IT system procurement demystified: A guide from selection to implementation

Continual transformative change is essential in the healthcare sector to reduce the burden and risks posed with outdated IT systems, while also facilitating the adoption of the latest technologies. This disruption presents both operational risks and strategic opportunities for organisations.

Technological advancements can revolutionise patient care, introducing greater personalisation and accessibility, yet they also introduce challenges with integration and data security. Technology is advancing faster than operational models can adapt, and the gap between innovation and implementation continues to grow. 

At Grant Thornton, we leverage our deep industry experience to guide you through these critical processes, ensuring your IT investments drive tangible outcomes.

Laying the groundwork for strategic system delivery

A robust procurement process lays the foundation for ensuring the success of your IT investment, driving cost efficiency, regulatory compliance, sustainability and innovation. Procurement should be seen as a strategic function that, when done right, can transform your organisation and create opportunities to benefit from future technological advancements.

Selecting the right system for your organisation begins long before go-live. It starts with a clear vision of goals that need to be achieved and identifying the problems or inefficiencies that need addressing. At Grant Thornton, we guide clients through this critical early stage, leading the way to a compliant, tailored, and effective procurement journey.

Our three-stage modular approach ensures your investment is clinically aligned, patient-centred, and future-proofed.

1. Specification and market engagement
2. Procurement and selection
3. Implementation and business readiness

Stage 1: Specification and market engagement

Clarifying your strategic objectives and translating them into output-based requirements is essential. Rather than focusing solely on features, its crucial to consider what your organisation needs to achieve and how the technology can enable these goals. In a landscape where procurement cycles can be lengthy and rigid, this step is key to avoiding costly misalignments further down the line. 

Organisations should also conduct early market engagement in order to gauge supplier capabilities and innovation potential, allowing you to shape requirements based on market dynamics in real-time. This prevents over-specification, and encourages value-for-money. Choosing the right procurement approach – whether restricted procurement, competitive dialogue, or request for proposal – must align with your organisation’s goals, regulatory context, and delivery timelines.

Developing a targeted procurement strategy will help you to manage risk from the outset by building a plan that aligns with resourcing, timelines, and governance structures.

Stage 1 checklist

• Strategic objectives
• Business and technical specifications
• Pre-market engagement
• Procurement approach
• Procurement strategy

Stage 2: Procurement and selection

The development of a procurement plan will set the direction and guide you through the procurement cycle. This plan should include setting clear objectives, identifying required resources, and conducting a thorough risk assessment. 

Change Management is often a forgotten, but key consideration in the procurement process. It is important to include both internal and external stakeholder engagement to validate assumptions, ensuring buy-in across clinical, operational and IT teams.

This collaborative approach will enable the development of a detailed output-based specification document, critical for successful procurement. The next step will involve translating requirements into procurement documentation tailored to the chosen procedure, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance prior to publication. 

When completing the vendor selection process, your organisation must use robust, weighted, pre-defined evaluation criteria balancing price with quality, supplier experience, and security requirements. Once a preferred bidder is identified, final contract negotiations can take place.

It is timely to consider the business readiness journey to ensure successful implementation. This includes process mapping, target operating model design and data migration preparation. 

Stage 2 checklist

• Procurement plan
• Stakeholder engagement
• Technical specification document
• Procurement documentation 
• Submission evaluation
• Vendor selection
• Award of contract

Stage 3: Implementation and business readiness

System delivery is where most projects falter - not due to gaps in technology, but due to gaps in business readiness. It is important to ensure that the system is designed, developed and implemented as per your specification, but also that your staff are part of the journey and are ready to embrace the change. This stage requires skills including project management, change management and data management. 

It is critical that your organisation completes readiness assessments to support data migration, staff training, process alignment, and use adoption. This comprehensive approach is important to ensure no detail is overlooked and encourages the hard conversations about risk, governance, and long-term operational resilience.

Stage 3 checklist

• Business readiness assessment
• Change management strategy
• Project management
• Data management

Conclusion

A failed IT system starts with a vague specification and ends with a misaligned solution —both of which can be avoided. Grant Thornton’s three-stage methodology ensures that IT investments are strategically aligned, effectively procured, and successfully implemented.

We lead with a business-first, long-term success mindset, embedding project management, change management, and clinical engagement from the outset. At Grant Thornton, we don’t check if a system works - we ensure it works for you.

Grant Thornton brings the structure, sector insight and delivery assurance you need to embed successful transformative change. Reach out to our Healthcare Consulting Team today to start building a future-ready healthcare infrastructure that’s right for your teams, your clinicians, and your patients.

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