🎯 Learning Targets Stakeholder Alignment case
After completing this role play exercise, students will be able to:
- Lead a structured stakeholder kickoff meeting
- Identify and align on objectives, timelines, and success criteria
- Define the sourcing team and roles/responsibilities
- Understand and document the current situation (as-is)
- Build a solid baseline for the sourcing event
- Practice communication and negotiation in early collaboration
Tips: EFFSO Swedish-English purchasing terms
Content…
💡 Why Is This Meeting So Important?
The first meeting between the buyer and stakeholder sets the foundation for the entire sourcing event. A rushed, unclear start can lead to:
- Misaligned expectations
- Missed deadlines
- Poor supplier selection and poor contract
- Wasted time
The buyer must lead this meeting with confidence, asking the right questions and guiding the stakeholder to think more holistically—beyond just “I want this product or service.”
This meeting is where you:
- Get early buy-in
- Define the goal line (when you need the supplier in place)
- Discover what exists today (contracts, spend, supplier performance)
- Avoid surprises later on
It’s about building a joint plan and setting the tone for a professional sourcing process. Learn about creating a Gantt Schedule in Excel (Youtube example).
Case about stakeholder alignment is connected to the online course Sourcing Process course part 2a available at Learn How to Source.
📝 Structure for Each Pair
- Preparation (10 min): Read your role (Buyer or Stakeholder). Think about your needs, expectations, and questions.
- Role Play Meeting (20–25 min): Hold your stakeholder kickoff meeting.
- Debrief (15 min): As a group, reflect on:
- What went well?
- What was challenging?
- What questions worked best to unlock information?
- What did you forget to ask?
🧩 Role Play Cases (x6)
Each student pair will start with one scenario. After one round, rotate pairs or switch roles and cases to practice different stakeholder types.
✅ Case 1: Marketing Campaign (Digital Launch)
Stakeholder: Head of Marketing
Need: Hire a creative agency for a digital launch campaign
Timeline: Campaign must go live in 3.5 months
Challenges: Focus on creativity; not interested in price; has favorite suppliers
Spend History: No current contract – used freelancers before
✅ Case 2: IT Hardware Upgrade
Stakeholder: CIO
Need: Replace all employee laptops and monitors globally
Timeline: Rollout needed in 5 months
Challenges: Wants standardization and strong SLA; unsure if IT team can support transition
Spend History: Several suppliers used; limited visibility into contract lengths
✅ Case 3: Facility Management Services
Stakeholder: Head of Operations
Need: Consolidate cleaning and maintenance contracts across 8 sites
Timeline: Current contracts expire in 6 months
Challenges: Wants to simplify and reduce cost, but sites have different needs
Spend History: Mix of small, local providers; some sites on auto-renew contracts
✅ Case 4: Travel Management Company (TMC)
Stakeholder: HR Director
Need: Select a travel agency for booking and policy enforcement
Timeline: New provider to start in 4 months
Challenges: Wants great UX and data visibility; many execs book outside policy
Spend History: Current supplier underperforms; no real spend tracking
✅ Case 5: Software Tool for Product Design
Stakeholder: R&D Lead
Need: Purchase licenses for a new cloud-based design tool
Timeline: Tool needed by new fiscal year (in 2.5 months)
Challenges: Enthusiastic about a specific supplier; unclear on license tiers
Spend History: No formal process before—teams purchased independently
✅ Case 6: Corporate Event Planner
Stakeholder: Communications Manager
Need: Plan and execute a large internal conference (500 people)
Timeline: Event date is locked in 7 months from now
Challenges: High expectations from executives; wants everything perfect
Spend History: One-time spend each year; handled manually without contract
Stakeholder Role Descriptions (6 Total)
🧑💼 Stakeholder Role 1: Elin Gustafsson, Head of Marketing
Need: Hire a creative marketing agency for a digital product launch campaign
Background:
You’re leading the launch of a new smart home product. You need a high-impact digital campaign that builds brand buzz and drives traffic. You care about creativity and brand alignment more than price.
Your Perspective:
- You’ve worked with some great freelancers before, but there’s no long-term contract in place.
- You want to move quickly—campaigns must go live in 3.5 months.
- You have a few agencies in mind already.
- You’re unclear about procurement’s process and are worried it might slow things down.
💻 Stakeholder Role 2: Henrik Dahl, CIO
Need: Replace all employee laptops and monitors globally
Background:
The IT team is rolling out a hardware upgrade. Standardization and long-term support are key, but implementation capacity is a concern.
Your Perspective:
- You’re not sure what contracts already exist—different regions handled things differently.
- You want suppliers who can offer high-volume delivery and post-sale support.
- You need this in place within 5 months.
- You’re technically focused and prefer data and clear specs over discussion.
🧹 Stakeholder Role 3: Ingrid Nyström, Head of Operations
Need: Consolidate cleaning and maintenance contracts across 8 locations
Background:
You want to simplify facility services and reduce costs. Currently, every site manages its own providers, creating inefficiencies.
Your Perspective:
- You want a single provider, but some sites insist on their favorites.
