Digital investment in procurement set to ramp up – Global Digital Procurement Survey 2022

• Carbon emissions tracking is anticipated to become a game changer across all industries. Already, 27% of companies have used or experimented with this use case.
• 27% of respondents have experienced a cybersecurity intrusion. Procurement functions have a key role to play in protecting a company from cyber-risks across their supplier base.
• Despite key investments in procure-to-pay (P2P) and source-to-contract (S2C) systems, 55% of respondents have difficulty in leveraging procurement data.
• 90% of respondents have implemented a procurement digitalisation solution.

Investment in digital procurement in companies around the world is set to increase by at least 33% by the end of 2022 compared to 2020 levels. Key emerging digital tools, according to procurement executives, are supply chain traceability and supplier carbon emissions monitoring. The survey reveals that carbon emission tracking tools are expected to become a game changer for procurement functions, with 27% of companies surveyed already using this emerging technology within their organisation.

These are some of the key findings from PwC's latest Global Digital Procurement Survey of over 800 procurement executives in 64 countries, including Ireland. The research gives an overview of the digital trends, investment, concerns and opportunities in procurement functions.

According to PwC Ireland Consulting Partner Garrett Cronin, "We are seeing digital transformation within global and Irish procurement functions ramp up. Digital technologies are becoming critical, not only in payments processes but also in terms of measuring carbon emissions within supply chains. However, greater focus will be needed in the future on data accuracy and availability, as well as retaining key people".

Other key survey findings include:

• 90% of survey respondents already use digital procurement solutions such as S2C or P2P tools.
• 55% of respondents admitted to having difficulties in leveraging their procurement data.
• 90% of procurement executives are concerned about cyberthreats, with over a quarter (27%) having experienced an intrusion.
• Digital transformation is now also motivated by risk management and compliance, in addition to traditional objectives of cost reduction and process simplification.

Ireland and the UK:

• Cost reduction and talent retention are key priorities.
• There is a greater level of digital payment solutions in place compared to global counterparts.

The survey analysed Ireland and the UK together. With rising inflation, cost pressures and global supply shortages, procurement executives in Ireland and the UK are more concerned than their global peers about rising costs and their ability to contain these pressures. Talent retention and upskilling are also of greater concern in Ireland and the UK compared to global counterparts.

Like their global counterparts, Ireland and UK procurement functions have ambitious digitalisation targets. 84% of Irish and UK companies reported having technology platform solutions for their S2P processes already in place, 7% higher than global counterparts. Involving internal stakeholders and being conscious of the corporate culture were seen as the key success factors for driving digital transformation.

The survey highlights a significant focus on data analytics in procurement functions in Ireland and the UK, with 76% ranking this as the top technology in the years ahead. 68% of UK and Ireland respondents scored a carbon emission tracker tool as critical for providing value, indicating their commitment to improving the sustainability of their future supply chains.

PwC Ireland Procurement Director Mark McKeever concluded: "Advanced analytics is a key enabler to drive more responsive and informed decisions and will play a more critical role in the future. With significant digital investment plans afoot, the survey suggests that procurement functions are well-placed to seize the opportunities and play a greater strategic role within their organisations into the future".