Procurement Digitalisation

Thankfully there has been consistent progression over the last 15 years towards digitalising the Procurement Process, with eProcurement in all its forms replacing scenes like this Tender Opening event (with the suffering evaluators drowning in paperwork);

At a public-procurement level across Europe, this trend continues in 2018, whereby all public tender submissions will have to be accepted solely via eSubmission methods, following Member States move towards eNotification and eAccess in 2016.

Digitalising Procurement has been one of the most talked about industry topics over the past few years, with this trend to continue as emerging technologies, such as robotics, sensors, mobile & cloud computing, analytics and blockchain are being used to resolve everyday procurement challenges, across most industries. Undoubtedly the Big 4 are joining the conversation, with Procurement Digitalisation reflections available across their networks;

• Deloitte – How disruptive technologies and tools can enhance your procurement mission and management
• PWC – Procurement 4.0: Are you ready for the digital revolution?
• KPMG – The impact of digitalisation on Procurement
• EY – How is digital procurement redefining businesses today for a world of tomorrow?

So why go digital?

Since 2008 there has been limited investments in Procurement Technology and Training, but the advent of the above disruptive technologies and Procurement’s need to automate repeatable tasks to boost efficiency and reduce costs, will lead to revolutionary change to the role of Procurement over the next 10 years.

Expect buyers to benefit from;

• unparalleled connections to every tier of its supply base to access all relevant data on cost structures, supply availability, lead times, financial and operational risks, and service and quality metrics
• smarter ways to infuse data models to enrich day-to-day operations and decision making
• bots that will automate routine procurement tasks while acting as buying agents / advisors to assist make the best purchasing decisions, delivering optimal value to the business
• simple and intuitive buying experience that all stakeholders will enthusiastically embrace
• real-time insights and analytics across the business through artificial intelligence (AI)

So when to go digital?

Procurement leaders should invest in digital capabilities now that are maturing and gaining momentum, with Deloitte’s overview below highlighting the current state-of-play with such emerging technologies;

So what is the next Step?

The PTI Community has come up trumps here with a useful post from a member outlining the 3 Stages of Enterprise Procurement Technology Implementation – check it out here;

https://community.procureti.com/t/procurement-technology-implementation/148