How €3.8M Was Almost Wasted And What I Learned Watching It Happen

In public procurement, especially in sensitive sectors like defence, the biggest risk isn’t always overspending. It’s not knowing what’s out there.

Early in my career, I worked on a defence procurement project that was completely reasonable in scope. The goal wasn’t overambitious. It wasn’t gold-plated. It was a well-intended effort to buy a secure satellite communication system for military use, something akin to Starlink functionality.

The budget was around €3.8 million. Everyone thought it would be tight, but feasible. What we didn’t realise was that a cheaper, commercially available solution already existed and we were dangerously close to missing it.

Here’s what I learned from that experience.

The Setup: Reasonable Need, Blind Spot in the Market

The organisation needed a mobile, foreign country located, secure satellite comms system, nothing extravagant, just something fit-for-purpose for operations.

Initial estimates showed that delivering such a system through traditional defence channels would cost upwards of €4 million at the absolute low end. So we began drafting specifications and planning for a standard procurement process.

But we made one big mistake: we didn’t look sideways. We didn’t properly scan the market for alternative solutions. We didn’t engage with suppliers early. And we assumed that what we needed had to be built the traditional (and expensive) way.

What we missed: the rapid evolution of commercial satellite providers, offering subscription-based, off-the-shelf solutions that could meet most of the requirements — for a fraction of the cost.

What I Learned

1. Always do your market research – even when the requirements seem straightforward

We didn’t need a brand-new, custom-built system. But because we didn’t explore the market fully, we nearly locked ourselves into a high-cost route that no longer made sense.

By the time we engaged suppliers more directly, it became clear that commercial satellite providers were already offering 80–90% of what we needed — ready to deploy, scalable, and much cheaper. Some of them had solutions up and running in other countries.

Lesson: Procurement must be informed by the current market, not just historical assumptions. Engage early, look wide, and don’t rely only on what’s been done before.

2. Challenge stakeholders – respectfully, but persistently

There was an unspoken assumption internally: that high-grade defence requirements automatically meant custom builds and premium pricing. When early signs showed that our estimates were off, the instinct was to push forward rather than pause and reassess.

As someone junior at the time, I didn’t feel I could question that approach. But looking back, I wish I’d asked:

“Have we looked at commercial options? What are other countries using? Could we pilot something cheaper first?”

Lesson: Even if you’re not the decision-maker, your voice matters. Asking the right questions early can reframe a project and save millions.

3. Challenge suppliers – don’t just accept what’s offered

Once we began market engagement, we realised many suppliers were offering standardised, affordable solutions but we had to ask for specifics. We had to probe beyond the glossy marketing.

It wasn’t enough to say, “Do you have a satellite solution?” We had to say, “Show us the technical specs. How secure is it? What’s the latency? How will it integrate with our existing systems?”

Lesson: Rigorous supplier engagement leads to smarter choices. Challenge them; not aggressively, but critically. That’s how you separate sales talk from real solutions.

How It Ended

Thanks to some late-stage supplier conversations, the organisation ultimately chose a commercial satellite service that met most of the core requirements and saved a significant portion of the budget. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

More importantly, it shifted the mindset. We realised we didn’t always need to build from scratch; sometimes, we just needed to be better informed.

Final Thought: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

This wasn’t a story of failure through overspending or poor intent. It was a near-miss caused by a simple blind spot: we didn’t know what the market could offer.

Now, whenever I approach a new procurement project (especially in tech-heavy or defence-related fields) I remind myself:

Look sideways, not just forward
Ask questions before writing specs
Be curious, not just compliant

Because often, the solution is already out there. You just have to know where to look.

Have you had a similar experience — where market knowledge changed the game? Let’s share lessons.
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