Every business continuously strives to improve its operations and maximize its output. And in today’s environment, digital transformation is the key to achieving that. The procurement function in an enterprise is one that is primed for a digital overhaul. An efficient, smoothly functioning procurement department is a key driver for organizations looking to consolidate their bottom line and ensure top-line growth. Enterprises learnt this the hard way when pandemic-induced disruptions shocked the supply chain and ground it to a near halt in 2020. This forced procurement leaders to rethink their digital postures. To build more robust, reliant supply chains and the procurement processes, they would need to reimagine traditional models.
Building future-proof procurement practices
As enterprises reinvent their supply chain management and procurement processes, their success will depend on leveraging the technological innovations. While digitization and outsourcing form the backbone of transforming procurement, the key is to adopt developments in the fields of analytics, automation, IoT, and others. Robotics, for instance, can revolutionize storage units, logistics, and communications, while cognitive applications aid data-driven decision-making.
Of course, any large-scale change must be executed from a functional and a cultural perspective. To build a resilient and seamless procurement channel, all stakeholders must be on the same page and work collaboratively. For that, transparency and ease of communication are paramount. Additionally, with most corporations and governments establishing sustainability goals, enterprise leaders must ensure that procurement practices are sustainable. Leaders must prioritize ethical sourcing so that the entire supply chain is inclusive and fair.
The disruptions and challenges
Enterprise leaders are constantly on a quest for a value delivery model that benefits all stakeholders and addresses the short- and long-term challenges that plague procurement. Here are some of the notable challenges of traditional procurement mechanisms:
- Supply chain volatility: Conventional procurement models rely heavily on each of the elements and the contributors in the supply chain. This means that even a single disruption within the supply chain can cause severe procurement bottlenecks and backlogs. Even before the pandemic, supply chain vulnerabilities were breached by sociopolitical scenarios, embargoes and sanctions, and operational shortcomings. Here, digitization and strategic outsourcing can help enterprises address the supply chain volatility.
- Long turnaround: The procurement process is often long drawn out due to its over-reliance on manual practices. With multiple stakeholders in the supply chain, manual handovers lead to tedious and highly inefficient delays. This, in turn, causes enterprises loss of time, money, and reputation. Digitizing repeatable, low-skill manual processes can remediate this problem with ease.
- Lack of standardization and outsourcing: The conventional supply chain is highly siloed and fragmented. Poor standardization means that the outcomes are often not up to the mark and require corrective measures. This stretches procurement resources and increases overheads. Conventionally, procurement leaders have been reluctant to outsource operations to third parties. However, in this age, it is essential to have BPO engagements that are backed by thoroughly digitized in-house operations to standardize and reinvent procurement through efficient performance measurement and management.
- Skill shortages and poor partner management: In a conventional procurement setup, the workforce is often plagued by the lack of outcome-specific skills. This makes it paramount for enterprises to not only digitize their procurement practices but also upskill their workforces to assume a more supervisory role in an automated paradigm. Enterprises must onboard the right technology partners to steer their procurement digital transformation journeys.
Shaping procurement excellence with strategic technology partnerships
The procurement and supply chain function has undergone rapid evolution in the last quarter of a century. Today, we live in a paradigm of digital procurement backed by emerging technologies such as AI/ML, RPA, advanced analytics and data-driven insights, and cloud computing, among others. However, enterprise leaders must enter strategic partnerships with procurement BPOs and providers of digital transformation services to ensure a seamless shift to the new age of procurement.
To provide crucial insights on where the procurement space is headed, ISG Provider Lens™ recently produced a flagship report, “Procurement BPO and Transformation Services Global Report 2022.” This report highlights the need for specialized technology partnerships and assesses the relative merits of various service providers in the procurement field. HCLTech was named as a leading partner for BPO and digital transformation services across large and midmarket accounts by the report thanks to its cast experience and expertise in the field.
HCLTech thrives on outcome-oriented innovations that unlock value at scale that help our clients meet their business, technology, and digital objectives. Our Digital Process Operations (DPO) unit understands the intricacies of the rapidly changing business landscape and offers future-ready BPO and digital transformation services in line with evolving customer needs. Our process-first, technology-led approach has helped us design purpose-specific offerings that intelligently use digital tools to improve business performance. Here’s a look at where we stand and how our BPO and procurement transformation services can help you reimagine your procurement function:
- BPO services for large accounts: With dedicated teams that support our procurement BPO clients, our focus is on providing innovation-led procurement excellence. Know more about HCLTech’s leadership credibility according to ISG Provider Lens by clicking here.
- BPO services for midmarket accounts: Our BPO expertise and pricing flexibility makes us a partner of choice for various emerging midmarket organizations. ISG Provider Lens has placed us as a leader in the midmarket segment. Read more about it here.
- Digital transformation services for large accounts: We understand the unique challenges faced by global enterprises by the virtue of working with various F500 companies. To alleviate those challenges and shape better outcomes, we offer highly customized digital solutions that are specific to the clients’ objectives. Learn more about what the ISG Provider Lens report has to say about HCLTech by clicking here.
- Digital transformation services for midmarket accounts: Through seamless planning and implementation, our digital transformation offerings aid midmarket organizations optimize their spending. Our partner ecosystem helps midmarket enterprises get various services at the best prices. The ISG Provider Lens report has marked HCLTech as one of the leaders in the segment. Read more about it here.
As the supply chain and procurement spectrum shapeshift, HCLTech DPO can be your ally and enabler in the journey toward a holistically transformed and reinvented procurement process. To know more about our DPO and digital transformation services, visit our website.
