- Analyze existing IT systems in procurement regarding suitability for Procurement 4.0
- Determine the processes/tasks which are (should be) supported by IT systems
- Define requirements on performance of IT systems to support the required tasks and processes
- Determine necessary data granularity (→ In which level of detail are data required?)
- Determine need for optimization of the IT systems already in place
- Define the specifications for adaptation of existing systems or implementation of new systems
- Select the IT service providers to implement the adaptations defined in the specifications
- Monitor IT service providers during implementation and review adaptations from the specifications
Integrated Digitalization of Core Processes
Big Data, Procurement 4.0, Industry 4.0, Business Process Engineering, Internet of Things (IoT), Collaboration/Enterprise 2.0, Cloud Computing, Digital Transformation or in more general terms: the thematic field of digitalization is a sector that will influence business processes in general, and those of procurement in particular even far more strongly in the future. That’s why it is all the more important for companies to fully tap the possibilities of digitalizing procurement processes which are already in place today. We therefore support you in eliminating inefficiences due to the lack of integrated digitalization, and in turn, in successfully completing the industrialization and digitalization of your procurement department within the framework of the IDEa concept ("Industrialization and Digitalization of the Procurement Department").
What is integrated digitalization of core processes all about?
"Integrated digitalization" is understood as the digital networking and comprehensive controlling of procurement activities with suppliers, the departments involved and procurement colleagues. The enormous significance of integrated digital processes has already been identified in parts for strategic procurement in many procurement departments as an efficiency lever (e.g. thanks to automated evaluations of electronic tenders) and as an effectivity lever (e.g. thanks to eAuctions). However, the importance of digitalization has by far not been fully exploited yet with regard to its comprehensive potential for Procurement 4.0, as underscored by the following chart:
Integrated digitalization of strategic procurement does not change the basic contents of the work steps. Rather, it streamlines and accelerates the work process thanks to technological innovations. This improves the quality of processes tremendously, too. The objective is to have repetitive, time-consuming and error-prone work steps performed by IT systems instead of employees through clearly mappable sets of rules. This ensures a constantly high quality of data, analyses and decisions. All of this takes place with shorter throughput times and significantly lower personnel costs. In Procurement 4.0, an employee will now only be assigned to those areas where decisions must be taken which an IT system cannot, may not or should not carry out independently.
To gain deeper insights into our approach for the integrated digitalization of core processes for Procurement 4.0, we offer you a one-day workshop which has the following agenda/contents:
- Record the procurement processes which should be optimized by systems
- Define requirements on the IT systems for Procurement 4.0 to support the procurement processes
- Evaluate existing systems, taking requirements of procurement into account
- Develop optimization measures for existing systems
- Design an implementation plan to improve existing systems/to implement new systems
