DIGITAL PROCUREMENT
Procurement leaders are expected to drive the execution and management of contracts in collaboration with internal stakeholders and suppliers . Their teams , meanwhile , are also expected to contribute to the vendor management lifecycle , including areas such as ESG , risk , and performance requirements .
Today , there ’ s a raft of procurement automation solutions to do the heavy lifting in these and other areas .
Here , we talk to Jennifer Chaplain – Solution Engineering & Customer Engagement Principal for Aera Technology , which helps businesses use real-time data and AI to predict business risk and opportunity – about the hot areas of procurement automation , the benefits of such solutions , and how businesses can get the most from them .
In her role , Chaplain implements the company ’ s core technologies and also designs decision intelligence workflows for global companies . “ I am a passionate evangelist for data science and machine learning to enable predictive , self-healing
“ TECHNOLOGIES THAT DIGITISE AND
AUTOMATE DECISIONS CAN BREAK DOWN SILOS ACROSS THE ORGANISATION THAT HIDE PROCESS GAPS ”
JENNIFER CHAPLAIN ENGINEERING & CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT PRINCIPAL , AERA TECHNOLOGY
supply chains ,” she says . “ I guide customers in transformational projects so their systems can react to supply issues autonomously and in real-time , including communication with n-tier suppliers and contract manufacturers .”
Below , she shares her knowledge and insight into procurement automation .
What challenges do procurement teams face today ? Procurement teams are often forced to work reactively rather than proactively . They juggle strategy and execution while making daily , even hourly , decisions ; responding to supply chain and logistics volatility ; managing costs and compliance ; and other tasks . procurementmag . com 79