Whether your organization is just building its procurement function, or it’s looking to revamp and modernize, it’s helpful to have a blueprint for building an effective digital-native procurement operation. Here are five principles to follow to meet your goals:
- Invest in training and development for procurement professionals. Everything starts with people. Investing in your team will help them stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices in the field, and can improve their skills, knowledge, and expertise. It can also help teams attract and retain top talent, and can support the overall success of the organization.
- Invest in the right tools and technologies, such as online platforms, marketplaces, and analytics. Digital procurement requires tools. These tools can help teams streamline their processes, automate routine tasks, and improve their visibility and control over the supply chain. And investing in technology to increase productivity is also an investment in people, and like we said in point 1, everything starts with people!
- Build strong relationships with suppliers. This can involve regular communication and collaboration, as well as establishing clear expectations and performance metrics. Strong supplier relationships can help teams negotiate better prices, improve delivery times, and reduce risks. Strong relationships can help ensure that you are a customer of choice, which will help you work through supply disruptions should they arise.
- Use data and analytics to inform decision-making. This can involve collecting and analyzing data on key performance metrics, such as cost savings, supplier performance, and on-time delivery, and using this information to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for improvement.
- Develop and implement standard processes and procedures for managing the sourcing process. This can help teams ensure consistency, quality, and efficiency, and can reduce the risk of errors and misunderstandings. The best people, systems, relationships and data won’t help if you don’t actually use them!
Not only does effective digital procurement help you save money on the goods and services your business needs, but it can also help improve your relationships with suppliers and ensure that you always have the resources you need to keep your operations running smoothly. If you follow the five principles above you’ll be well on your way to building a successful procurement operation.