Supplier innovation high on procurement's agenda

It’s a well-known fact that procurement wants to innovate more, but what does that really mean? Where does this innovation path lead to? Our recent research, Procurement Innovation Pathway clearly shows that supplier-focused innovations were highest on procurement’s agenda.

The research was conducted by Morar Consulting and surveyed 100 UK procurement professionals working in small to large UK enterprises.

Procurement was never classed as the most innovative of departments in the past, but innovation is all about challenging the norm and creating new ways to solve problems. Over the recent years, as an eProcurement solutions provider, we watched as the view of procurement started to change along with their strategies. 80% of participants believe that their involvement in business innovation in the future is important.

The top 5 priorities identified in our research include supplier relationship management, sourcing new suppliers and reducing supplier risk. This demonstrates that the supplier base is being better-managed and procurement is leading the change. Even when compared to other business objectives, a supplier-focus is still high on the priority list of our research participants. 84% said they were currently involved in supply chain collaboration, 40% said that they were currently leading it, and 50% expect to be leading in this innovation area in the future.

This is also reflected in the two most popular solutions invested in by procurement, with supplier information at the top with 51% and contract management second at 49%. Additionally, our research revealed that supplier relationship management is one of the areas that procurement is planning to invest in within the next 12 months.

The research highlighted that procurement technology is becoming more important for procurement as well as the whole business, and procurement professionals are embarking on an innovation journey. But for the journey to be heading in the right direction, it seems clear that supplier-focused innovation must be central to procurement's plans.

Featured in: Spend Matters