- Several local contracts are auto-renewing soon.
- Your budget isn’t clear-cut—costs vary per site.
- You’re stretched thin and need the buyer to drive the process.
✈️ Stakeholder Role 4: Sofie Lehtinen, HR Director
Need: Source a travel management company (TMC)
Background:
You’re looking for a TMC to help enforce travel policy, improve booking UX, and report spend. Executives often ignore the policy.
Your Perspective:
- You want a flexible, digital-first supplier.
- You don’t have solid data on current travel spend.
- Current supplier isn’t adding value.
- You want implementation in 4 months.
🧪 Stakeholder Role 5: Johan Ek, R&D Lead
Need: Purchase a new cloud-based product design software
Background:
Your team needs a powerful design tool to support next-gen product development. A favorite supplier is already in mind.
Your Perspective:
- You’re excited about the tool’s features and have tested the free version.
- You don’t know if there’s an enterprise license available.
- You need the solution ready in 2.5 months.
- Budget has been approved—but only loosely.
🎤 Stakeholder Role 6: Maria Lindell, Communications Manager
Need: Hire an event agency for the annual internal conference (500 attendees)
Background:
You’re responsible for the company’s largest internal event, and this year must be spectacular.
Your Perspective:
- The event date is fixed—7 months from now.
- You’re concerned about pricing and flexibility.
- No contract exists from previous years—each event was done ad hoc.
- You’re used to managing everything yourself and may resist formal processes.
📄 Buyer Role Descriptions (6 Total)
🎯 Buyer Role 1: Emma Lindström (Marketing Campaign Buyer)
You’ve been assigned to source a marketing agency.
Your job is to structure the sourcing event and guide the stakeholder toward clarity.
What you need to define:
- Scope of campaign (geography, deliverables)
- Budget target
- Contract start date (agency ready in 3.5 months)
- Who else is involved (branding, legal?)
- Are there existing contracts or approved vendors?
- What does success look like?
💻 Buyer Role 2: Jonas Fredriksson (IT Hardware Buyer)
You’re leading the sourcing of laptops and monitors.
The CIO wants efficiency—but may overlook the process.
What you need to define:
- Full scope (models, regions, rollout plan)
- Contract timeline and delivery schedule
- Any preferred suppliers already?
- What’s in place today (contracts, volumes, support)?
- Who else needs to be involved (local IT, finance)?
🧹 Buyer Role 3: Amira Kassem (Facilities Buyer)
You’ve been asked to consolidate facility services across 8 locations.
What you need to define:
- Target cost savings or improvements
- Contract duration and start date
- Stakeholder expectations around service quality
- What suppliers exist today and how are they performing?
- Who else should join the sourcing team (site managers?)
✈️ Buyer Role 4: Lars Olofsson (Travel Category Buyer)
You’re sourcing a new travel management company.
The stakeholder wants speed and flexibility but doesn’t have good spend data.
What you need to define:
- Scope: domestic/international, air/hotel/car?
- What’s broken today?
- Spend baseline: any way to get data?
- Contract start date in 4 months—doable?
- Who are key users/stakeholders?
🧪 Buyer Role 5: Frida Berg (Software & Tools Buyer)
You’ve been pulled into a tool license purchase.
The R&D lead is enthusiastic and biased toward one solution.
What you need to define:
- What is the actual business need?
- Are there any security or IT requirements?
- When is the tool needed? (2.5 months)
- Existing software/tools in use today?
- Is there a policy for SaaS purchasing?
🎤 Buyer Role 6: Viktor Niemi (Event Services Buyer)
You’re tasked with helping the Comms Manager source an event agency.
What you need to define:
- Scope of service (venue, logistics, catering, AV?)
- Date of event is fixed—when does contract need to be signed?
- What went well or badly in past events?
- Any suppliers used previously?
- Who needs to approve the supplier?
Closing the Case: Why Stakeholder Alignment Matters
The early stages of a sourcing project set the tone for everything that follows. As you’ve seen through these six cases, the buyer-stakeholder meeting is not just a formality—it is a critical opportunity to build clarity, trust, and momentum.
Stakeholder alignment ensures that expectations are shared, priorities are clear, and responsibilities are defined. Without it, even well-planned sourcing events can run into delays, misunderstandings, or resistance down the line.
These role plays are designed to simulate real-life challenges where stakeholder alignment may not come easily. Conflicting priorities, unclear goals, or pressure to move fast without a plan are common in the sourcing world. Your role as a buyer is to guide the process, create structure, and drive the collaboration forward.
By practicing these conversations, you’re learning how to ask the right questions, uncover hidden needs, and set the foundation for smart sourcing decisions—all through effective stakeholder alignment.
Remember:
✔️ A great sourcing plan starts with stakeholder alignment
✔️ A clear timeline and defined roles are built on stakeholder alignment
✔️ Understanding the current situation depends on honest stakeholder alignment
When in doubt, return to the basics. The most powerful sourcing tool at your disposal is early, structured, and thoughtful stakeholder alignment.