4 Advanced Technology Trends Transforming the Procurement Process

Earlier were when procurement was considered a back-office function, and CPOs were tasked to reduce costs associated with the process. Most recently, businesses have been identifying the scope of the procurement department in maintaining the cash flow across the organization, good supplier relationships, and ensuring sufficient resources (products and services) are available all the time to operate the business effectively.

Procurement involves various activities such as need identification, requisition creation and approval, supplier selection, price negotiation, contract creation, and supply chain tracking. Managing all these processes with manual, paper-based processes is tedious and time-consuming. However, with a robust procurement solution, most tedious tasks can be automated and achieve efficiency.

Big Data Analytics

Enterprise infrastructure comprises vast amounts of data that must be processed effectively to generate valuable insights. Traditionally, enterprises have been collecting, managing, and processing data manually. This process is tedious and time-consuming and won’t assure accurate analytics. Big data is a new technology advancement that helps businesses to collect and process tons of data from across the organization. Besides providing accurate spend analysis, big data helps the procurement teams to leverage predictive analytics to identify new opportunities, forecast revenue, and prevent disruptions.

Automation with AI and RPA Technologies

Traditional methods for identifying the need for products and services, creating and approving requisitions and POs, and making vendor payments are tedious. In most cases, these outdated, paper-based processes will get delayed due to the inability of the approvers to view and approve requisitions online, ineffective due to the lack of access to the right pool of suppliers, and inaccurate due to the improper handling of invoice matching process. This is why most procurement professionals seek to invest in automated technologies that can automate the entire procure-to-pay cycle.

Robust procurement solutions include many advanced features that allow the procurement teams to automate the entire purchasing process. The software can enable you to automate the invoice matching process with 2-way and 3-way matching engines and helps you make payments accurate and genuine invoices.

Addressing Cybersecurity and Business Continuity Concerns

The procurement department consists of data related to financial transactions and suppliers’ professional and personal information. Safeguarding this confidential procurement data is crucial for every organization. Breaching this business data can affect the bottom line of the supply chain and negatively impact the company’s brand image. Fortunately, advanced procurement solutions provide various features to the procurement teams to help them address cybersecurity issues and ensure business continuity.

Leverage Blockchain Technology to Make Supply Chain Quicker, Easier, and More Accurate

Most people think blockchain is just for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Blockchain has a scope in almost every industry, and procurement is no exception. It helps businesses record the quantity of goods and the time of transferred goods. With a chronological record-keeping mechanism, blockchain makes the data collection process more secure and accurate.

The Conclusion

Technology is evolving quickly, and many new advanced tools are hitting the market daily. These latest technologies and methodologies are changing how businesses manage and operate their processes. On the other hand, businesses are seeking to invest in modern technologies to improve their existing processes and to stay ahead of their competitors.

Especially most enterprises are seeking to implement automation in their procurement process that involves purchasing goods and services. The businesses that have already implemented the software to automate their processes are witnessing a range of benefits, such as improved processes, reduced costs, and enhanced efficiency.

To cope with the current market adopting modern technologies is imperative for every organization. If you are still using the age-old methodologies, it may be the right time to purchase a procurement software solution that comes with the latest features and helps you streamlines your processes and stay ahead of the competitors.