Procurement Magazine June 2021 | Page 75

PROCUREMENT ANALYTICS to make decisions based on market consumption patterns , while reducing the workload required of employees .”
How does an organisation identify where they need analytics ? “ We always hear from procurement officers that their organisations are under extreme pressure to extend innovation . They often struggle with long-term investments to transform processes and technology ,” says Gottesman . Taking a top-down look at where procurement functions can be made more efficient , resilient and agile , procurement leaders should look at three key areas to drive value across their business : pricing , consumption , and inventory .
“ Take how companies manage travel spend as an example . When business travel picks up again , procurement organisations will have to make complex travel spend decisions . They can negotiate rates with providers as always . But they can also look at demand and consumption in new ways . Collaboration tools will likely minimise trips and ridesharing provides a lowercost alternative to rental cars . Procurement analytics can play a huge role in making this process smarter and more efficient .”
What makes good procurement analytics ? Believing that businesses need to look at procurement differently , Gottesman explains that “ At Accenture we believe that rather than looking at smaller changes to deliver savings , there needs to be a more holistic view . Data is a key partner in this expanded perspective and in building a future-ready organisation . Most companies still use intuition and experience to make business decisions but acting on realtime data will drive better outcomes .”
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