NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- According to the 3rd annual WBR Insights CPO Study, 50% of senior procurement executives surveyed found that the greatest roadblock to their digital transformation efforts came in the form of integrating new technologies within their legacy IT frameworks. Other challenges that shared equal weighting included the lack of urgency of the part of senior management to implement new technologies, as well as the necessary budget to move forward with these initiatives.
Produced by WBR Insights (the custom research division of Worldwide Business Research (WBR)) in cooperation with Amazon Business, Beeline, Capriza, and GEP, this year's report (entitled "Examining the Role of the CPO as a Catalyst For Digital Transformation in a Time of Disruption"), explores the challenges that procurement leadership face in advancing digital transformation from both intra-company and external forces.
Other key findings from the report include:
- Blockchain is the cutting-edge technology that most procurement executives are currently intrigued by and are actively investigating (46%), followed by Robotic Process Automation (RPA; 25%) and AI/Machine Learning (18%) respectively.
- 89% of the executives surveyed plan to have at least 50% percent of their procurement processes automated in the next 12 months.
- Contingent labor and managed services will continue to be a large part of procurement executive's tactical strategy, with over 33% planning to increase the amount of contingent labor they utilize within the next 12 months (37% plan to maintain their current level).
- Strategic sourcing and category management are the two greatest priorities in regards to managed services (82% respectively), followed closely by supply risk management (75%).
"Many CPOs have completed the first steps towards digital transformation in the form of integrating traditional procurement IT solutions (Source to Contract, Procure to Pay, etc.), and are just beginning to explore the potential of cutting-edge technologies like AI and Blockchain," said Andrew Greissman, Digital Content Director, WBR Insights. "As procurement begins to take on a greater role in risk management within the organization, they will need to balance the desire to be 'first to market' based on market projections for these solutions and the need for clear, demonstrable success metrics."
The full report is currently available for download here. For more information about WBR Insights, please visit https://digital.wbresearch.com.
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About WBR Insights
WBR Insights is the custom research division of WBR (Worldwide Business Research), the world leader in B2B focused conferences. From research-based whitepapers to benchmarking reports, infographics and webinars, our mission is to help global institutions across a variety of industries to inform and educate their key stakeholders while achieving their strategic goals. For more information, please visit https://digital.wbresearch.com.
Amazon Business
Amazon Business combines the selection, convenience and value customers have come to know and love from Amazon, with new features and unique benefits tailored to the needs of businesses. Amazon Business provides easy access to hundreds of millions of products and a variety of benefits, including business-only pricing and selection, single- or multi-user business accounts, Business Prime, approval workflow, purchasing system integrations, multiple payment options, tax exemption status for eligible customers, dedicated customer support and more. To register for a free Amazon Business account, visit http://www.amazon.com/business. More information about Amazon Business is available at http://www.amazonbusinessblog.com.
Beeline
Beeline is the world's largest independent provider of solutions for sourcing and managing the complex world of contingent labor. Our software helps procurement, sourcing, and human resources professionals optimize costs, reduce risks, and add value to their services procurement and contingent workforce programs. We have the deepest, most seasoned team of contingent workforce solution professionals. From over 15 locations around the world, we deliver innovative technology, end-to-end global and localized customer engagement services, and value-added capabilities which help many of the world's largest enterprises meet their most critical talent needs. To learn more, visit beeline.com.
Capriza
Capriza transforms how corporate approvals are done by rapidly delivering a simple, consolidated experience for managers and executives on their smartphones using existing business applications. By doing so, managers can make informed business decisions anytime, anywhere and increase business agility. Enterprises relying on Capriza include MasterCard International, Volvo Financial Services, and Titan Machinery.
Founded in 2011 by former executives of Mercury Interactive, Capriza is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and funded by Andreessen Horowitz, CRV, Tenaya Capital, Harmony Partners, and Allen & Company. Learn more at https://www.capriza.com.
GEP
GEP helps global enterprises operate more efficiently and effectively, gain competitive advantage, boost profitability, and maximize business and shareholder value. Fresh thinking, innovative products, unrivaled domain and subject expertise, and smart, passionate people – this is how GEP creates and delivers unified business transformation solutions of unprecedented scale, power and effectiveness.
With 14 offices and operations centers in Europe, Asia and the Americas, Clark, New Jersey-based GEP helps enterprises worldwide realize their strategic, operational and financial objectives. To learn more about our comprehensive range of strategic and managed services, please visit http://www.gep.com. For more about SMART by GEP, our cloud-native, unified source-to-pay platform, please visit http://www.smartbygep.com.
SOURCE Worldwide Business Research
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