Just a few years ago, procurement was seen by many as a largely administrative function. But as the business environment has become more complex, challenging, and uncertain, it’s clear that procurement is a critical component of organisational performance — one that significantly impact the bottom line.
By Leon Steyn, CEO of Dante Deo Consulting
However, the catch for most organisations is that procurement is best positioned to deliver measurable results when it incorporates efficient, well-designed processes and everyone in the organisation is on the same page regarding strategic goals. This is where companies could use the “as-a-service” approach to turn these goals into reality.
The “as-a-service” model has been gaining popularity for various reasons, including cost efficiency, the flexibility to work on a subscription basis, and scalability, making it possible for companies to adapt to changing market conditions and requirements pre-emptively.
Putting “as-a-service” to work in procurement
Economic downturns, internal complexity at product and organisational levels, managing supplier risk, and the chance of potential supply chain disruptions are just a few procurement-related risks that have been on the rise over the past two and a half years. Embracing an “as-a-service” mindset, however, can help avoid wasted spending and unplanned operational downtime.
More specifically, procurement as a service − an outsourced procurement model that combines technology, staff, and expertise to take care of an organisation’s procurement function − addresses challenges by uniting cloud-based technology with intelligently managed processes. It can be used to oversee vendors; enable digital sourcing; manage the contract lifecycle; analyse and report on spending; and review cost, risks, and performance as part of a robust procurement strategy. It has the potential to transform procurement as we know it and will elevate efficiency in any organisation.
A resilient procurement as a service solution requires technology to automate repetitive processes, a thorough analysis of spend to discover opportunities for improvement, and the right strategy to leverage the opportunities uncovered. And critically, it should be able to account for future and potentially disastrous shifts as soon as procurement operations and supply chains are re-defined.
Skill, scale, and speed with procurement as a service
When organisations start identifying complications in their procurement processes, they typically turn to a do-it-yourself approach, which usually involves hiring more people in a reactive effort to mitigate these complications. Unfortunately, this approach will not streamline or simplify procurement processes, nor will it solve procurement-specific issues.
Avoiding difficulties associated with in-house procurement altogether by turning to Procurement-as-a-Service experts instead presents the ideal solution. Opting to go this route comes with many benefits, including reduced costs across the value chain, greater efficiency, improved compliance, mitigated supplier risks, resolved document and data management issues, improved audit execution, enhanced contract visibility, optimised approval times, and increased productivity. Most significantly, it improves organisations’ abilities to adapt to change with agility.
In this sense, procurement as a service gives organisations the peace of mind that their procurement systems will be handled by procurement specialists, freeing employees to focus on their core functions. Tracking the most appropriate and dependable suppliers, comparing costs, and generating purchase orders will no longer be their concern – that can be left up to the procurement experts.
Streamline company-wide productivity once and for all
Considering the competitive and rapidly evolving business landscape, reflecting on what procurement as a service can offer companies seems apt. Thinking about what is at stake if businesses find themselves in a position where their service providers are underperforming should happen sooner rather than later.
The time for following a rigid approach to procurement has come and gone. Traditional procurement models can result in limited visibility and a lack of management rigour, preventing organisations from tapping into the value of theirsupplier eco systems. But with procurement as a service, organisations gain the ability to make the right decision faster.
Procurement-as-a-Service providers are procurement specialists – they have the experience, skills, and resources to develop and customise the most effective, data-driven procurement solutions that meet a company’s unique needs. Just be sure to partner with a reliable provider to maximise return on investment.