SAP executives gave their two cents on the future of intelligent spend management drawing from 2020’s extraordinary experiences.
2020 has proven to be the most arduous year in recent decades for businesses of any size across industries around the world. While COVID-19 exposed the supply chain management vulnerabilities of many organisations, ironically, the pandemic has also been the catalyst for many organisations’ digital acceleration, ensuring supply-demand balance.
As organisations step in 2021 with anticipation and caution, SAP executives from Procurement and SAP Fieldglass units shared their insights on the future of intelligent spend management.
“The evolution of procurement over the next five to 10 years will be driven by macroeconomic factors: the exponential growth of the digital economy, declining productivity, and the stagnation of globalisation. Living with the coronavirus pandemic, and planning for a future with increasing uncertainty, many organisations are watching global supply chains and taking stock of their own risks in the market,” said Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy, SAP Procurement Solutions.
2021 Intelligent Spend Management Outlook
Below are the SAP executives’ perspectives on intelligent spend management this year:
A holistic, cloud-based approach to managing spend
According to John Wookey, President, Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP, a holistic, cloud-based approach to managing spend will help businesses achieve their financial goals as well as their operational environmental and social objectives as they ease their way through recovery in 2021. He said:
“In the new year, organisations will prove to be decisive in their approach to managing spend as they take steps toward business recovery. Only a holistic, cloud-based approach with the data underlying every spend decision — from direct and indirect goods procurement to contingent labor, services providers, and MRO spend, all the way to travel and expense management — offers the necessary insights to counter disruption and extend competitive advantage.”
“Never before have connected commerce and intelligent spend management been as pivotal to business success as they are going to be in 2021,” he added.
Cloud-based solutions will also be optimised in managing the external workforce according to Vish Baliga, Chief Technology Officer, SAP Fieldglass.
“If 2020 was a year of disruption – and was it ever – then let 2021 be a year of rebuilding. In the year ahead, I foresee cloud-based solutions, particularly with regard to external workforce management, playing a vital role in lending businesses the flexibility they need to take steps toward recovery. Just as they always have, contingent labor and services providers deliver the depth of skills and expertise necessary to propel businesses forward,” Baliga expressed.
Supply chain and logistics industries will take center stage
The pandemic has disrupted the global supply chain like never before. This year, SAP executives have stressed how the supply chain and logistics industries will be at the front and center of recovery and future success of businesses.
Sanjay Almeida, Chief Product Officer, Intelligent Spend Management at SAP said that this year, more than ever, the leaders in procurement and operations management will take in an immense responsibility for the world’s 7.8 billion people.
“As we look toward a new year and anxiously await the broad distribution of vaccines against COVID-19, leaders in the procurement, supply chain and logistics industries will take center stage as nations mobilise to turn back the pandemic. How adaptable is our infrastructure, how agile is our technology, and how ambitious is our purpose in the race to safely manufacture these life-sustaining breakthroughs and distribute them equitably?” Almeida said.
Restructuring procurement and supply chain management
Sean Thompson, Executive Vice President, Network and Ecosystem, SAP Procurement Solutions shared his perspective on how advancement in procurement and supply chain management will make a remarkable difference this year. He said:
“Now more than ever, procurement is uniquely positioned to be transformative and highly impactful for businesses as we enter a new era of data-driven intelligence. A shift away from the traditional, linear supply chain to a broader supply network, coupled with dynamic partnerships driving innovation, will be key to gaining a 360-degree view of supply, improving cash flow, developing new products and pursuing sustainability initiatives.”
“Breaking away from reactivity and focusing on proactivity will be essential in tackling new business challenges in a post-COVID-19 world. Network strategies, and making use of data-driven insights, will be important in avoiding repercussions from future shocks and shifts, replacing linearity with interconnectivity,” Thompson highlighted.
Farooq echoed the same insight on the need for the development of the supply chain structure for businesses to remain resilient and adaptable. He emphasised the pivotal role of spend management organisations in driving that progress. He said:
“We can expect to see suppliers as the driving force for innovation in most organisations, helping realise the promise of artificial intelligence and begin to reverse the productivity slump. As such, companies will need to take a very different lens regarding the management of their supplier base than in the past. I anticipate the rise of spend management professionals as trusted advisors, providing solutions, and preparing for unforeseen events; delivering greater value by moving the conversation from cost-saving to strategy.”
Contingent workforce to help in recovery
According to Arun Srinivasan, General Manager at SAP Fieldglass, contingent workforce and services providers will continue to play a leading role in helping organisations rebound from disruption, regain their competitive edge and respond to the shifting needs of customers.
“In 2021, I believe the transparency and insights made possible by cloud-based external workforce management solutions will help to determine which organisations return from the pandemic stronger than before – and more responsive and resilient to unforeseen change,” Srinivasan said.
Human and machine collaboration
The pandemic has shown how humans’ resiliency worked in sync with technology and the collaboration is foreseen to propel recovery and growth of orgnisations in the years to come according to Padmini Ranganathan, Global Vice President, Product Strategy, SAP Procurement Solutions. He said:
“As companies large and small strive to survive the pandemic period and its devastating economic effects, we see human and machine intelligence coming together to play a significant role in decision making. Not only is this helping companies survive and fuel recovery efforts, but it is also inspiring new business models and transformation initiatives that are setting the course for long term growth.”
