DIGITAL PROCUREMENT
B
eing so process-led , one area of the supply chain that lends itself to digitalisation more than most is procurement . The pandemic has made this even more so .
The need to mitigate against disruption and the drive towards sustainability have made procurement more strategic in nature . This has led organisations to automate process-heavy work such as contracts renewals and invoice processing , to allow procurement people to focus on strategic tasks around supplier relations and ESG compliance – important work that itself requires technology for it to be executed effectively .
PwC ’ s 2022 Digital Procurement Survey shows that nearly all chief procurement officers ( CPOs ) understand the power of digitisation , seeing digital transformation as second only to supplier collaboration as the most important procurement strategy .
The survey shows that 77 % of companies are already equipped with source-topay digital solutions , suggesting that the digitalisation of processes is no longer a nice-to-have , but an operational necessity . Leaders such as Jim Kilpatrick , Global Supply Chain & Network Operations Leader for Deloitte , certainly believe this to be true .
“ It ’ s going to be increasingly difficult for organisations to remain competitive and agile if they continue to work in a nondigital model ,” says Kilpatrick . “ AI can sort through
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