Amidst the Inflationary Headwinds and a Global Supply Chain Crisis, How Are Procurement Teams Managing their Digital Transformations?

Driven by digital innovation, the focus of the procurement industry at the start of the year had changed. The industry was preparing itself to wholeheartedly commit to challenging traditional approaches to procurement through digitally transforming working practices and processes. So, how are teams managing this during the huge economic and supply chain pressures that the industry is currently facing?

A recent study demonstrated that 52% of procurement and supply chain professionals surveyed will prioritise business continuity and operational resilience over other initiatives and objectives. A necessity perhaps, but something that could threaten to stall procurement’s ambition to be at the forefront of digital innovation in a business.

Digitisation should not be an afterthought for procurement teams, given the obvious long term efficiencies and benefits in doing it successfully.

So, what are the main concerns and challenges that teams are facing in being able to prioritise their digital transformation?

• Lack of investment due to budgetary constraints in light of the current economic pressures.
• A lack of engagement and support from other areas of the business, with 81% of procurement professionals feeling pressured by executives to respond to challenges “more quickly and effectively”.
• Re-evaluating the performance goals for the procurement team and wider business.
• Resource! Attracting, developing and retaining talent to support a digital transformation. To provide further context to the capacity constraints facing global procurement teams, the study showed that only 21% of procurement teams have had a headcount increase In their team.
• Resistance to changing working practices and behaviours from employees. Appropriate change management will need to focus on supporting teams to work differently.
• Companies need to critically analyse the software and hardware that will support transformations to establish process and analytical capabilities. However by taking a leaf out of the book of the tech sector, successful tech companies plan ongoing product-update releases. Procurement teams could therefore plan their digital road map by introducing continual releases.

Delay forms one of the most significant threats to any transformation activity. In the digital space, technology is continuously evolving, therefore the threat of slow progress is exacerbated as slow delivery relinquishes competitive advantage.

If you are looking for support In driving your transformation forward and ensuring the benefits you identified are realised and retained, get In touch at hello@jdpprocurement.com.