The ins and outs of using a digital procurement system for procurement excellence

Summary

Procurement excellence is the benchmark for procurement processes. Among the several steps that can lead an organisation towards procurement excellence, digitalisation is one of the most impactful factors. The importance of procurement excellence can be understood by discerning the reasons why businesses are unable to effectively conduct procurement. Looking at the impact of digital procurement on procurement excellence shows how businesses can avoid these mishaps and establish a streamlined process.

---

Procurement excellence is the modification and enhancement of the present procurement strategy. It is an objective placed by firms seeking profitability, lower costs, and enhanced efficiency. 

Procurement excellence aims to combine business objectives, reporting, and monitoring, whilst seeking improvement in the procurement process. 

It can be achieved through the implementation of a digital procurement system. There is significant interest in procurement excellence as organisations start to realise the benefits it can present, efficiency, productivity, and lower costs chief among them. 

What are the steps that lead towards procurement excellence?

Attaining procurement excellence provides a chain of benefits towards business processes such as the ability to mitigate risks, save costs, and streamline processes. 

The steps to achieve procurement excellence involve: 

1. Development of strategies

It is important to develop a variety of strategies to fill the procurement space. Developing strategies will help configure financial needs, formulate adoption strategies, and map out a plan to combat industrial competition and cascading economic conditions. 

2. Communication with stakeholders

Procurement excellence essentially means overhauling procurement, which needs an immense amount of communication with stakeholders. Processes will be reworked and unified under one stream, which can lead to optimised performance across the board.

3. Technological insight and implementation:

Digital procurement systems allow making use of its insight. This enables businesses to streamline processes in line with competitors and optimise procedures. This is likely to convert tasks towards automation and maintain consistency and productivity.

4. Change management

This is a systematic approach when dealing with a transition in processes, goals, and technologies. Change management mainly relies on creating a basis to implement strategies for the change, managing the change, and assisting in adapting to change.

5. Measurement reporting

This is the act of reporting and analysing measures that are implemented. When implementing procurement excellence, it is important to constantly monitor progress and effectiveness. This can reshape decision-making and the outlook of processes. 

Why procurement excellence is important?

Data has shown that 57% of businesses have seen better decision-making based on risk insights and mitigation technologies. To top it off, procurement excellence is about managing risk, understanding stakeholder goals, and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

There is a balance in procurement excellence that juggles functions between fragility and integration, which drives initiatives that aim to meet procurement goals whilst serving the broader stakeholder objectives. 

Why are businesses unable to effectively conduct procurement?

Procurement processes are rather complex and many firms tend to navigate them in inefficient or ineffective ways, which result in a large chunk of wasted time and misallocated resources. 

The main reasons businesses miss out on procurement processes are because:

• Misunderstandings within the procurement process 
• Lack of resources to diversify the procurement process 
• Inability to communicate and convince stakeholders of digital adoption 
• Inability to see the necessity for a digital procurement system 

How does procurement digitalisation lead to procurement excellence?

Procurement digitalisation is using technology to streamline, optimise, and enhance procurement processes—paving the way for excellence. Procurement excellence keeps a business competitive, modern, and diverse.

With procurement excellence kept as a priority, a foundation of knowledge and monitoring around decisions can be established. This can potentially lead to lower costs and saved finances, achieving budgeting goals and improving performance.

Procurement excellence has a range of benefits that can be posed to a business, such as:

• Improved efficiency and productivity 
• Reduced overheads and improved financial outcomes 
• Increased stakeholder satisfaction and loyalty
• Enhanced reputation and credibility
• Streamlined supplier management 
• Assured quality and minimisation of errors
• Improved transparency across processes

Procurement digitalisation is the pathway that leads to procurement excellence

Procurement digitalisation leads to procurement excellence if the right processes and methods are being followed. Implementing a digital procurement system to digitalise processes depends on the nature of the business, business objectives and stakeholder connectivity, and existing economic conditions.
In the modern business world where processes are simplified through automation, a business must consider implementing digital transformation measures to elevate operations and win the competitive edge in markets.