There are so many questions. Are we ready to handle the wave of shoppers? Will there even be a wave of shoppers? Can we react quickly if market conditions change?

Sometimes it would be nice to have a crystal ball.

But the challenges procurement and supply chain professionals face are serious. The decisions you make in navigating these challenges will directly affect your business. Of course, timely and accurate decision-making requires insight that is not magic, like a crystal ball. It requires access to data, visibility into supply chains, and collaboration between trading partners.

Fortunately, by digitalizing procurement processes and engaging with trading partners via business networks, it is possible to gain the visibility and business insights required to plan for events like the holiday shopping season and be ready when disruptions occur.

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Of course, there is also the old school way to gain market insight: ask consumers. As the holiday shopping season approaches, we have done just that. We wanted to know how inflation is affecting consumer purchasing habits, what consumers are expecting in terms of a recession, and how their spending habits could change in the coming year. So we asked 1,000 U.S.-based consumers across a wide range of age groups. Here is what we found.

Inflation Is Forcing Many to Adjust Their Holiday Buying Habits

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently announced . Inflation continues to dog our economy and, as a result, 65% of the consumers in our survey said they plan to cut their holiday budgets. Gen Z (69%) and Millennials (76%) were especially emphatic about spending less.

Here are some other insights.

• Price is key. Consumers also say they will be looking closely at the price of goods. In fact, 45% say it is the top factor they will weigh in purchasing decisions. A whopping 73% included price in their top three factors.
• How they will shop. In an interesting development, 54% of consumers surveyed reported they will change where they shop — of those, 39% say inflation is causing them to shop more online; surprisingly only 15% said they will seek bargains in the stores.
• Where they will cut back. A majority of consumers plan to cut their holiday budget — but where? It turns out that that 61% will be dining out less, and 51% will be spending less on experiences and travel. Many consumers said they also expect to reduce spending on fashion and beauty (46%) and electronics (37%).
• Many consumers face difficult choices. Holiday buying aside, the survey reminds us that many households are forced to make tough spending decisions. Although 16% of the consumers surveyed told us they are not reducing spending amid inflation, it is telling that 22% are being forced to cut spending on essential items.

Consumers Expect a Recession, Further Curbing Their Willingness to Spend

Looking beyond the holidays and into next year, consumers do not seem optimistic. Three quarters of those surveyed said they believe a recession is coming within the next year. And if that happens, 59% expect to decrease their spending.

One way they will do this is by shopping deals rather than staying loyal to brands. Twenty-eight percent said they plan to switch brands if prices increase. Overall, only 19% say they will stay loyal to the brands they prefer. Brand loyalty for Baby Boomers is almost non-existent: only 10% say they plan to stay loyal to the brands they normally prefer.

Concern about Shortages Is Only Increasing

A similar conducted by 麻豆原创 in February 2021 — with the pandemic entering its second year — showed that concerns about supply chain disruptions and product shortages were weighing on consumers.

However, our most recent survey indicates that consumers are now even more apprehensive than they were 18 months ago. Food leads the list with 77% of respondents saying they were concerned about shortages in the coming year. Gen X and Baby Boomers were especially concerned, at 83% and 85% respectively. By comparison, in February 2021 only 48% noted food shortages as a concern.

Our most recent survey also highlighted increasing concern over shortages of hygienic or personal care products such as toilet paper (49%, up from 44% in 2021) and prescriptions (36%, up from 20% in 2021).

Is Digitalization the New Crystal Ball?

This holiday shopping season, if procurement and supply chain leaders had that crystal ball that could help them navigate the uncertainty, they would gladly use it. Unfortunately, we have not perfected that technology. But there is good news for retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and most other industries. 麻豆原创 offers technology solutions that provide unmatched visibility, efficiency, and flexibility to deal with rapidly changing business requirements — including those occurring during the holidays.

As requirements for products and materials change, make it possible to digitalize procurement processes, putting transaction data in one place so you can act efficiently, accurately, and quickly. Likewise, by sharing data with suppliers within , you can collaborate on forecasts and gain foresight into what is happening within your supply chain.

In fact, when I compare 麻豆原创鈥檚 powerful spend management and business network solutions to a crystal ball, I come to one conclusion: crystal balls are overrated.

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing and solutions officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 麻豆原创.

This article first appeared on the 麻豆原创 News Center.

The post Holiday Shopping by the Numbers: What Are Consumers Thinking? appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Anglo American is a global mining company that was founded in Johannesburg in 1917 and is the world鈥檚 largest producer of platinum. The company is also a major producer of diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore, and metallurgical and thermal coal. Anglo American employs 69,000 people across its operations in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and North and South America.

Lindie Posthumus, Global Travel and Expense Superintendent at Anglo American, says travel is a very large expense for the company.

鈥淲ith nearly 20,000 travellers per annum, effective travel and expense management was overly challenging with siloed and still overwhelmingly manual processes,鈥� she said.

