Procurement teams are joining the front lines of the data revolution. Leading companies are wielding new digital procurement solutions to increase process efficiency, improve compliance, and expand strategic capabilities, such as category management. And that data muscle is transforming the strategic role of procurement.

However, many companies are just beginning their digital overhaul of procurement, and some are struggling to get started. To address this challenge, chief procurement officers (CPOs) are increasing their investments in digital technologies. Digital solutions can create considerable value, yet firms often lack a digital roadmap aligned to their strategic objectives.

The most critical objective for many is obtaining a transparent view of the full supplier universe to better assess supply risk and build resilience.

Prior to Covid-19, 50 percent of organisations felt strong pressure to accelerate their digital transformation, according to a recent Bain survey of CPOs. Disruptions triggered by the pandemic have increased the urgency to invest by exposing digital blind spots within organisations and making supply resilience a key priority. In particular, CPOs said their top application areas for 2021 include better tracking of supplier risk and performance, improved automation, and stronger analytics.