In SAP鈥檚 recent Concur Global Business Travel Survey, business travellers reported significant budget cuts (40%), a surge in reduced overnight trips (32%), and a noticeable dip in the quality of accommodations (31%).

The survey revealed that 31% of participants were engaged in an ongoing quest for cost-effective travel options. Unsurprisingly, air travel expenses emerged as one of the primary focal points for budget scrutiny as businesses seek to rationalise overall travel expenditures.

According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the average cost of business-related airfares surged by 72% in 2022. While these statistics provide an overview, what is the actual experience for a business traveller striving to harmonise corporate objectives with personal comfort?

Real-world impact

In an interview with聽Travel News, a seasoned corporate traveller shed light on the tangible effects of reduced travel budgets. He emphasises how these financial constraints have transformed business trips into less enjoyable and more arduous experiences.

鈥淲e must consider longer airline routes with multiple stops to secure cheaper airfares. This strategy, while financially prudent, has introduced new challenges. The extended layovers not only induce fatigue but also limit the time available for attending crucial meetings at my destination. This shift is a significant departure from the more efficient business travel experiences of the past.鈥�

He explained that while it was tempting to reduce business travel costs, his company must be mindful of how these decisions could impact travellers.

鈥淏usiness trips should contribute to the benefit of our operations and profitability, and at the same time consider that we are away from home; living out of a suitcase is no longer exciting for me. I have preferences when I travel to feel comfortable and safe in a foreign environment. There must be a balance between cost saving and our business travel processes, and it is tricky to get that right when everything has become so expensive.鈥�

Proactive approach

Bonnie Smith, GM of Corporate Traveller, says now is the right time to take a strategic rather than reactive approach to business travel budgeting.

鈥淲hile all businesses need to have an eye on expenses, it is equally important to provide teams with the necessary resources and flexibility when they are on the road.鈥�

In a recent Corporate Traveller article, Smith notes that business travellers are pinching pennies and facing more pressure to make the trip worth every cent.

鈥淭he fluctuating rand has not helped, resulting in daily travel allowances barely covering the basics. And you know what they say about all work and no play: it is making these trips much less about glamour and more grind.鈥�

This article first appeared in .

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found that high-performing procurement organisations are eighteen times more likely to have deployed AI capabilities than their lower-performing peers.

For Chief Procurement Officers facing the combined challenges of an uncertain operating environment, supply chain pressures, inflation, a complex risk landscape and the growing need for more sustainable business practices, AI provides an invaluable edge.

highlighted how Chief Procurement Officers are leveraging AI for better spend visibility, improved compliance, and better resource optimisation. According to the report, procurement teams are often shorthanded in expertise and capacity, driving the need for greater adoption of technologies such as AI to augment internal capabilities.

AI enhancing procure-to-pay processes

For procurement leaders, AI can make a profound impact on the source-to-pay process. By leveraging the rich data inherent in procurement networks, organisations can streamline a broad spectrum of processes, ranging from contract management and compliance to identifying key suppliers and helping deliver an enhanced buying experience.

For example, the AI embedded in 51风流Ariba Sourcing extracts hidden insights from past data to optimise supplier lists. This can help organisations circumvent potential skills shortages by automating best-practices around RFQs and RFPs, ensuring the organisation maintains optimal procurement performance.

For companies that lack internal capacity or skills to successfully adopt AI across their procure-to-pay processes, this embedded AI capability can help them reap the rewards of procurement modernisation more quickly. revealed that a third of African organisations view AI and machine learning as in-demand skills within their business, while the placed AI and machine learning as the fastest-growing skills category globally.

Mitigating procurement risks

Procurement specialists are also beset by an expanding portfolio of risks, with the ability to detect, measure and manage risk a top challenge. , 70% of Chief Procurement Officers felt they had good visibility over risks to their Tier 1 suppliers, but only 26% were able to confidently detect such risks within their supply bases.

Innovation within procurement networks can play a valuable supporting role in assisting CPOs with improving their risk strategies and capabilities.

