Suzanne Elsdon
Apr 14, 2016
Emerging technologies transforming the procurement value proposition
Blog
The Deloitte Global CPO Survey for 2016 recently discovered that many CPO’s recognise that there are improvements to be made to the procurement process; cycle times need to be shorter, insight needs to be richer and performance needs to be more transparent and efficient. For these reasons it is expected that disruptive technologies will transform supply market-facing assets in business.
The results that survey respondents gave revealed that only 22% of businesses are yet to begin their digital journey, while the other 78% of businesses worldwide now have a clear digital strategy in place or are exploring options for digital enhancement. The survey results go to show that many CPO’s are already investing heavily in digital solutions to support their procurement activities. In 2015 over 70% of CPO’s were using self-service portals, 42% using mobile technologies and over 45% using cloud-based technologies, all of which have improved user engagement and experience by delivering self-service solutions in the procurement process. Areas of procurement technologies expected to receive significant investment over the next 12 months are spend analysis, contract management, eSourcing, supplier relationship management and requisition to pay. Indeed, we are seeing this ourselves; Aimee Gleave, managing consultant here, confirms this, “We have seen a noticeable increase in the last 12 months with many of our manufacturing and engineering clients developing their digital technologies and a direct rise in demand for procurement specialists with the relevant digital skills, on both a permanent and contract basis”. The potential for these emerging technologies to transform the procurement value proposition is huge and should be harnessed by CPO’s. The greater functional accuracy, transactional efficiency and better speed of execution that digital solutions are predicted to bring to the market should lead to overall improved business outcomes. It would seem that the world of procurement is experiencing a digital revolution in terms of how goods and services are provisioned, transported and received as a result of rapid advancements in technology.
