and the current marketplace for solutions This work fed into a requirements document that will form part of the subsequent Invitation to Tender (ITT) in 2023

We worked with Keele University to help streamline the procurement process. We also undertook a review and analysis of the library systems market. University librarian Paul Reynolds commented: “Ken’s expertise was invaluable. He worked with us on requirements and an evaluation schema to make for a much improved procurement process. He knows the marketplace extremely well and his focussed analysis with key factors for the relevant vendors was very helpful.”

Some organisations have systems that are “end-of-life” and have to be replaced in the short term. Others have systems that are not providing good value or adequate functionality. If you are thinking about procuring new systems we can provide consulting services to help manage some or all this process. For example we can help :

  • formulate requirements and ensure they are aligned with your strategy
  • analyse the market
  • work with stakeholders
  • develop road-maps
  • prepare business cases
  • prepare bid/tender documentation
  • facilitate the selection process
  • negotiate with vendors