DIGITAL PROCUREMENT in a new way . Ultimately it ’ s about data . It ’ s about learning , and having a willingness to recognise things won ’ t change overnight . These processes can be painful but the outcomes can be extraordinary .”
Agreeing with Laverentz is Sammeli Sammalkorpi , CEO and co-founder of Sievo . He says the key to any kind of change always comes down to the same thing : mindset .
“ Mindset is everything . In the quest to impose processes on the wider company , and in their bid to become more compliant , much of procurement has become a slave to process and compliance . Yet today ’ s world is volatile , unpredictable and chaotic , so it ’ s hard managing the procurement function using processes designed for a different , more stable , time . This is why procurement needs to change its mindset . It needs to ask how it can I survive in such a complex world .”
Sammalkorpi goes on to explain that becoming more data driven is crucial for success . “ It ’ s no longer enough to offer stakeholders savings or financial returns .” He adds that companies need to embrace both internal and external data , relating to market prices , supplier risks , and sustainability .
“ Procurement needs to see itself as the internal interface between the company and its upstream ecosystem ,” says Sammalkorpi . “ This means they need to acquire and process all this data ."
He also feels procurement needs to become sustainable because doing so “ is a great opportunity to increase its perceived value within companies .”
While sustainability is undoubtedly important for procurement ’ s standing within businesses , its ability to deliver meaningful and powerful spend visibility can elevate it even further , insists Callan .
He says : “ We have so many customers who say they benefited from using our product in the early stages of the pandemic , when there was acute focus on spend visibility and changing the authorisation structure for the thresholds for spend .
“ Our team was able to reconfigure their approval structure across the entire company in less than one hour , which is exactly the kind of fuctionality that was needed when the pandemic first hit .”
With the pandemic now entering a less disruptive phase , Callan feels the role procurement has to play in a company ’ s success will be no less critical .
“ As we continue to mitigate and manage risk , procurement will have a huge role to play . Procurement leaders have proven they can deliver meaningful value to organisations . Now they ' re being asked to promote value that ’ s more strategic in nature , such as spend management . Executives are realising all this value is tied up together in procurement .”
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