BUSINESS CASE AND BUSINESS NEEDS

BUSINESS CASE: Selling your idea to your boss

If you are one of those employees who tend to speak their mind then you have encountered this situation. You identify a problem in the business system, or at least think you have, you walk into your boss’s office, lay down the idea and the boss just shuts you down. Or they pretend to listen and you can tell that they are just being courteous because from their face they’ve already decided that they aren’t interested.

Have been in those situations, one of them was trying to convince my then director of studies that we need a content production team, to produce contents we can use in online marketing. The guy did not buy the idea. Either my argument was poorly formulated or he just didn’t see the point in having contents online.

If you are going to have a business commit resources to your idea or project, then you need to have a properly thought out business case.

WHAT IS A BUSINESS CASE?

Business case is a justification for a proposed project or undertaking on the basis of its expected commercial benefit

If we look at it from a procurement perspective then a business case is the justification of procurement or sourcing projects in terms of its identifiable business benefits balanced against any recognized constraints, cost and risk involved in obtaining those benefits

You need to realize that resources are going to be committed to this idea you are coming up with and most of the time this is all the management will see.

Remember my then director of studies whom I spoke of at the beginning? The guy was from the old school marketing style and he just didn’t see how online brand translated to actual sales! You are always going to encounter such, but if they are willing to listen then you continue to sell them the idea.

Your business case should be:

1. Examined and challenged to show how its contributes to the commercial and strategic objectives
2. Planned and managed in such a manner as to maximize the contribution to the commercial and strategic objectives of the business. Things like, achieving value for money, minimizing the cost of meeting required standards, minimizing wastage and risks… etc

EXAMPLE

Let’s say you identify a given software as part of what your business needs as far as improving relationship with your suppliers and customer is concerned. Obviously this is a legitimate technical benefit

From a procurement department point of view this will help improve supply chain co-ordination in terms of your upstream operations, that is your suppliers and their suppliers, as well as your downstream operations, that is your customers and their customers.

This will make the software procurement a legitimate functional benefit

But even with technical and functional benefit in place you still have to develop a business case showing a commercial or business benefit for your software idea. Things like

1. How it will improve customer satisfaction
2. How it will improve productivity by shortening task processing times
3. How it will reduce system maintenance costs
4. Or even minimize data security risks etc