Whether it happens in procurement or anywhere else in the business, digital transformation — as the name suggests — is enabled by technology. From core systems and architecture to enterprise platforms, right the way down to insight dashboards and bespoke tools used by select teams, these are the innovative capabilities that enable organizations to evolve.
But crucially, digital procurement transformation journeys shouldn’t be driven by technology. When organizations adopt new digital capabilities and simply expect them to transform their business by default, they typically end up very disappointed.
Instead, to see the greatest possible impact and return from your digital procurement transformation investments, you need to start with a clear view of where you want any new technology you deploy to take you.
Start with a vision for the future, then work backwards to determine how technology can best get you there
The term “transformation for transformation’s sake” is often used unfairly. Very few organizations truly sleepwalk into major tech investments. They always start out with good intentions — usually shaped by the amazing reported benefits that off-the-shelf solutions can deliver.
Where things start to go wrong is alignment. While some capabilities are without doubt incredible and capable of delivering benefits for thousands of organizations, there’s no “one size fits all” approach to digital procurement transformation. What delivers amazing impact for one team may be completely ineffective for another once deployed.
To stop themselves from accidentally investing in the wrong tech and wasting their limited budgets for transformation, every organization should start their journey with a clear view of where they want to end up. Ask yourself questions like:
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What process bottlenecks and inefficiencies do we want to remove?
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Where are the key points of friction in our end-to-end procure-to-pay process?
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How can we better connect the elements and steps of our procure-to-pay process?
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What tasks are consuming procurement experts’ time and taking them away from value-adding activities?
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In a perfect world, how could procurement best help the business achieve its strategic goals?
This part of the process can’t be rushed. In most cases it involves detailed exploratory exercises that unpack your processes and existing tech estate in granular detail to discover exactly what’s missing and where things could be improved.
Together, those insights can help you build up a clear vision for the future, and show you exactly where you want to end up. And that drastically improves your chances of selecting and deploying the right technology to get you there.
Even when you select the right technology, adoption is not guaranteed
The other variable that many organizations don’t consider deeply enough during digital procurement transformation is people. Even when you spend a long time ensuring you’re deploying the right technology for your organization, there’s no guarantee that individuals will actually use it.
If you’ve done your due diligence, the capabilities you invest in should be well positioned to solve the day-to-day challenges and frustrations individuals in your organization contend with. That puts you ahead of the game, but you can’t count on that alone to ensure widespread adoption.
To make sure your new capabilities are used and ultimately deliver their intended impact for your business:
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Make the transformation process consultative and gather opinions from the people that will use your new capabilities before they’re deployed. If people feel they had a say in exactly what you change, they’ll be far less likely to resist that change when it happens.
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Provide training opportunities to help everyone engage with your new technology. Even if you feel your tools and platforms are highly intuitive, it’s worth setting time aside to help everyone understand how to get the most from them.
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Help everyone understand the procurement culture you’re trying to create including your goals for your transformation. If people understand that you’re trying to make their lives easier and empower them to spend less time on routine procurement tasks, they’ll be more inclined to advocate for your changes.
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Make sure there’s adequate content behind your new tools so that when someone uses one, they find what they need. Too often platforms and catalogues are launched too quickly, early adopters fail to find what they need, and they’re put off going back in the future.
Digital procurement transformation delivers holistic change. So, it demands a holistic approach.
Technology sits at the heart of digital transformation. But it’s the decisions you make around that technology which ultimately determine how much value and ROI you realize from your digital transformation investments.
Digital procurement transformation is a holistic process that starts with a deep understanding of your unique digital context, needs and goals, and culminates with a people-centric shift in culture and digital enablement. Remove any piece from that puzzle and you’ll significantly reduce your chances of driving the change you want to see.
WNS Procurement has expertise and capabilities spanning the end-to-end digital procurement transformation process. If you’ve got questions about your digital options and want some help determining the best place to start, speak to us or visit today.