The document summarizes the key findings of a global survey conducted by Oxford Economics and Ariba on the future of procurement. The survey found that executives and practitioners see technology as critical to the function's progress, with tools like social media, collaboration platforms, and analytics becoming important. Both groups agree that automation has changed operations, with over half of core processes like strategic sourcing and invoice management being automated. While executives are more optimistic about future automation, practitioners see value in automating day-to-day tasks. The survey also found that skills like data analysis and technology proficiency are increasingly important but difficult to find.

1. The Technology Agenda
Webinar Series on the Future of Procurement, by Oxford Economics
November 10, 2015
The future of procurement
One survey, two perspectives

2. © 2015 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.
Today’s Presenters:
Edward Cone
Technology Practice Lead & Deputy Director,
Thought Leadership
Drew Browning
Director, Global Indirect Purchasing
Emily Rakowski
VP, Audience Marketing and Demand Generation
Panelists:
Moderator:

3. The Future
of Procurement
The Technology Agenda
November 10, 2015

4. Building on a strong foundation
 Outsourcing explodes
 Strategy scope widens
 Talent competition heats up
 Innovation comes from without
 Suppliers gain power

5. Going boldly where no procurement study has gone before
 How have executives
responded to the trends
outlined in Vision 2020 in the
years since?
 What new challenges and
opportunities do executives
and practitioners consider
most important?
 Where are there gaps in
understanding between
executives and practitioners?

6. A global survey of executives and practitioners
In collaboration with Ariba, Oxford Economics conducted a large-scale global study to
discover emerging and enduring trends in the procurement function. We surveyed 500
procurement executives and 500 procurement employees in the following countries:
Australia
Austria
Brazil
Canada
China
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
Spain
Switzerland
UK
US

7. Key findings
 From here to where?
 Procurement Gets Collaborative.
 Goodbye to Business as Usual.
 The Technology Agenda.
 The Human Challenge.

8. The Technology Agenda

9. Technology is critical to the procurement function’s progress…
58% 54% 52%
44%
49% 46% 45%
22%
25% 25%
32% 26%
28% 29%
Social media
(including intranets
and other internal
systems)
Knowledge
exchange/
Collaboration
platforms
Internet of Things B2B commerce
networks
Mobile applications
and devices
Analytics Cloud
Quite or very important to the function's progress Moderately important to the function's progress
Executives say the following technologies are…

10. …and has fundamentally changed the way the function operates
Practitioners say the following technologies are…
48%
57%
46% 47%
42%
47% 43%
27%
29%
34% 31%
31%
29% 39%
Social media
(including intranets
and other internal
systems)
Knowledge
exchange/
Collaboration
platforms
Internet of Things B2B commerce
networks
Mobile applications
and devices
Analytics Cloud
Quite or very important to day-to-day work Moderately important to day-to-day work

11. New capabilities fuel internal collaboration...
Practitioners say…
Knowledge exchange
platforms—which
facilitate
communication among
internal groups—are
quite or very important
to day-to-day work.
Procurement data is
being used across the
company to drive
strategic decision-
making.
57%65%70%
Procurement is
becoming more
collaborative with
others parts of the
business.

12. …and facilitate better partnerships with external suppliers
Supplier selection
53%
are automating strategic sourcing.
Project management
52%
say increased mobility is allowing closer
collaboration with suppliers.
Strategic work
58%
say procurement is playing an increasingly
strategic role in the organization.
Executives…

13. Companies are successfully automating a number of core processes
53%
49% 49%
47% 47%
44%
52%
48%
50%
48% 48%
51%
Strategic sourcing Invoice
management
Contract
management
Procurement
performance
analytics
Supplier risk
management
Transactional
collaboration with
suppliers
Executives Practitioners
Respondents say the following processes are mostly or completely automated…

14. Execs are more optimistic about the future of automation
69% 70% 68% 67%
63% 64%
60%
56% 57% 56% 55%
58%
Strategic sourcing Invoice
management
Contract
management
Procurement
performance
analytics
Supplier risk
management
Transactional
collaboration with
suppliers
Executives Practitioners
Respondents say the following processes will be mostly or completely automated in two years…

15. Practitioners see value of automation for day-to-day operations
Practitioners say the following process automations provide value by saving time,
increasing efficiency, and enhancing insight…
14%
19%
23%
25%
26%
33%
35%
37%
46%
51%
56%
Invoice management
Procurement performance analytics
Transactional collaboration with suppliers
Supplier performance management
Contingent workforce management
Supplier risk management
Contract management
Strategic sourcing
Services procurement
Operational procurement
Spend analysis

16. Technology powers risk management
46%
47%
Financial modeling
tools
40%
42%
Supplier
performance
tracking software
39%
49%
Dedicated risk
management
framework software
38%
45%
Network-based
supplier ratings
What are some of the technology-enabled solutions
you are using to manage supplier-related risk?Executives Practitioners

17. Strategies for measuring progress need a refresh
46%
41%
45%
46%
44%
37%
44%
46%
50%
46%
51%
58%
14%
19%
31%
33%
33%
34%
35%
36%
44%
49%
49%
70%
Number or percent of touchless transactions
Order cycle time
Stakeholder satisfaction results
Percent of compliant purchasing
Impact on revenue from innovation
Number of suppliers with automated collaboration
Percent of total spend under management
Risk mitigation
Procurement ROI
Inventory turnover/inventory activity
Supplier quality/performance
Cost savings and cost avoidance
Which of the
following KPIs
does your
organization
use to
measure
procurement's
success?
Executives Practitioners

18. New technology requires new skills
Technology
28% 44%
of execs
say this
skill is
tough to
find
of
practitioners
claim
proficiency
in this area
Data analysis and
critical thinking
24% 46%
of execs
say this
skill is
tough to
find
of
practitioners
claim
proficiency
in this area

19. Success hinges on tech capabilities
Executives from with higher-than-average revenue growth say their organizations are
more likely to use…
…
…advanced
technology such
as workflow and
financial
modeling tools to
manage supplier
risk.
…collaboration
platforms, social
media, B2B
commerce
networks, and IoT
in day-to-day
work.
…KPIs such as
number of
suppliers with
automated
collaboration.

20. Next steps

21. Download our reports and infographics
Visit the Future of Procurement
Resource Center today for the
executive overview, infographics,
think pieces, and more.
Download here > http://ari.ba/2M7

22. OXFORD ECONOMICS

23. Thank you for joining us today!
Ariba Contact:
Emily Rakowski
Global VP, Audience Marketing
and Demand Generation
Ariba, an SAP Company
emily.rakowski@sap.com
Oxford Economics Contact:
Edward Cone
Deputy Directory, Thought Leadership
Oxford Economics
edcone@oxfordeconomics.com