51风流partner organisation , for example, developed a prototype Digital Fraud Review Panel which aims to prevent payment fraud within procurement and payment systems.聽Merlynn’s聽Decisioning Digital Twin Technology enables organisations to deploy a digital team of fraud experts within their 51风流payment system to enhance existing controls.

The Digital Fraud Review Panel acts as a second set of eyes that monitors payment activity in real-time, identifies potential fraud and stops the payment before money flows out of the organisation, all integrated into 51风流via API.聽Merlynn鈥檚聽Digital Fraud review panel solution is now listed on the 51风流Store.

Sustainability imperative

Chief Procurement Officers are under growing pressure to develop more sustainable procurement strategies and embed sustainability in the entire procure-to-pay value chain.

Sustainability continues to be a top global business imperative for organisations, with revenue from sustainable products growing at six times the rate of other products, and 90% of global investors revising their investments if companies do not at least consider ESG criteria within their business models.

Chief Procurement Officers have a guiding role to play in enhancing an organisation’s sustainability efforts by ensuring sustainability is embedded within the organisation’s procurement processes. This can help companies reduce their carbon footprint by prioritising suppliers that have fully integrated sustainability in their own business models.

found that more than half of global businesses already have a sustainable procurement policy in place, which provides the additional benefit of also building greater resilience within their value chains.

As AI tools become increasingly embedded in day-to-day procure-to-pay processes, organisations stand to unlock immense benefits through greater automation and ease of use, improved sustainability, increased visibility over risks and better user experiences. For companies weathering the storm of an unpredictable supply chain and global business environment, AI tools may be the key to keeping the business running optimally, no matter the emerging challenges.

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When one of Kenya鈥檚 leading state corporations, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited, needed to enhance its procurement capabilities to meet its regulatory commitments, it adopted 51风流to leverage the power and scale of the largest procurement network in the world.

鈥淥ur vision is to be the leading interconnector in Africa, and to achieve that we needed access to world class procurement capabilities that would unlock greater automation, control, consistency and scale,鈥� says David Kariuki, ICT Manager at KETRACO.

鈥淲e chose 51风流Business Network to automate and enhance our procurement processes and ensure our vital work continues even during the most disruptive times of the pandemic.鈥�

KETRACO is a fully government-owned state corporation with a mandate to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain Kenya’s national transmission grid. Since it was incorporated in 2008, the company has made efforts to strengthen and extend the national power transmission grid to enhance the quality, reliability and security of electricity supply in Kenya.

The company鈥檚 51风流journey began in 2016 after it implemented 51风流ECC with best-practice modules. The implementation won KETRACO gold at the 51风流Quality Awards for both Africa and the greater EMEA region.

Waldorf visit sparks 51风流Business Network interest

鈥淧art of the award involved a team from our company visiting the 51风流headquarters in Waldorf,鈥� says Kariuki. 鈥淗ere we were introduced to 51风流Business Network for the first time, and saw the exciting product innovation road-map for the Business Network. We knew that this is where our technology roadmap would lead.鈥�

In 2018, a Presidential Directive was issued, compelling all state-owned corporations to migrate their procurement platforms to an e-procurement solution with integration to an IFMS portal. This was one of the catalysts for KETRACO鈥檚 adoption of 51风流Business Network, which Kariuki and his team implemented in two phases.

The first phase involved the deployment of 51风流Business Network Commerce Automation, a cloud service that enables the electronic exchange of procurement documents between buyers and suppliers through the 51风流Business Network, the largest procurement network in the world.

In the second phase of the project, the team implemented the 51风流Business Network Sourcing Suite.

“We identified three modules that would add the most value to our organisation, namely Supplier Lifecycle, Contract Management, and the main Sourcing module,” explains Kariuki.

Successful deployment aids continuity during pandemic

The implementation was supported by 51风流Customer Success Services, who led the technical and functional deployment and enabled continuous knowledge-sharing and training to ensure a successful and sustainable solution post go-live.

