In ten years’ time, the procurement profession and the role of the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) has changed in many unique and profound ways. Yet, just like 2010, CPOs and other procurement leaders are entering the new decade grappling with intense challenges (some old, some new) and driving forward to achieve aggressive goals and objectives.

On that front, I’m pleased to continue with our exciting, new series on CPO Rising – “20 for 2020” which examines a broad range of CPO-driven topics. Today we continue with 20 for 2020: Key Themes for the Modern CPO’s Agenda (#12 – Consumerization), which is designed to help procurement set their organizations’ course for the critical months and years ahead. Enjoy!

20-for-2020: Theme #12 for the Modern CPO’s Agenda: Consumerization

In the consumer world, the average person can execute any number of processes or tap into endless sources of content in an on-demand manner. From utilizing eCommerce outlets like Amazon to ordering food on Grubhub or rides via Uber, the typical consumer has access to real-time lifestyle services at their fingertips. Consumer demand for more options and greater immediacy have only increased as mobile devices and applications continue to feed consumer expectations. In many ways, the business world has tried to follow suit, although it often has to catch up.

In the procurement world, business or supplier networks, eCommerce hubs, enhanced user interfaces (UI), mobile devices and applications, and cognitive or intelligent systems have emerged to help organizations execute on tasks efficiently and accurately, and drive user satisfaction, while business leaders strive for high quality and reliability in the process. Cloud-based software has revolutionized how core business processes can be executed, allowing both procurement leaders and functional professionals to enhance key process workflows and capture real-time, data-driven insights and intelligence in the process. In fact, the business world in general and the procurement world in particular owe much of their innovation, organizational agility, efficiency gains, and employee satisfaction to the consumerization of global business.

And let us not forget: everyone’s still talking about artificial intelligence (AI), at work and at play, even if most play fast and loose with the term. Machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), expressions or outgrowths of AI, make chat bots and digital / virtual assistants, such as Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant, possible. Together, these innovative features learn and augment user processes, streamline UI, are proactive and predictive, and enhance the user experience (UX). But the consumerization of business does not end there.

The proliferation of connected devices (the “Internet of Things” or “Industrial Internet of Things”) has been pumping even more data and intelligence through our appliances, electronics, and anything that connects to WiFi. They have also been changing the way that businesses collect intelligence, manage services, order and replenish inventory, and track and trace products and raw materials from their point-of-origin to the loading dock. Blockchain distributed digital ledgers have come into their own as powerful and exciting financial technologies (fintech) that are beginning to upend the business world by connecting buyers and suppliers across supply chains, providing payment and reconciliation methods, and linking the digital realm with the physical realm.

Augmented reality (AR), like Blockchain, is making the world smaller for procurement and will be able to (virtually) transport workers across the world to supplier sites, as well as fuse disparate pieces of operational data and information right onto the screen in front of them. And robotic process automation (RPA), a new spin on what is essentially automation limited to a specific process, is helping to further offload tactical and repeatable work volumes to machines so that knowledge workers can turn to more strategic, value-adding work, like communicating and collaborating with suppliers, negotiating, and planning for the extended future. And speaking of robots, 3-D printing has gone from a semi-subversive garage-shop hobby to a disruptive manufacturing method with enormous upside, enabling manufacturing organizations to build custom parts and components in-house, and procurement teams to test custom-built parts and components before placing large and expensive orders.

Final Thoughts

As the line continues to blur between the world of the consumer and that of the average executive or professional, businesses are adapting to a new world in which consumer technology is an avenue for nearly all enterprise processes and operations. The current “consumerization” of modern business, in that the everyday, on-demand insights and processes that consumers enjoy are now available at the fingertips of core business professionals, is changing the procurement world at a time when the procurement workforce itself is changing rapidly. Indeed, it is an exciting time to work in procurement, due in no small part to the enormous amount of technological innovation occurring in the business software space. If you came for opportunity to make an impact in the business, then you might stay for all the cool toys you get to play with.

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Tagged in: 20 for 2020 Series, Ardent Team, Christopher Dwyer, Innovation, Technology, Transformation