Almost three quarters (74%) of procurement professionals admit that their transition to eProcurement technologies could have been smoother if they’d had more support from a dedicated expert according to exclusive research from Wax Digital.
The eProcurement specialists, surveyed over 200 senior professionals in IT, HR, Finance and Procurement and nearly half of the buying professionals quizzed believe that more training would have boosted their business’ digital transformation experience. And just over a quarter think it would have been better to introduce these new technologies over a longer period of time.
72% of procurement professionals have received either partial training or no training in new technologies after the digitisation of manual processes within their businesses. Yet, 28% said they have received enough training, with one in ten claiming that the process could not have been improved.
The study results also suggest that procurement’s roles and responsibilities have changed now they’re increasingly taking advantage of digital technologies. Eight out of ten procurement professionals claimed that new technology has changed their job role over the past decade. However, 60% believe that the adoption of digital technologies has increased their overall productivity.
88% of procurement professionals said that their company benchmarks either as average or below the industry standard for digital implementation. This viewpoint differs considerably from the responses from IT and finance as the research shows that they believe their businesses are meeting or exceeding standards.
Daniel Ball, business development director at Wax Digital, said: “It’s great to the see productivity gains being achieved by procurement through the adoption of digital technologies. Streamlining slow, laborious manual processes will simplify tasks such as invoicing, supplier sourcing and contract management; freeing up time for the team to work on other projects across the business.
“Any organisation going through the digital transformation process needs a dedicated expert on board to help champion all things digital in the business. Their role would be to support other employees as they get to grips with new technologies and help them to embrace the digital transformation process by offering first-hand experience and expertise, as well as coaching them on best practice. This approach can help organisations make the most of their new digital technologies and help ensure the transition is a success, improving productivity and efficiency across the organisation”.