E-procurement trends in a post-Covid world

Dr Marcell Vollmer, CEO of Prospitalia Group, agrees and reiterates that the golden triangle for procurement – price, quality and timely delivery – holds good. Still, there’s a new addition to this, and that’s risk management. Vollmer says that in the past, it was about globalisation, where goods were procured based on the best price, no matter how far the goods had to be shipped from, but with the supply chain crisis, the focus is on glocalisation. Vollmer defines this as “globalisation with the right local setup”, contributing to sustainability.  

Shifting roles: from cost-cutters to problem solvers

Christel Constant notices a palpable shift in procurement leaders’ roles and strategic positioning within companies. The procurement department is known as the cost-cutting heart of a company, adding that during the crisis, they had to don the mantel of a problem solver – identifying where to find new suppliers and how to ensure the supply of essential materials for their production line is guaranteed.  

Digitalisation had a big role to play before Covid-19, especially in the purchase-to-pay processes that are less strategic – indirect or catalogue-based products – and companies were able to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase transparency in their supply chain management. 

However, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of digitalisation even more and now companies seek to accelerate compliant decentralisation and enable end users, so they can focus their time on other strategic topics.  

Dr Vollmer’s takes on post-Covid KPIs are interesting to note as the focus is in keeping with ESG, labour and sustainability standards. He says that in the past we were mostly driven by hard savings. However, companies are seeking to be much more transparent post-Covid and real-time monitoring is crucial.  

The benefits of e-procurement, such as increased efficiency, cost savings and improved supplier relationships have become even more apparent during the pandemic. As we move forward, e-procurement will likely continue to play a vital role in procurement processes, providing a secure and efficient means of conducting business in a post-Covid world.