The Future of P2P – Networks

For those that have been following this series, you’ll recall that since we had recently completed an ePayables Primer, the focus of our “Future of P2P” series has been primarily on eProcurement solutions and not ePayables solutions (or other elements or technologies within procurement’s purview for that matter). The goal of this series is to get users and developers of eProcurement systems to think more deliberately about what will come next or what should come next. And, while I have weighed in with my thoughts and hopes, it is not intended as a blueprint of what will be, but rather what could be. I certainly enjoy being right, and as you can see below, I have been on target with some recent (and more distant) predictions –

Procurement-related predictions:

10 for 2010: Predictions for a New Decade which predicted that “1. Many of today’s leading CPOs will move into roles that command greater responsibility and control”

• On November 1, Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. appointed Mark Guinan as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Guinan, currently chief procurement officer for Johnson & Johnson, will join Hill-Rom Dec. 13. CHECK
• On October 21, BASF SE, the world’s largest chemicals company, said it appointed Hans-Ulrich Engel as chief financial officer…. other roles at the company included overseeing the Europe division as well as global procurement and logistics. CHECK

Congratulations Mark & Hans-Ulrich! There will be certainly be many more CPOs “Rising.” (Sidebar: new readers should investigate this 10 for 2010 series)

Non-procurement-related predictions:

• My Prediction: “Excuse me, that one doesn’t really look like a planet to me.” while pointing to Pluto on a 5th-grade trip to the Maryland Science Center circa 1980. Why Pluto is No Longer a Planet CHECK
• My Prediction:  “Wow, what a great lake!” while swimming in Lake Champlain during a biking/camping trip circa 1985. Lake Champlain Recognized as the 6th Great Lake CHECK
• My Prediction: “Sylvester Stallone could easily win a Tony AND a Grammy Award.” after seeing this rousing film finale…  FAIL (I mean everyone seemed so happy and to be enjoying this song, what happened?)

Jokes aside, I really would prefer that in a few years or next year even, that the ideas presented in this series would seem quaint and outdated and that the collective industry has advanced significantly beyond this vision. You can help by taking a few minutes today and sending an email to your eProcurement solution provider with the 2 or 3 or 10 things you’d like to see in the next release of their product; share your idea with your networks and on these pages too.

The Future of Supplier/Payment/B2B Networks

Having worked at two three of the early technology companies that attempted to develop internet-based trading networks (Ariba, Commerce One & FairMarket), I have always been very intrigued by the potential of different B2B networks. In many ways, Commerce One’s vision of a Global Trading Web (other companies had a similar vision) with a shared infrastructure to support transactions between a vast network of enterprises and a host of services layered on top still sounds very appealing. Ariba had its own vision of a trading/supplier network but, in its early days it wisely emphasized enterprise solutions (while using its network as a differentiator). Now, a decade later, the market is showing strong interest in networks and Ariba’s early work is paying off since it has the largest and most robust B2B network on the market. Envision a global, web-based marketplace where buyers and sellers of all categories could meet and trade in an efficient and seamless manner. At the start of the last decade, the technology did not exist to practically support this vision. Enterprises were also not oriented to an open trading environment.

Today, there are several supplier and/or payment networks that are supporting billions of dollars in transactional volume and besides providing efficient transaction processing, are also providing great value to their members with a host of value-added services. Each network provider takes a somewhat unique approach in how they manage and support their network. The small list of these network providers includes Ariba, Bottomline, SciQuest, and Syncada. There are also a burgeoning set of networks that show great promise in their development including Basware, Hubwoo, Ketera, and the Mastercard Payment Gateway. Finally, there are several industry-focused companies like Quadrem, Enporion, and Exostar which function like networks for their customers, albeit, with a slightly different approach.

There’s good value being delivered by today’s network providers but I believe that there is an opportunity for the different supplier and payment networks to evolve into something truly extraordinary. Rather than bullet out a list of the possible and desired capabilities of the Future Network(s), I’ll talk about the drivers that I think will get us to the future state. Some of the future advances will be driven by the development of interoperability capabilities (Think of how the users of different cell phone plans can communicate with each other across any number of platforms) that will be helped by the progression of supply management solutions into the cloud. Some of the future advances will be driven by the evolving way that social networks begin to pervade the enterprise. And, some of the future advances will be driven by incorporating more of the “Science of Networks” (the study of networks which has shown among other things that different types of networks share common characteristics) with the information, technology, and process needs of the average enterprise.

There will be many drivers (or catalysts) to push change, we will need many drivers (or leaders) to push change too.

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