Digital procurement gives decision makers better discernibility, reduces risk, and boosts compliance—ultimately increases spend under management and drives more value for the business. But adopting digital procurement is a big order. It requires “integrated system of knowledge” which focuses on five key elements that most procurement organizations should consider to fully implement.

• Data: The main fuel for a digital procurement organization is data which helps to know the consumer behaviour. Data reinforces everything a company could do to predict the needs of people, know which goods or services are available to best meet those needs, determine which suppliers are the right ones, and identify the right price to pay.
• Advanced Technology: If data is the fuel for digital procurement, technology is its machine. Technologies that harness and make sense of data—AI, natural language processing, analytics, and bots. By combining relevant data and these highly-advanced technologies, a company can automate and enhance a wide range of activities and processes—and, in some cases, go beyond simple automation to providing advanced intelligent support.
• Innovation with Experiences: To fully benefit from digitalization of procurement, a company should provide an attractive, intuitive user experience that encourages investors to use the online procurement tools.
• Ability and Expertise: There’s more to creating and operating a digital procurement organization than simply collecting more data and applying digital tools. Generating true value requires another key element, a cross-functional team of people with distinctly different skills.
• Policies and Procedures: To fully benefit from these new capabilities, a company should review its policies and procedures and ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in the new procurement process and how they can make the most informed decisions.