Procurement Magazine September 2025 | Page 41

THE PROCUREMENT INTERVIEW
Building a digital ecosystem Speaking with other CPOs, Rob sees varied readiness levels across different sectors. It’ s clear many procurement professionals lack end-to-end technical understanding of S2P and that many organisations don’ t leverage procurement’ s position within the business.
“ Too often, procurement professionals work in silos,” he explains“ some focus only on sourcing, others only on contract management. But with modern, integrated systems, you can’ t afford to see these areas in isolation. Decisions made upstream – in sourcing, contracting or data entry – directly shape downstream outcomes like efficiency, automation, and the buying experience.” He stresses that a digital ecosystem must solve defined business problems.
“ Procurement sits across the organisation. We are in a unique position to join those dots.”
“ Don’ t just go get technology for technology’ s sake,” he warns.“ If that’ s not aligned to what your business needs, then you’ re unlikely to be solving the right problem.”
He continues:“ The knock-on impact is that, without clear purpose, adoption is likely to be even more challenging.”
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