Procurement & Transformation

Corporate procurement departments have been traditionally known as dangerous innovation stiflers and killers. That is changing. Search for "future of procurement" to find articles about value creation, changing landscapes, new breeds, value orchestrators, and visibility, to list just a few.

The evolving role of procurement in supporting digital transformation, and the digital transformation of procurement itself, were evident at the October DPW Amsterdam conference.

David Rogers , author of The Digital Transformation Roadmap, was a keynote speaker (watch the hi-lites) and summarized his interactions with Chief Procurement Officers:

1. Be an Enabler, Not an Impediment. "It can get in the way of change and act as a roadblock, or it can be an accelerant."
2. Procurement Team, Disrupt Thyself. “We want procurement to be strategic...but our staff are all tactical."

In another session at the conference, Todd Podell added more to Dave's message in his human-centric talk. Digital transformation success comes from people and process (culture), not just technology.

Similar to how we shape our tools and our tools shape us, digital transformation is shaping procurement and procurement is shaping enterprises.