Changing Facets of Procurement Management Market

My blue-sky rainbow world would also include the ability to do a financial comparison of the vendors as well for pricing.

Could you tell us about the challenges that are prevalent in the market today?

The biggest challenge that we have seen and are seeing in the market today is the supply chain issue. Everyone from a big organization to a small grocery store has failed to keep their items in stock or stay well-stocked at one point of their operation since the start of the pandemic. The pandemic has brought on the need to diversify and find more diverse suppliers for every organization to ensure a company’s own internal stability. The essential variegation has compelled companies to implement cost-containment strategies to ensure their financial stability to withstand the next market disruption.

Is there any project initiative you are working on to address some of these challenges?

We are working on implementing workflow automation software. Using it, we can automate many processes like sending out RPCs, gathering information, trending the received information, approvals, etc. Utilizing the newly generated workflow, we can provide different departments access to the specific items they want to see from the proposal. Consequently, we can segment the contract agreement so that different departments can only look at the clauses relevant to their expertise. Then, based on the document, they can give their individual views which will allow us track and archive approvals for audit and/or any future questions.

Regarding all the potential disruption and transformations happening in the market, how do you envision the future of procurement management space?

In the next couple of years, we are going to move to a highly digitized and technical market. The pandemic has already accelerated the process, including working from home. COVID also forced some companies to accelerate their digital transformation when they weren’t ready. As such, the new digital infrastructure is bound to contain some security vulnerabilities, making them prone to cyber-attacks. The dilemma is that the attacks will only become more prominent, and cybersecurity companies’ current level of security is not enough to prevent them. I even observed some vendors who indicated that they can’t cling to the level of cybersecurity insurance they previously maintained and are now looking for alternative options. So, even our cybersecurity insurance market is going to change. It may degrade as we move forward in the digitized technical market and toward a remote-type workforce area.

I believe that the most prominent aspect of being successful going forward will be the ability to vet things at a high level to ensure appropriate protections to the company.