A recent survey reveals that digital technology is already transforming procurement and looks set to do so further in the next five years. But how exactly is it making a difference?
The 2018 Deloitte survey ‘Leadership: Driving innovation and delivering impact’ involved 504 procurement leaders from 39 countries with a combined annual turnover of $5.5 trillion. The results reveal digital technology is already helping these professionals to overcome the challenges involved in procurement.
Most notably, the survey highlights that procurement leaders are embracing connectivity in order to make efficiency savings and improve productivity, with half using advanced analytics to reduce costs.
These are big changes with big implications: 66% of participants predict that digital technology will be responsible for the largest changes in supplier management over the five years ahead.
But what changes are taking place with the procurement industry because of digital technology?
In a recent article for Raconteur, journalist Burhan Wazir addressed this question. In ‘Five ways technology is driving procurement’, he looks a range of different sectors and examines some of the transformations already happening within organisations.
Within the food industry, companies are harnessing the power of customer data to drive down costs and inefficiencies while making resources available for innovation. For example, in the US, supply chain management firm HAVI, food industry consultant Kinetic 12 and the International Foodservice Manufacturers have come together on a project that uses data to improve the relationships between some of the biggest food brands (including Burger King and Starbucks) and their suppliers.
Burhan Wazir also examined use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the public sector and defence, machine-learning in manufacturing and beacon technology in the tourism industry, demonstrating that applications of digital technology are as wide-ranging as they are innovative.
Read more about the uses of digital technology in different sectors in ‘Five ways technology is driving procurement’
As originally seen in ‘The Future of Procurement’ published by Raconteur Media on 20th June 2018 in The Times.