Continuing our series of procurement and supply chain related predictions for next year, we have gathered a variety of predictions from leading vendors in the procurement and supply chain market, and will add our own sprinkling of endorsement from analyst Magnus Bergfors in our own roundup piece to follow.
Today let’s hear from Ivalua, which needs little introduction as the fast-growing, privately held, source-to-pay procurement suites provider, originally with European roots but now with a huge presence in North America too.
Alex Saric, CMO Ivalua, comments:
Uncertainty will continue to reign
We’re unlikely to see a change in White House policy or predictability, so the tit-for-tat global tariff wars we’ve seen break out between the US, Europe and China will continue into 2020, and potentially beyond the November 2020 election. Tariff changes / uncertainty present a unique challenge for businesses as any rise can affect the cost structure for products, potentially making certain supply chains untenable. This means prices could be caught in a state of flux and cause temporary dips in production if organisations look to change suppliers to avoid being impacted by tariff changes. For procurement teams, the challenge is about ensuring they have visibility into the impact of tariff scenarios on their overall supply chain and viable alternatives, which smart procurement technology can enable.
Environmental supply chains can be a differentiator for organisations – With the spotlight shining on the global climate change protests calling on companies to reduce their impact on the environment, sustainability is going to be a big issue in 2020. As such, organisations must ensure they are seen to be taking action, building more sustainable supply chains and ensuring high standards are being applied by their suppliers. Procurement offers a holistic view of all suppliers, allowing organisations to evaluate true sustainability. Procurement has a vital role to play, and can help businesses turn being green into a competitive advantage.
Global recession could send procurement back to the dark ages – Tariff wars and wider geopolitical factors such as Brexit will only increase the risk of a global recession in 2020, which will see organisations refocus on the bottom line and cutting costs. Procurement has progressed in leaps and bounds over the last few years, going from being a price slasher, to a department that adds strategic value through risk management, supplier collaboration and building relationships that benefit both parties in the long run. A recession risks setting back this progress with a renewed emphasis on costs above other objectives. At a time when businesses are more reliant than ever on suppliers, such a procurement relapse would be difficult to manage and damage the progress made, stifling innovation.
Thanks to Ivalua – and look out for more solution provider predictions over the next couple of weeks. It will make interesting writing for the end of 2020 to see which were most accurate!
Please note that the order of vendor predictions in this series is based entirely on the order in which they dropped onto our digital doorstep, nothing more.
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