We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » Commentary: From a patchwork of solutions to unbroken digital thread
Forward Thinking

Commentary: From a patchwork of solutions to unbroken digital thread

December 21, 2018
Patrick McCarthy
No Comments

There was a time when businesses seeking to streamline their procurement operations, particularly the labor-intensive aspects of sourcing, purchasing, and contracting/payments, would purchase software applications narrowly focused on one of those areas. While these software systems improved efficiencies, rarely could they juggle more than one application or activity. Furthermore, the solutions often functioned independently of the business' other core operations (such as manufacturing, logistics, or sales) and were disconnected from the corresponding or complementary data they generate.

As a result, companies were often haphazardly piecing together a patchwork of different solutions to cover the source-to-settle process. Knitting together these systems of varying size, strength, and capacitythrough software integrations often hampered the smooth flow of operations.

But now there's another alternative: Cloud-based digital networks allow buyers and suppliers to see into each other's connected operations, better unlock the value hidden in their data, and uncover mutually benefical insights. As procurement leaders increasingly embrace cloud-based digital networks, they're finding the source-to-settle process no longer hemmed in by siloed data or organizational boundaries.  Instead they are able to tie together all the data gathered throughout the source-to-settle process, and they are reaping efficiencies. The data present a comprehensive view of an organization's supply chain efficiency and procurement opportunity. In a sense, the cloud-based networks provide an unbroken digital thread that replaces the old cumbersome patchwork of point solutions. This thread's reach includes finance, legal, and other mission-critical systems. The unbroken digital thread creates value that's not merely additive but exponential, as this report from the consulting company Deloitte lays out.

When contract renegotiations take into account previously unexamined sourcing data, or when sourcing decisions factor in previously untapped reputational data, or when payment methods include previously unavailable discount alternatives, savings add up quickly—the whole of procurement becomes greater than the sum of its traditional parts. Businesses can redirect these savings into shoring up the supply chain, investing in research and development, or exploring new markets.

Businesses can now uncover patterns out of previously disparate procurement data. Aided by machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence made possible by cloud-based networks, these newfound patterns of data can lead to actionable insights that extend competitive advantage. Imagine when smart contracts are immediately aware of performance and execution data from actual receipts and can autonomously invoke agreed-to pricing conditions and clauses. Businesses that leverage these emerging technologies successfully free up their employees to focus on higher-value outcomes.

These intelligent enterprises harness the vast repositories of uncorrelated data that organizations routinely accumulate—and, in the process, their procurement function transforms itself from back-office cost center to strategic growth engine! By stitching together insights out of data dispersed across an organization and its trading partners, procurement leaders dramatically sharpen the tools of their craft, trading in what amounted to a humble sewing kit for an industrial-scale textile powerhouse.

Procurement Technology
    • Related Articles

      iBASEt Now Integrates with Siemens Teamcenter to Create Fully Integrated Digital Thread

      iBASEt Releases PLM Connector to Extend the Digital Thread

      Commentary: Wanted: A viable all-water route from Asia to the U.S. Midwest

    Patrick McCarthy is senior vice president and general manager of SAP Ariba.
    You must login or register in order to post a comment.

    Report Abusive Comment

    Most Popular Articles

    • Report: Sagging freight stats show that trucking sector is returning to its historic mean

    • Survey: parcel delivery drivers are frustrated by using their own smartphones for work

    • Heavy transport across two continents

    • Survey: most Americans unaware that truckers face shortage of parking spaces

    • Supply chain executives not yet seeing expected results from technology investments

    Featured Video

    20221107korber large vs

    Enhancing Customer Experience with Your Supply Chain Strategy

    Viewer Contributed
    With the rise of e-commerce, many businesses have had to transform their warehouses to handle online orders in addition to regularly scheduled inventory shipments. This means warehouses need more information than ever before to ensure they can meet customers' needs. As a result, companies need to select warehouse...

    FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

    • Three layers of forklift safety: Promoting operating best practices

    • The Complete Guide to Automated Packaging

    • Five tips for parcel success in 2023

    • Guide to Pallet Rack Safety

    View More

    Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

    Get Your Subscription
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • E-NEWSLETTERS
    • ADVERTISING
    • CUSTOMER CARE
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT
    • STAFF
    • PRIVACY POLICY

    Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing