TECHNOLOGY
43% say current IT systems support for SRM is poor or very poor 86% use Microsoft Excel for SRM reports 71% say systems are disparate and not integrated
SUMMARY Technology has long been the weakest pillar of SRM and we see this trend continuing. Around 90% of respondents think technology is important for supplier informationmanagement and contract management. These are the activities most likely to see significant investment. Yet 43% say even in these applications, SRM is poorly, or very poorly, supported by technology. When creating SRM reports, 86% of organisations use Microsoft Excel, a good desktop tool but not an enterprise application. Information is distributed using shared drives, a basic company portal or email, creating problems keeping data up to date, consistent, accurate and secure. Where practitioners say SRM technology is inadequate, the most likely reason is systems are disparate and not integrated. Although all groups in our study struggle with technology, the best performers in SRM are muchmore likely to include it as part of their SRM strategy.
PROCUREMENT DESIRES SUPPLIER AND CONTRACT INFORMATION FROM SRM SYSTEMS
BENEFITS CAPTURE AND REPORTING NOT A PRIORITY
Fig 30. How important to you is it to have IT systems that effectively enable the following aspects of supplier management?* Very important Important Nice to have Not important
Fig 31. For which of these supplier management activities are you currently using IT systems?*
Contract management (supply side)
Supplier information management
%
57%
36%
7%
63
Contract management (supply side)
Supplier information management
54%
37%
8% 1%
Performance
54
53%
38%
9%
Supply chain risk management
Performance management
36
39%
42%
18% 1%
Relationship management and collaboration
SYSTEMS FOCUSED ON SUPPLIER INFORMATION, NOT INNOVATION Figure 30 shows the features of supplier management that respondents believe could be better enabled by technology. The top four named by all groups of respondents are:
To manage supplier relationships, procurement professionals need data, lots of data. Performance, prices, categories, financial records: these are just a few of the data points supplier relationship managers need to organise and make sense of. The right tools are invaluable to getting the clearest picture of supplier relationships with the least effort. Sadly, our research continues to show too few organisations can exploit technology to increase the value they gain from supplier relationships. 57% think better technology would help innovation Technology remains the least mature aspect of SRM and very little difference exists between the three benchmark groups of leaders, followers and others. Organisations successful in SRM treat it as a holistic approach to managing often complex relationships across the whole business involving multiple engagements, contracts, business units and regions. The only way to oversee, manage and develop these relationships is to make the best possible use of technology.
Benefits capture and reporting
30%
38%
30%
2%
32
Innovation management
21%
32%
43%
4%
Supply chain risk management
CSR and sustainability management (supply side)
24
→ Management of supplier-related information
17%
36%
42%
5%
Relationship management and collaboration
Benefits capture and reporting
→ Management of contracts – a system to both store contracts electronically and interrogate them for relevant in information → Performance management – being able to monitor and report on performance against SLAs and KPIs, for example → Benefits capture and reporting – the ability to capture and report primarily financial benefits emanating from SRM activities Respondents still believe that technology is an important enabler across all aspects of SRM. However, there is a relative lack of emphasis on how technology can enhance relationship management and collaboration, innovation management and CSR management. This may reflect a lack of maturity in some organisations. Also, a concern is the absence of alignment with the organisations’ wider objectives.
45%
40%
15%
13
*This analysis is for all respondents.
CSR and sustainability management (supply side)
There is a relative lack of emphasis on how technology can enhance relationshipmanagement and collaboration, innovationmanagement and CSRmanagement. This reflects a lack of maturity in some organisations.
12
Innovation management
6
None of these
13
*This analysis is for all respondents.
TECHNOLOGY STATE OF FLUX 2017 GLOBAL SRMRESEARCHREPORT 70
71 TECHNOLOGY STATE OF FLUX
2017 GLOBAL SRMRESEARCHREPORT
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