For several years now, Spend Matters has been collecting and publishing a series of articles about predictions and insights on procurement, supply and services trends for the year ahead from expert tech and service providers in the market.
This year is no different and we’ve framed the subject around “insights,” highlighting providers’ observations from the year they’ve left behind and how they see them shaping the year ahead.
This series will run from mid-December to mid-January, then our analyst Bertrand Maltaverne will wrap up with his own take on the key themes that emerge.
In no order of preference, other than by the date they dropped into our digital letterbox, today let’s hear from Gregor Stühler, CEO and Co-Founder of Scoutbee, AI-powered supplier discovery suite provider.
Organizations will invest more in their data capabilities and infrastructure
Procurement teams had their hands full navigating disruption in 2022, and many of these challenges will follow us into next year. However, in 2023, I expect organizations to start investing in their data capabilities and infrastructure to pull them out of ‘fire-fighting’ mode and design a more proactive and resilient supply chain. Here are some trends I expect to play out in 2023:
- Point solutions will be foundational: Procurement teams will continue to adopt best-of-breed point solutions over source-to-pay suites in search of greater innovation and stronger functionalities. As the number of systems companies work with grows, to fully realize these solutions’ value, procurement teams will need a single data and visualization tool at the heart of their technology stacks. These engines integrate, aggregate, enrich, normalize, and visualize multiple data streams, and will deliver the actionable insights critical for procurement’s success.
- Procurement will solve its data-quality problem. In 2023, procurement will have access to enriched, contextualized and actionable supplier data analytics that can enable faster, more proactive and informed decisions to drive resilience and competitive advantage. Imagine if you could know exactly when a boat with the parts you need docks based on when you order, the availability of the part at the supplier facility in China, and other multi-formatted, multi-sourced data? This is the kind of value that multi-structured analytics and applied observability will bring to procurement teams next year.
- Organizations will stop underestimating the “nth-tier:” With ESG regulations rising across multiple jurisdictions, such as the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, visibility into suppliers across all tiers becomes more critical to reducing risk and maintaining compliance. A strong data foundation boosts supplier due diligence and provides deeper visibility into supplier certifications, specifications, and more across the supply base. Procurement teams that invest in their data capabilities in 2023 will be confident that the supply partners they choose to work with meet their standards.
- ESG & Diversity programs will be tested: While ESG and Diversity initiatives are most at risk during recessions, AI can enable companies to maintain their sustainability and diversity-spend commitments. Intelligent tools will surface the diverse and/or sustainable suppliers that can cost-effectively deliver what procurement needs to achieve its objectives. With AI-enabled solutions, procurement teams will be more likely to support diverse and sustainable suppliers and help everyone succeed, whether by paying these partners faster or by reducing non-imperative sourcing criteria.
Thanks to Scoutbee for being a part of the series, and look out for more insights for the year ahead.
If you need to find the right procurement technology and provider for your business needs next year, Spend Matters “Procurement Technology Buyer’s Guide” and TechMatch can help.
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And if you are looking for procurement services providers to help you with your 2023 decisions, look no further than our Procurement Services Market Landscape Directory.
