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Bryan Peña, CCWP

About Bryan Peña, CCWP

Bryan Peña, CCWP, is senior vice president, contingent workforce strategies and research. He can be reached at bpena (at) staffingindustry (dot) com.

More Articles by Bryan Peña, CCWP

2208, 2018

Buyer Reality: Don’t Blunder

By |August 22nd, 2018|

During my tenure as a procurement professional, I saw the number of fundamental mistakes that companies in the workforce solutions ecosystem make when selling to large organizations. From overstated product value propositions — way more common than most providers would like to admit — to simple lack of follow-through, the list of mistakes is long. […]

106, 2018

Buyer Reality: Through the Noise

By |June 1st, 2018|

As a procurement professional and then as an industry advisor, I have worked with all kinds of suppliers. I have conducted numerous sourcing exercises, such as negotiating contracts and running RFPs on everything from office supplies and small package freight to travel services and cleaning supplies to contingent labor.

My diverse experience has taught me much […]

105, 2018

Buyer Reality: A Purple Cow

By |May 1st, 2018|

Every day, another technological development threatens to upend the way companies operate — or so it seems. Take my world, for instance. Freelance management systems, offshoring and nontraditional modes of engagement dominate many of my conversations with staffing services buyers in all stages of their program evolution. At the same time, these managers value and […]

2603, 2018

Buyer Reality: Stand Out

By |March 26th, 2018|

How can you be the best supplier in the MSP supplychain? That’s a difficult question to answer. As a career procurement professional who now advises enterprise clients through SIA’s Contingent Workforce Strategies Council, I have come to sympathize with the struggles many suppliers face in trying to succeed in these programs. And it starts by […]

109, 2016

Seize the Cs

By |September 1st, 2016|

As CWS Council head at Staffing Industry Analysts, I have the privilege of working closely with hundreds of companies as they run through their supplier selection process. Seeing how they run these processes, including how they make their decision in selecting a supplier, I am astounded at some of the ways suppliers shoot themselves in […]

105, 2015

Perspective: Choose Wisely

By |May 1st, 2015|

Suppliers and buyers alike often complain about mismatching skills and services. Part of the problem is providers not being selective enough when it comes to participating in the RFP process to begin with. Providers should match their unique services and offerings against the requirements to build the most competitive option, but they should also be […]

1510, 2014

Power Seller: Get That ‘A’

By |October 15th, 2014|

Adopt the Five Cs of selling and win customers
In my job I get the unique opportunity to see how contingent workforce programs work globally, across industries and categories. What I find most interesting is the striking commonality of factors that make the difference for suppliers wishing to participate in these programs. I believe that by […]

111, 2013

Confessions of a Procurement Guy

By |November 1st, 2013|

A former manager sees the error of his ways, offers advice and help to providers
I’m sorry. I would like to apologize to all the providers that suffered through my own procurement learning curve. Let me explain.

I jumped into managing contingent workforce as a category while not understanding the unbelievable differences between sourcing materials and sourcing […]

105, 2013

Expert’s Corner: The New Reality

By |May 1st, 2013|

How suppliers can be effective in this environment

Staffing is a people-centered business. Not only is the “product” people, but in the past, success hinged on a staffing supplier’s ability to build relationships and establish a rapport. Sales success was based on numbers and even moderately competent suppliers could realize success by making sure sales activity […]

2712, 2011

With This Ring, I Thee …

By |December 27th, 2011|

In my career as a procurement manager and as an individual contributor, I have negotiated more than 1,500 deals for goods and services — to the tune of more than $15 billion in spend. Additionally, I have been involved in more than 200 request for proposal initiatives. What this tells you is that for most […]