Post the Supernova moment - The State of Procurement Technology
Introduction
Welcome to yet a new paradigm shift in the new world of Procurement Technology.
Within the last 25 years we have seen a number of transformative movements taking place ranging from the early days of ERP systems in the 1990s to the eBusiness and eProcurement revolutions enabled by the internet and mobile technologies and later a consolidation of solutions to end-to-end Source to Pay suites.
Right now we are in the middle of a shift, we may not have seen coming.
At least not at such a full force.
The explosion of the Supernova of Procurement Technology
has lead to a proliferation of specialised business applications, so called best of breed solutions, hitting us in all sorts of niches and solving pain points, we probably didn’t even think we had.
It marks the implosion of past principles, possibilities and limitations we thought were always going to build barriers to better user experiences, richer functionalities and deeper integration of processes and data. The stuff we thought we just had to put up with.
A supernova, in astronomical terms, marks the explosive end of a star's lifecycle, but it also sows the seeds for new stars to emerge.
It represents a break-up with past bets on traditional Source to Pay suites and their promises which often left us underwhelmed.
The start of this new paradigm of “best of breed” solutions is a shift which is questioning the core architectural decisions of past years and how solutions connect to each other to truly create seamless end-to-end process journeys.
It’s giving us a flexibility to reimagine workflows and productivity levels beyond traditional sequencing and past efficiency achievements.
But traditional procurement systems, are not remaining static.
They are on their own journey of transformation, integrating AI and partnering with start-ups as we have recently seen in the collaborations announced between OroLabs and COUPA or Archlet and SAP.
A fact which resembles the gravity pull in space, where process orchestration and integrative solutions like ERP and perhaps Suites are bringing best of breed solutions back into connection.
So, what’s next on this blog?
The new Spiderweb is inspiring me to revisit and take a deeper look into some of the drivers and trends which are taking place within the space of ProcureTech.
It’s a domain i feel deeply connected to and where i have been immersed through most parts of my career in different Procurement & Technology roles.
I am excited to dive with you into the upcoming 5 thematic posts to explore some of the key questions which arise from the shift towards Best of Breed. These posts will remain part of my series relating to “Composability & Flexibility in Procurement”.
Here the 5 themes i would like to explore with you:
Architecture & frameworks: To start with, let us take a look into the backbone of any procurement system—the architectural framework. We will revisit some of the themes of my first post in this series, covering Composability and how businesses can create robust, flexible architectures that allow for the seamless integration of new and existing technologies.
Evolving Role of Source to Pay Suites: Once the big thing of procurement systems, Source to Pay suites are being reimagined. Here we will explore their evolving role in an ecosystem increasingly dominated by specialised, nimble solutions.
Generative AI in Procurement: AI is revolutionising many aspects of business, and procurement is no exception. I would like us to discuss how Generative AI can be leveraged as a strategic advantage rather than just another productivity hack.
The Start-up challenge: Here i am to shed light on the “day of a life” of one or more bootstrapped start—ups and their relentless drive to solve Procurements pain points without compromise. If you think there is a specific start-up i shall feature, don’t hesitate to add its name and a good reason in the comments of this post.
Process Orchestration : In our final exploration, we will look at how Process Orchestration tools are increasingly becoming the critical glue and front-end guidance to a better user experience, making up for some of the downside of solution fragmentation and bringing some very necessary flexibility.
Engage with me and the ProcureTech community
As we get started with this post series and exploration, join the discussions and engage with me.
Read the posts, share your insights, and discuss how you are pereceiving these changes and their impact on business practices.
In conclusion
Stay tuned for our first detailed post on architectural frameworks in modern procurement technologies. It’s the start of our common ProcureTech space walk.
Call to Action
Follow this series to ensure you don't miss any posts, and join the conversation on LinkedIn to share your thoughts and experiences with the procurement community.
Link to Previous Discussion
Catch up on our previous discussions about Process Orchestration here:
- Composability adding Flexibility to Procurement
- Straightening the path to Direct Procurement Automation
- The role of Process Owners as Conductors of Enabling Technology
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