The procurement industry has become one of the key sectors of the global business world, and rightfully so. Rapid transformations are taking place in global supply chains, and as per experts, more oncoming changes are to be expected shortly.
The key reason behind these changes is the application of next-gen tech such as AI and machine learning modules to procurement processes. So, here is a look at the top three disruptive trends that will be hitting the procurement sector this year.
Forecasting Through Sophisticated ML
The current trend in the tech landscape is highly geared towards advancing machine learning. For the procurement sector, this necessarily means a much shorter product cycle. With the help of ML technology all ends of a supply chain can have better and real-time visibility, thereby eliminating room for errors and ensuring products are conceptualized, manufactured, delivered, and consumed at a much faster rate.
Data-driven Automation
With the global consumer market growing much faster than production capacity, automation is the key to ensuring meeting demands. Since almost all processes within a regular supply chain are now digitized, there is access to enormous amounts of data. With the help of this data procurement functions from repetitive tasks to complex decisions can now be fully automated. It is expected that the automation trend will advance much faster this year than it did in the last half-decade.
Virtual service Functionality
From chatbots to shared real-time data visualization, virtual services are becoming a major part of how procurement officers handle their duties. With the help of modern software, a management team sitting thousands of miles away can choose across vendors with ease and also provide data-based reasoning for their capabilities. Customer-centric interaction is also going through a major overhaul as AI will now drive conversations until the human touch is essential.
While these changes are catching on, there are also roadblocks along the way that need to be dealt with. The global south still relies on non-digital data for running their day-to-day supply operations, which need to be digitized to gain a smooth transition to the next stage of operational capability.
Overall, Industry 4.0 is upon us, and those procurement sectors that adapt to it rapidly will definitely gain the competitive advantage that will make them stand apart.
