As 2019 approaches, there are many anticipated digital predictions about trends within procurement for the new year. Some of the prediction trends are not new or revolutionary, but they are important to recognise, acknowledge, and perhaps even utilise throughout the upcoming year. One thing we should not do is ignore them.
Read our list of 2019 public procurement predictions
Supplier Relationship Management
Although supplier management isn’t a new trend, it’s still a huge topic within procurement. In their Vision 2020 publications, pwc states that the top 25 per cent of procurement functions will have gone beyond incremental improvements, and be implementing fundamental change to process and policy alike. This includes how they interact with suppliers and shifting focus from cost and value to Return on Investment (ROI).
These outcomes all depend heavily on building better, stronger relationships to encourage further innovation from suppliers, as well as closer collaboration.
Blockchain and Digital Adoption
Another major trend predicted for 2019 is blockchain. It’s one of the hottest topics in procurement right now, and this is highly likely to continue throughout 2019. Blockchain is and will continue to be a key tool in shaping the transparency of a supply chain. Information is shared and transmitted easily and safely, while the technology allows a record to be kept of transactions.
Alongside blockchain’s increasing influence, it is predicted that there will be a rise in digital adoption and use of the Cloud. According to Gartner, an estimated $1 trillion of IT spend will be moved to the Cloud by 2020, as organisations look to make their IT services more agile.
McKinstry & Company, a leading research agency, found that almost 60 per cent of the hundreds of individual tasks involved in the source-to-pay process have the potential to be fully or largely automated using technologies that are available right now.
Social Value
Social value is another procurement trend for 2019. There is a growing tide of opinion amongst procurement professionals that 2019 will be the year when social value and sustainability will really take hold. Organisations have begun to realise that cost and quality are only a part of the overall package, and not only do they need to be seen to be doing more in the community, but they need to follow through on it to satisfy an increasingly savvy mass of potential critics.
This is not unique to buying organisations – this trend is prevalent within the wider supply chain too. Using work practices and benefits for communities as value adds in tenders will become the norm and procurement will no longer be able to award contracts on cost without taking the wider impact of the procurement into consideration.
Cyber Security
Unsurprisingly, cyber security – and the risks organisations are taking – is also one of the top procurement trends for 2019. Risk runs throughout the other trends that have been suggested so far – for instance, the increased use of digital tools and the cloud increases exposure to potential cyber attacks. The increasing need for cyber security as technology advances is something that cannot be ignored.
Cyber attacks in the UK last year rose by 63 per cent. They are also the fastest growing crime in the US, and they are increasing in size, sophistication, and cost. There is little doubt that cyber attacks will continue to plague organisations in 2019 — and at a very high financial and reputational cost to those affected.
Work with Delta in 2019
With Delta eSourcing, users can deliver efficiency savings, cut budget spend and become more transparent with suppliers as we have a range of tools that can help your organisation to streamline its procurement methods.
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