Ahead of the marcus evans Chief Procurement Officer Summit 2023, read here an interview with Jag Lamba discussing process adaptability and how CPOs need to prepare for what lies ahead.

1. fatigue when people must sign into 20
different systems to get something
done. Second, it needs to be global, in
terms of languages and data residency
requirements. Third, it must be super
user-friendly. No one is willing to spend
time on training thousands of employ-
ees or suppliers.
How does the Certa platform
automate 80 percent of risk?
With 100 percent visibility for every
single process and supplier. The
technology can see what has been
completed, what is delayed, every
single thing, in a nice visual map. Is it
stuck with legal, compliance, infor-
mation security, privacy or IT? Compa-
nies do not have the bandwidth to
manually review every single supplier
and every single risk for the supplier, so
they create automated rules. They can
assess different risks and automate
what needs to be done in terms of due
diligence to overcome those risks. Risk-
adjusted due diligence is the way we are
able to automate away 80 percent of
the risk tasks.
CPOs are
not currently
prepared for
the amount of
change that
is coming
their way
What Trends and Changes CPOs Need to Prepare For
Interview with: Jag Lamba, Chief
Executive Officer, Certa
“Process adaptability will be key in
2023. Many CPOs do not realize the
amount of change coming their way and
are not prepared for them. The next few
years will not be business as usual.
CPOs need to put the right technology in
place to manage those new risks and
uncertainties,” says Jag Lamba, Chief
Executive Officer, Certa.
Certa is a service provider at the
marcus evans Chief Procurement
Officer Summit 2023.
What are the top trends CPOs need
to keep their eyes on?
The first one is process adaptability. The
supply chain world is changing so fast,
with new geopolitical issues forcing
people to shift supply chains to more
friendly countries. Moreover, risks
related to sanctions and new regulations
on data privacy and security, human
rights and ESG are all requiring funda-
mental process changes. On top of
these, priorities are evolving because of
economic pressures. Our number one
piece of advice is to focus on process
adaptability and be open to change. The
underlying technology stack needs to be
flexible. The mindset of the team needs
to be open to shifting priorities, pro-
cesses and tools. They need to be ready
to adapt. CPOs need to communicate
with the board upfront that things will
change and seek their input.
From a technology perspective, the
CPO’s team needs a no-code workflow
technology, where they can change,
drag and drop processes, and add
integrations based on the environment.
That will be the most fundamental
building block for these changes. Certa’s
SaaS platform can provide that customi-
zability. It is the only one in the market
that is truly enterprise-ready, multi-
lingual with 13 languages, with ad-
vanced data residency features, and all
the compliance controls in place.
AI will also have a massive impact. After
years of promises, it is finally user-
friendly and accurate enough to be
practical.
Do you think CPOs are ready for
these changes and risks?
They don’t have a choice. Some CPOs
are being proactive about it while others
are being dragged into it. My advice is
to expect change; accept that it will
happen. It is better to prepare their
teams, tools and the board. If they do
not do it proactively, they will have to
do it reactively.
CPOs are not currently prepared for the
amount of change that is coming their
way. They do not think it will be as
massive as we believe it will be. The
sanctions with Russia and so on will
keep evolving. Almost every month
there are new regulations somewhere.
They will need to be very adaptable to
make sure they are always on top of
regulations.
ESG will go from a nice-to-have to an
absolute-must-have. CPOs will need to
account for the carbon footprint of their
entire company, and 80 percent of that
depends on their supply chain. The
biggest risk CPOs are not preparing for
is the number of requirements they will
have to deal with from an ESG perspec-
tive. Today they struggle with just
capturing and maintaining up-to-date
data on their suppliers. Most large
companies have over 10,000 suppliers.
Imagine a world where every quarter
they need to collect from every supplier
how much carbon they have expended
in servicing them. CPOs are not
equipped to handle this logistical
nightmare. Most of them come from a
spend management background, which
will still be needed, but going forward
they will also need to manage their
company’s carbon footprint. They have
no idea how that will impact the
procurement organization and the
company’s DNA.
What is the “procurement platform
of the future”? What attributes will
it have?
It will be flexible and extensible. You do
not want to look for another solution for
every new use case. That leads to SaaS

2. About Certa
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Certa is a leading no-code third-party lifecycle management platform for procurement and
compliance, eliminating onboarding bottlenecks, and empowering companies to easily do business with good companies, and to
focus on what matters most. Founded in 2015, Certa uses more than 100+ integrations with trusted data sources and systems to
automate and orchestrate workflows, allowing for 3x quicker third-party vendor onboarding while minimizing risk and increasing
transparency. Certa has onboarded over a million companies across 120 countries for clients that range from leading tech firms to
Fortune 500 companies. Learn more at www.getcerta.com
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