A real-world discussion of how much procurement can do
There’s nothing simple about procurement, and too many tech providers pretend there is. Let's explore how technology can improve the procurement process and experience, and what to look for in a provider. تحميل الوثيقة
There’s nothing simple about procurement, and too many tech providers pretend there is. Let's explore how technology can improve the procurement process and experience, and what to look for in a provider. A real-world discussion
of how much
procurement can do.
of how much
procurement can do.
For decades, procurement leaders like yourself have answered the
call – solving savings concerns over and over again. Taking advantage
of an increasingly interconnected world to drive down costs; finding
suppliers around the globe; centralizing spending to get discounts;
building the processes that made it all work.
Until one day, it didn’t.
Once-trusted suppliers became business liabilities. Critical links in your
supply chain snapped. And with COVID, the economy, and unending
political unrest, the hits just kept on coming.
Are you a procurement
manager or miracle worker?
Odds are, you’re both. Because when your business asks, you deliver.
And they’ve been asking you for years to find new sources of savings.
You doubled last year’s savings? Awesome. Now double that.
You hit your cost-reduction target? Great. Do it again.
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call – solving savings concerns over and over again. Taking advantage
of an increasingly interconnected world to drive down costs; finding
suppliers around the globe; centralizing spending to get discounts;
building the processes that made it all work.
Until one day, it didn’t.
Once-trusted suppliers became business liabilities. Critical links in your
supply chain snapped. And with COVID, the economy, and unending
political unrest, the hits just kept on coming.
Are you a procurement
manager or miracle worker?
Odds are, you’re both. Because when your business asks, you deliver.
And they’ve been asking you for years to find new sources of savings.
You doubled last year’s savings? Awesome. Now double that.
You hit your cost-reduction target? Great. Do it again.
2 / 13
Feeling the pressure in procurement.
Procurement got thrust into the limelight, and mandates for flexibility,
sustainability, and resiliency were force-fit into the cost-focused program
you spent years building. According to the Economist Group:
“Over the last three volatile years, procurement has become
one of the most important functions within organizations –
playing a critical role in determining business resilience.”1
In many cases, however, procurement leaders have been forced to take on
this new role and craft this new strategy with severely limited support:
• Decades of underfunding have left organizations scrambling for talent
and tools. While an average business spends an average of 20-40% of
annual revenue on suppliers and service providers, procurement
typically receives less than 1% of budget allocation.1
• Most procurement technology solutions simply aren’t built for the
sophisticated operational reality of today’s procurement teams.
So now, as procurement starts to get the funding it deserves, are
technology providers equipped to step up?
1 Decoding Confidence in the Procurement Function, Economist Impact 2023
3 / 13
Procurement got thrust into the limelight, and mandates for flexibility,
sustainability, and resiliency were force-fit into the cost-focused program
you spent years building. According to the Economist Group:
“Over the last three volatile years, procurement has become
one of the most important functions within organizations –
playing a critical role in determining business resilience.”1
In many cases, however, procurement leaders have been forced to take on
this new role and craft this new strategy with severely limited support:
• Decades of underfunding have left organizations scrambling for talent
and tools. While an average business spends an average of 20-40% of
annual revenue on suppliers and service providers, procurement
typically receives less than 1% of budget allocation.1
• Most procurement technology solutions simply aren’t built for the
sophisticated operational reality of today’s procurement teams.
So now, as procurement starts to get the funding it deserves, are
technology providers equipped to step up?
1 Decoding Confidence in the Procurement Function, Economist Impact 2023
3 / 13
You’re evaluating cost with a
big picture lens – getting
beyond price to define
efficiency-creating model
changes, unlock supplier and
process innovations, and build
long-term supplier partnerships
that reduce financial risks.
You’re challenging traditional
definitions of “supply chain
visibility” – taking advantage of
vast procurement data so you can
understand what it’s telling you; so
you can use AI to spot trends,
predict problems, and proactively
address vulnerabilities; and so
you can confidently determine
viability, reliability, and security
risks across your supplier base.
You’re sifting through well-
intended sustainability initiatives
to find real-life solutions – creating
measured progress toward net-zero
targets, adapting to ever-changing
regulatory requirements, and defining
ever-elusive KPIs.
You’re reimagining category
manager roles – creating scale by
tapping into intelligent tech and
modeling, so you can upskill and
reskill your teams to efficiently
manage more categories and think
more strategically.
You’re opening lines
of communication and
collaboration across the company –
solidifying relationships with fellow
leaders, battling old-school
perceptions all down the org chart, and
building processes and tools that
every employee can count on to get
the job done.
Let’s be honest: this isn’t easy.
There’s nothing simple about procurement, and too many tech
providers pretend there is. They need to understand the magnitude
of the issues you’re dealing with every day.
It isn’t enough to say that’s a lot, and the tech provider you choose will have to keep up.
4 / 13
big picture lens – getting
beyond price to define
efficiency-creating model
changes, unlock supplier and
process innovations, and build
long-term supplier partnerships
that reduce financial risks.
You’re challenging traditional
definitions of “supply chain
visibility” – taking advantage of
vast procurement data so you can
understand what it’s telling you; so
you can use AI to spot trends,
predict problems, and proactively
address vulnerabilities; and so
you can confidently determine
viability, reliability, and security
risks across your supplier base.
You’re sifting through well-
intended sustainability initiatives
to find real-life solutions – creating
measured progress toward net-zero
targets, adapting to ever-changing
regulatory requirements, and defining
ever-elusive KPIs.
You’re reimagining category
manager roles – creating scale by
tapping into intelligent tech and
modeling, so you can upskill and
reskill your teams to efficiently
manage more categories and think
more strategically.
You’re opening lines
of communication and
collaboration across the company –
solidifying relationships with fellow
leaders, battling old-school
perceptions all down the org chart, and
building processes and tools that
every employee can count on to get
the job done.
Let’s be honest: this isn’t easy.
There’s nothing simple about procurement, and too many tech
providers pretend there is. They need to understand the magnitude
of the issues you’re dealing with every day.
It isn’t enough to say that’s a lot, and the tech provider you choose will have to keep up.
4 / 13