Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) are important strategic players in modern business and should be equipped with the right technologies to perform optimally.

This is according to ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ SVP of Intelligent Spend Management and Business Network, Carlos Mercuriali, who was speaking at ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄β€™s CPO Circle South Africa event in Johannesburg.

Mercuriali presented the keynote address at the event, after which ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ experts spoke about the company’s industry-leading procurement solutions.

This included ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Business Network, which was covered by Senior Solution Specialist Cyril Rathogwa and Head of ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Business Network for EMEA-S, Ayan Chakraboty.

Rathogwa explained that the ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Business Network solution comprises a comprehensive collaborative system that includes several powerful features:

• Qualtrix – Connects procurement data with real-time human insights to make data-driven decisions and actions.
• Guided sourcing – Streamlines user experience for creating and managing sourcing projects and events.
• ERP integration – ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Business Network seamlessly integrates into your existing ERP.

Chakraboty then highlighted how ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Business Network bridges the gaps between procurement and suppliers in the following ways:

• Fulfilment – Buyers can collaborate with suppliers to shift product schedules or alter product mix.
• Logistics – Delayed shipments are highlighted so schedules can be adjusted and operational bottlenecks can be detected.
• Invoicing – ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Business Network automatically generates digital invoices that are easily accessible for procurement and suppliers.
• Payments – ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Taulia offers dynamic discounting and supply chain finance.

ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Fieldglass

Basel Alshawa, Head of ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Fieldglass for EMEA-S, was next to speak, and explained how the ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Fieldglass solution makes it easy to source on-demand labour and expertise.

Fieldglass integrates into ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Ariba, ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Business Network, and ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ ERP to help CPOs monitor which service providers are delivering more value.

This makes it easier to determine which providers should be used for important business tasks.

Industry insights

ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄β€™s CPO Circle event provided an opportunity for senior procurement leaders from top South African organisations like Nedbank and SARS to discuss the state of procurement in the country, too.

Kaunain Nurani, ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ EMEA-S GTM and Transformation Lead: Intelligent Spend Management and Business Network, complemented this discussion, and explained that procurement has become an important driver of organisational innovation.

β€œThere is a stereotype about CPOs and procurement that implies these professionals are just number crunchers, but CPOs no longer see themselves as that stereotype. They have access to data that has turned them into trusted advisors,” said Nurani.

Retief Ferreira, Partner Operations Consultant at PWC, said that in addition to the above, procurement departments have become important players in finance.

β€œIf you know where you’re spending your money, you know where you can improve, particularly in terms of having the right suppliers and getting new ones where appropriate,” said Ferreira.

He also highlighted the importance of using local suppliers – both in terms of costs, and in terms of social responsibility.

β€œWe have a responsibility to develop local suppliers when they are available,” he said.

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