The procurement industry is rapidly changing, and 2024 seems highly promising in terms of modern tech adoption and changing overall structural values to give way to effective processes. Procurement officers should take note of these trends listed below, and leverage them to remain dynamic at their roles.

The Automation Movement Will Strengthen

Enterprise-grade procurement organizations will finally make the move to automation-driven processes. While 2023 saw them dipping their toes in the AI field, now the move will be final. It was largely startups who were leading the automation movement in the procurement industry, but proven results will finally prompt the enterprises to adopt the next-gen mechanics.

While it will most likely be mundane tasks that will be automated, the change is expected to happen across the board.

Data Regulations Will Play a Large Role

With AI coming to the forefront, local and international level data regulations will define the capabilities of procurement organizations. So, a level of caution is to be maintained while rapidly adopting AI-driven business decisions.

It is expected that the level of overall scrutiny will also increase in terms of data, making the progress of AI slower.

Certain Systems Will Become Outdated

Since a process-level change is underway in the industry, new vendor management systems and payment methodologies will replace the legacy processes. These changes will be permanent and those left behind will be pushed out.

For example, intake-to-pay systems are becoming more popular amongst vendors and will likely replace all other procure-to-pay systems. So, those dealing with vendors will have to set up intake systems or look for alternatives.

The Industry Will be Largely Analytics-driven

2024 is being looked at as the year that the procurement industry will go through a major overall. Organizations of all scales will have to make calculated moves to remain relevant amidst paradigm-shifting changes. Analytics will serve as their key decision-making factor in this scenario.

In 2023, businesses that adopted an analytics-driven approach were able to outperform their competitors, as per a McKinsey report. The reflection of this change will reflect on the procurement sector in a large way this year.

CSR Will Become a Key Component

The consumer mentality has largely changed, and now a level of visibility into the supply chain has to be guaranteed. In such a landscape, the presence of CSR across different nodes of the supply chain will help build brand value and also show organizational concern towards building a healthy industry.

Many loopholes across supply chains have been brought to light, and this is the year enterprises will have to fix them and create a healthier ecosystem of procurement chains.

Final Words

While these major overhauls are expected to happen across the procurement industry in 2024, the primary message here is that a dynamic approach will need to be adopted to stay relevant in this industry going forward.

Use these tips to plan your organizational year, but also make sure to leave enough room for further changes that will take place.