During the past two decades, procurement has evolved from a clerical back office function to a strategic business function that orchestrates supply networks, drives innovation and growth, aligns business operations with companies' ethical and social values, and manages risk, even as markets and technologies continuously evolve. According to CPOs, the next step of this evolution will be digital.
“Digitalization is on every CPO's agenda, but apparently there is a lack of clarity of how to realize the full potential of digitized procurement solutions,” highlights Christoph Bode. To explore the trends and challenges that are shaping the future of emerging technologies and understand how digital innovation is shaping the future of procurement, Christoph Bode and Jan Gruenen teamed up with SAP Ariba to conduct a large-scale survey of more than 460 procurement and operational leaders globally.
“Despite the roadblocks – budget restrictions, analytics and data insights and talent shortage – procurement leaders understand the urgency and importance of digitalization,” says Marcell Vollmer, chief digital officer, SAP Ariba. “And,” he adds, “it will be important for them to continue to look for ways to bring intelligence to spend management, evaluating new and emerging technologies and embracing innovations to elevate procurement's role in driving revenue and innovation and not just saving on costs.”
Please find the detailed executive summary here.