While business leaders expect a return to growth and expansion, disruption continues to come from multiple directions – including the supply chain, inflation, talent and other risks, not to mention new developments in the pandemic. These factors will impact what was already an ambitious agenda in 2022 as procurement continues to modernize and transform.
In late 2021, The Hackett Group conducted its annual Key Issues Study, revealing procurement executives’ priorities as they look ahead to 2022. Three key themes emerged from this research:
1. While managing continuing supply disruption and its impact on revenue remain procurement’s top concerns, sustainability rose more than any other priority on the function’s 2022 agenda, compared to the previous year. Together, these priorities reflect a continuing elevation and broadening of the function’s role and value contribution beyond only delivering cost savings.
2. Digital transformation remains a front and center enabler, but now refreshed with increased rigor around data management; the need to deliver up-to-date insights to inform supply risk, sourcing, and supplier management; and greater realization of the importance of obtaining value from technology investments. Historical projections around growth in adoption haven’t fully come to fruition, and predictions for 2022 adoption are somewhat tempered. However, procurement executives are concerned about their ability to deliver on digital transformation, as well as certain enablers of it.
3. Executives remain concerned about maintaining an efficient, productive workforce with the evolving skills needed to meet the broader enterprise mandate. Developing capabilities in areas such as supplier relationship management, sustainability and data-driven insights will be critical to enabling business success. Functional leaders must find a way to do so while also navigating disruption due to resignations and normalization of the work-from-anywhere model.
Contributors: The Hackett Group
Categories: Whitepaper
SRC Type: Sourcing, Trends