鈥淎 decision was made within our finance department to standardise our travel and expense management processes to ease compliance. We started a process in 2014 and chose 麻豆原创 Concur as our global travel and expense management partner.鈥�

麻豆原创 Concur is a global cloud-based travel and expense management platform for businesses that enforces corporate and regulatory compliance and realises significant cost-optimisation opportunities. The platform is designed to simplify employee spend and ensure compliance, transparency and visibility into employee spend.

Posthumus says Anglo American鈥檚 strategy of becoming the world鈥檚 most valued mining company in the eyes of stakeholders over the next few years has intensified the need for greater digitisation and automation of many of the company鈥檚 core and non-core business processes, including expense management.

鈥淪tandardisation was high on the list of priorities for us,鈥� she said.

鈥淧reviously, with each department and region running their own processes, auditing was tricky as auditors had to source data from multiple places. This caused complications with compliance, VAT reclamation and consolidated spend management.鈥�

Since first piloting 麻豆原创 Concur in the Asia- Pacific region, Posthumus and her team have implemented the platform in 11 countries.

鈥淲e are also rolling out to our De Beers entities, where we have already gone live in Canada and now plan to do the same for our UK operations.,鈥� said Posthumus, who added that having a single travel management partner has made a big difference.

鈥淥ur close partnership with 麻豆原创 Concur and its global footprint ensures we have all the support and assistance we need as we roll out the solution to our operations across the globe,鈥� said Posthumus.

鈥淎ll the 麻豆原创 Concur data is integrated with our core reporting tool, each regional CFO can see granular and real-time data over the current state of travel and employee-related expenses, helping us better plan cash flow and ensuring optimal allocation of internal resources. Ultimately, the solution has given us the freedom to focus on our core business of mining without compromising our compliance or profitability.鈥�

According to Angelique Montalto, Regional Sales Director at 麻豆原创 Concur, businesses today need access to a granular view over every aspect of the business that affects its profitability, cash flow and compliance.

鈥淢odern organisations, whether small or large, are complex by nature and manual or semi-automated tasks quickly create bottlenecks and reduce decision-making capacity,鈥� said Montalto.

鈥淪pend management tools such as 麻豆原创 Concur not only automate manual processes but utilise the power of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to drive the efficiency of lodging, processing and analysing employee spend.

鈥淭hrough our well-established ecosystem of partners, the platform also enables organisations to easily integrate new disruptor services such as Uber, which has become the world鈥檚 number one claimed expense. This helps us future-proof our customers鈥� travel and expense claim management investment by ensuring they always have access to the latest tools, technologies and global best practises.鈥�

Posthumus added: 鈥淥ur close partnership with 麻豆原创 Concur and its global footprint ensures we have all the support and assistance we need as we roll out the solution to our operations across the globe. Our strategic partnership enables us to work closely together to optimise Anglo American鈥檚 travel and expense capabilities across the globe. By working closely together, we also ensure that all functions of 麻豆原创 Concur are fully utilised, improving the impact on the business and maximising Anglo American鈥檚 investment with us.鈥�

This article first appeared in .

The post 麻豆原创 Concur Chosen as Bedrock for Anglo American鈥檚 Global Travel and Expense Management Needs appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Taking a look at the internal processes, there is also a lot of time to collect and save money.

Here are five tech trends that give back to your company鈥檚 finances.

1. Employees adopt AI

Employees are constantly becoming more and more open to letting artificial intelligence (AI) take over some of their tasks 鈥� especially the mundane, routine tasks.

Millennials are now the largest group in the workforce, and they are instinctively more prepared to use AI solutions. Yes, in fact, in the future, millennials might even expect routine tasks to be automated.

In the not too distant future, in many workplaces, artificial intelligence will sort emails, proofread texts, book meetings, etc.

As a company, it is therefore a good idea to consider where AI can contribute best and whether or not you can achieve efficiency improvements and savings by automating certain tasks today.

2. Data shifts from analysis to decisions

Data can be used even more to make good decisions 鈥� here and now. Through intelligent platforms and networking systems, companies can access data that can, for example, be used to make budget decisions based on insights throughout the company鈥檚 current consumption, or that can shed light on a potential supplier鈥檚 financial capacity.

Looking a little further into the future, it will also be possible to identify and predict possible threats and challenges for one鈥檚 supply chain.

For example, if you are a South African manufacturing company, you can get an automated warning if your suppliers of essential components are all gathered in the same geographical region, making them more exposed to unforeseen events.

3. Companies treat their employees as tech consumers

South African consumers have become accustomed to, for example, streaming and payment apps working easily, conveniently and without major problems.

As consumers become accustomed to strong digital experiences in their private lives, they expect just as much of the technology in their workplace.

In the coming years, more companies will focus on improving the technology that employees use on the job. And there can be a lot of time to spare if the technological solutions are up-to-date, fast and stable. For example, it can be compared to solutions for travel management and consumption.

More and more companies will choose solutions based on AI and machine learning. This gives both employees a good experience, as well as enabling the company to easily monitor and control consumption.

