For several years now, Spend Matters has been collecting and publishing a series of articles about predictions and insights in procurement, supply and services trends for the year ahead from expert tech and service providers in the market.
This year is no different as we’ve framed the subject around “insights,” highlighting providers’ observations from the year they’ve left behind and how they see these observations 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 Bar Winker of Tipalti.
The global financial situation
The main topic and insight we see happening in 2023 is the continued unfolding of the global financial situation that started in late 2021. As companies look to tighten their belts and maintain financial stability, the relationship between procurement and finance departments will likely continue to strengthen. More and more companies will institute new spend policies and efficiency campaigns to sustain financial stability, particularly in areas with marginal or diminishing returns. A seamless collaboration between the finance and procurement teams will be crucial for such efforts while enabling the organization to increase visibility and control in the procure-to-pay process.
Another prediction is the increased demand for financial control solutions. As budgets are scrutinized more closely than ever, procurement and finance professionals will look for new ways to gain better visibility into spending and track the ROI of ongoing activities. While companies will likely prioritize financial stability over expansion, this is a good time for businesses to invest and strengthen their operations for the future so they can be ready to scale efficiently by the time the economic situation shifts. Companies with solid tech stacks in-place in the procure-to-pay process will also gain the competitive advantage in responding to the market situation faster and being more agile and nimble, with streamlined processes and spend insights readability available to them.
This will also lead to an increased use of real-time data and analytics across the procure-to-pay process. Access to such data will require companies to digitize their processes and connect the multiple systems that make up their P2P flow. A connected and streamlined workflow will enable companies to make proactive and strategic decisions in executing against their spend policy and recession-proof strategy. The finance and procurement team will also lean on the data and analytics to inform their company on ways to continuously improve and optimize their procure-to-pay process.
In summary, 2023 will put procurement and finance at the center of business strategy. Their input and strategy can be the make or break of many organizations looking to weather what appears to be a significant storm. Companies that leverage technologies to optimize their P2P processes while excelling in finance and procurement collaboration will be able to stand out, be ahead of the competition in the coming year and position themselves to come out stronger on the other side.
Thanks to Tipalti 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.
