Driving Procurement Excellence

This article highlights five key enterprise priorities that leading procurement organizations are facing, and how Deloitte can help clients to achieve excellence leveraging spend management and business network solutions.

Priority 1 – Driving Operational Efficiency

Procurement operations can be complex, especially when managing operations across multiple business units. Standardization of workflows and elimination of manual tasks will help your organization to achieve operational efficiency. Organizations can leverage various spend management solutions to simplify the procurement process, ensuring compliance with purchasing policies and automating procurement processes. Meanwhile, contract management solutions provide a centralized repository for all your contracts, making it easy to manage contracts across the organization and ensure compliance.

Priority 2 – Enhancing Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is an increasingly important priority for companies for multiple reasons – not only can it enhance your reputation among consumers and investors, but it can also increase employee engagement. Next to this, companies are expected to evaluate their suppliers as well, to make sure they operate in a responsible ecosystem.

Spend management solutions can play a crucial role in helping you to evaluate and monitor suppliers based on a range of criteria, including environmental impact and CSR-related certificates. Additionally, supplier due diligence tools can help you cross-reference suppliers against global watchlists for environmental and social abuses. By embracing CSR, you can build a better future for all and differentiate yourself from the competition.

Priority 3 – Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is essential for remaining competitive in today's market. By integrating disparate systems and data sources, you can eliminate inefficiencies, delays, and errors. Digital solutions, such as Supply Chain collaboration tools and Integrated Business Planning Tools, allow you to collaborate with their suppliers in real-time, and manage costs and risk proactively. 

Priority 4 – Improving margins via cost reduction

Cost reduction has long been a top priority for CPOs, previously ranked #1 in Deloitte’s CPO survey for many years, and with good reason. Spend analysis solutions can help you gain insights into spending patterns, leakage, identify areas for cost savings, and track cost reduction initiatives. By leveraging the power of data analytics, you can optimize your procurement processes and achieve significant cost savings.

Priority 5 – Enhancing supplier risk management

Mitigating supplier risk and Building resilient and agile supply chains has been proven more and more relevant, recent examples are the COVID pandemic and the Suez canal blockage. Managing this risk, requires digital solutions that support the development of a resilient supply chain by enhancing communication and visibility. Such tools foster collaboration between buyers and suppliers, but also help in monitoring and diversifying your supplier base, reducing the risk of disruptions and delay.

How can Deloitte help in next steps

Deloitte can provide comprehensive support throughout blueprinting, requirements gathering, vendor or product selection, implementation, sustain and operate. We have an extensive track record as system integrator, and extensive knowledge on digital transformations, intelligent spend and business networks, for example by leveraging SAP Ariba and SAP Business Network solutions. 

Next to being an implementation partner, Deloitte can assist in developing a robust procurement strategy aligned with your business objectives. We can analyze and optimize your procurement processes, identify cost-saving opportunities, and provide expertise in risk management, helping you establish resilient supply chains. Furthermore, Deloitte can guide you in incorporating sustainability practices into your procurement operations, promoting ethical sourcing, and achieving your corporate social responsibility goals. With our multidimensional approach, Deloitte ensures a successful implementation of SAP Ariba solutions while maximizing the value and impact of your procurement function.

Note: The priorities discussed in this blog originate from the Deloitte Global 2023 Chief Procurement Officer Survey – which can be found here.