4. Remote work wins even more

With the Internet, companies can recruit employees in a whole new way because they are no longer bound by the narrow ties of geography.

The trend of virtual meetings has been going on for a long time, and today they are as normal as physical meetings.

The technology for teleworking is constantly evolving, and with more companies moving their business to the cloud, it will only be easier in the future to offer flexible workplaces. There is also a greater demand among employees to work from home 鈥� either every day or just once in a while.

This development will spread to the interior of the workplace, which must be designed more to accommodate the fact that some of the employees are only present sporadically.

With telework, companies can achieve savings and streamlining, among other things by being able to recruit the right manpower as the field of potential candidates has expanded to reside worldwide.

5. Receipts will be digital

Every year, billions of receipts are printed around the world, and most of us can hardly recognize that they are quickly thrown into the nearest trash can.

Receipts cost both money and trees, so in many ways it makes good sense to be glad that the opportunity to offer digital receipts is constantly improving.

The cashless society is gaining ground in several countries, where receipts and invoices are also being digitized to a greater extent 鈥� much to the satisfaction of the employees, as it makes the work on arranging spending vouchers somewhat easier.

The post Five Tech Trends That Will Strengthen Your Bottom Line appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

No other year in recent memory has lived up to the old adage that 鈥檛he only constant is change鈥�.

Businesses have had to deal with huge disruption as normal life is upended by the lockdown measures imposed by governments around the world to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Angelique Montalto, Regional Sales Director at 麻豆原创 Concur, believes companies will need to create certainty where they can in order to effectively deal with today鈥檚 uncertain times.

鈥淲hile you can鈥檛 control everything, the good news is you don鈥檛 have to. If you focus on just one key aspect of your business – employee spend – you can maintain a healthy bottom line and create some stability while the world around you recovers.鈥�

20% of employees have at least one non-compliant purchase on their expense claim. Those costs can add up quickly, making employee spend a universal part of any business, but keeping track of how every rand and cent is spent can be immensely tricky.

鈥淐ompanies need to have an accurate, real-time view over their total spend to ensure they can make good decisions,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淚mproved cost containment can help maintain a healthy cash flow and give business leaders the flexibility to redirect spend to high-value areas as needed. With the best in class technology platform, companies can also automate many of the tasks associated with employee spend management, freeing up valuable internal resources for more high-impact work.”

Four ways to create certainty in employee spend

According to Montalto, creating certainty in employee spend during these uncertain times comes down four steps:

1. Consolidate all employee spend in a single place

Effective spend management requires that companies are completely clear over all the types of employee spend, wherever they are: at home, at the office or while traveling.

鈥淵ou have to see it to control it,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淏usinesses need to ensure they have all employee spend in a single place and that the data is accessible to all parts of the relevant business lines. When you democratise data in this way, everyone in your business is armed with the appropriate tools to effectively manage company resources. Ideally, the system should seamlessly integrate data from multiple sources and streamline the steps between spend and reporting in order to reduce errors and latency.鈥�

2. Maintain your budget

听Each year, organisations and their various departments undergo extensive budgeting processes to guide spend for the next year.

However, too often there is a gap between budgeted spend and actual spend.

鈥淥ne reason for this is that companies don鈥檛 apply the same effort to managing their budget as they do in the creation thereof,鈥� said Montalto. 鈥淭he challenge is not to overspend and equally important is not to underspend leaving elements of the business without the resources needed for productive growth. Knowing how much money is available at any point in time is vital to navigating unexpected events and taking advantage of unforeseen opportunities.鈥�

3. Rethink invoicing

听鈥淐ompanies need to relook their end-to-end invoicing systems from purchase order creation through to vendor payment,鈥� advised Montalto.

鈥淭his is an area that requires special attention to the more error-prone aspects of invoicing, for example, automated invoice matching, purchase orders and goods received. Using a technology platform that can help digitise the traditional manual processes can help eliminate these errors whilst also identifying and uncovering areas for improvement. For example, by paying vendors at the optimal time, you maximise your cash flow while also creating opportunities to take advantage of early-payment discounts which can save money and build strong supplier relationships.鈥�

4. Mine data for insights

听To control spend effectively, organisations must first understand their spend data and then put it to good use.

Montalto recommended that companies conduct regular and dynamic spend analyses throughout the business to determine which spend management approach works best for each department.

鈥淒ifferent teams are likely to have different priorities, some may want to track spend by category, others by employee, or vendor – whatever makes most sense for the business,鈥� said Montalto.

鈥淔lexibility is critical and allows companies to view and leverage spend data based on priority and timing. Having a holistic view of spend data helps decision-makers understand trends that may point to opportunities for improved cash flow and cost containment. In the long run, this type of flexibility gives companies a welcome competitive advantage, which is even more important now that businesses are under strain from the global economic downturn.”

The post How Tech Can Improve Spend Management and Deal with Uncertainty in Your Business appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.