With continued economic turmoil keeping the focus on procurement, newer technologies are continuously being sought to ensure the delivery of great savings and reduction of costs. Below is a look at some of the future drivers of technology in procurement.
Intelligent Reporting
Procurement technology of the future is set to shift its focus towards reporting that is more accurate. This will drive better business agility, as they become more responsive and predictive so as to allow for the reduction of costs.
Mobile Procurement
Procurement systems are set to break out of the desktop PC/ large application model, thereby becoming more mobile. This will apply both for the search-order-approve cycle, as well as the analytics on-the-go.
Secure Cloud Technology
Security will become of paramount importance to procurement systems. This will especially apply to cloud based providers who will need to demonstrate that their solutions are just as secure as the traditional on-premises implementations.
Accuracy of Data
Increasingly, data will be recognized as a key enabler of procurement technology, and not just its output. Procurement functions will be out seeking solutions for the identification of ways to deliver their savings targets. And the only way in which they will be able to achieve this is through accurate supplier data that they will have normalized across the supply chain.
Social Procurement
Driving improved purchasing through buyer interconnectedness is set to increase even more in coming years. This will involve the harnessing of cloud architecture with the knowledge of past purchases thereby allowing for the formation of connections. In this way, efficiencies will also be created in purchasing between and within organizations.
Death of Procurement!
Although not quite - what experts predict to be the "death of procurement" is a situation that results as a natural consequence of active spend management. Here, technology and tools become so easy to use and procurement best practice is embedded within the organization so much that it practically runs itself.
Organizational Change
Procurement technology offers the possibility for businesses to shift from legacy processes through gradual change. The good news is that leading technology providers are set to offer solutions that are even easier to use, thereby enabling enterprises to easily drive change in practice.
The future of procurement technology is also looking bright with the introduction of reporting tools and unified data sets that are increasingly sophisticated, both between and within organizations and sectors. This will in turn drive intelligent spend data management and forecasting.
Scott Laxton is a Senior Consultant at GEP that is a leading procurement services company offering a unique blend of consulting, procurement technology and outsourcing. A detailed business information is worth reading at the GEP's website.
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