Procurement professionals have been worried until now that ePurchasing technologies will usurp their job roles. However, they will be relieved to see the latest study by Forrester Research. It states that companies should pay more attention to procurement in a digital world if they want to be agile and innovative.
Recently released, the study emphasised the importance of allowing procurement to evolve along with ePurchasing technologies if companies want to benefit from digital transformation. The study involved over 400 procurement decision-makers who detailed the state of procurement and how the function of procurement has matured in their organisations. The researchers found that most procurement leaders have misjudged their procurement maturity and still have much work ahead of them if they want to play a major role in the digital transformation of their organisation.
Many participants felt that procurement in their organisation was advanced, offering the company a competitive edge, but the study found that this was not the case. The researchers said their assessment found that procurement leaders tended to overestimate procurement, and these organisations still had to go for more digitisation to ensure ROI that goes beyond money and cost. These include revenue growth, product innovation, and making the business more agile.
Lack of support from C-suite obstructs successful digital transformation, in particular during the initial stages, according to the research. As a result, procurement is unable to get the necessary budget to bring about change that the management expects. The researchers state that most successful procurement leaders manage the necessary support required for their initiatives and make procurement a strategic function.
There is no doubt that modern ePurchasing technologies play a significant role in transforming procurement. However, a poor choice of technology can result in unreliable data and inadequate adoption by stakeholders, including suppliers. The study states that procurement requires not just the right talent, but also the right tools to enable transformation.