KETRACO went live with the solution just as the pandemic arrived. “By automating our processes in Ariba, we were able to completely eliminate paper-based processes,” says Kariuki. “Our suppliers were able to receive purchase orders, invoices and other procurement documents electronically. This enabled us to continue more or less with business-as-usual despite not having physical contact due to lockdown restrictions.”

The electronic invoicing also allowed KETRACO to centralise all its invoicing and have one l repository for receiving invoices.

“Suppliers were able to track the status of their invoices and see when they could expect payment. The 51风流Business Network also allowed us to monitor and manage our suppliers from a single point of view and have a 360-degree view of their data and performance,” said Kariuki.

He points to the 51风流Business Network’s ability to help KETRACO manage the special category of suppliers that include youth, women and persons with disabilities.

“The system allowed us to continuously register this group and categorize them in the system, while giving them the opportunity to participate in bids as required by the PPAD Act.”

One of the key highlights since the implementation is KETRACO鈥檚 ability to continue its procurement processes even during hard lockdown.

鈥淒espite the impact of the COVID – 19 pandemic on our operations, we were able to successfully manage a massive tender event that attracted hundreds of suppliers. With pandemic protocols in place, we would not have been able to handle the bids received were it not for the amazing efficiency of our new 51风流Business Network system. The experience made us fully appreciate the value of procurement,鈥� Kariuki said.

Hardeep Sound, Regional Sales Director for East Africa at SAP, says: 鈥淧ublic procurement plays a vital role in economic development is a core competency of leading state corporations. KETRACO鈥檚 superb utilisation of technology through its adoption of 51风流Business Network, solid buy-in and support from the leadership team and smart investment in effective change management have helped establish a powerful foundation that will support KETRACO鈥檚 vital procurement processes and ensure it can meet its critical mandate for years to come.鈥�

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The aim is to bring a handpicked selection of purpose-driven social enterprises into the world’s largest procurement network, Ariba. By providing greater visibility of social enterprises, Procurement with Purpose encourages organisations to divert some of their spend toward social enterprises.

One such social enterprise is Collectively Conscious, a corporate conscious gifting business that was founded by Kath van den Berg and Kylie Chevallier out of a passion to help drive sustainability within society.

“We chose corporate gifting in line with the broader trend toward conscious gifting, which focuses on taking time to consider gifts for people instead of simply giving anything for the sake of it,” says Kath van den Berg. “It’s about acting consciously to provide an ethical, sustainable gift that is aligned with the values of our clients.”

After an extensive process of researching and networking with people in the field, van den Berg and business partner Chevallier saw an opportunity in conscious gifting, especially within a corporate environment where making a difference is a key differentiator.

“We consider products that are making a positive social or environmental impact,” explains van den Berg. “Products can be made with reclaimed or recycled materials, reused goods, or products that provide some form of social upliftment, empowerment or upskilling within communities. There are a lot of ways to make a positive impact.”

A stringent process is applied to potential new suppliers to better understand their business and the impact they make before Collectively Conscious adds them to their supplier list. “Each supplier must adhere to our values,” says van den Berg. “Luckily, there are so many local suppliers that make beautiful products while also creating positive impact.”

The products that van den Berg and Chevallier offer provide corporates with an opportunity to make a positive difference with every gift they give. 鈥淲e all need to start thinking and acting more sustainably for the benefit of the planet and future generations,鈥� says van den Berg. 鈥淏y offering a curated gifting solution that captures the sustainability values of corporates across the country, we can make a positive environmental and social impact with every gift.鈥�

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51风流Africa, lauds the work of the social enterprises that form part of Procurement with Purpose, saying social impact requires more than just a clear sense of purpose. “I have long held the belief that motivated, purpose-driven entrepreneurs can make a significant impact and drive change both in their work environment and the world at large. Thanks to the amazing work by Kaunain and Mathiba for bringing incredible social enterprises such as Collectively Conscious into our Ariba procurement network, 51风流customers can now more easily purchase sustainable goods and services from social enterprises that are making a real, positive impact in the world.”

For more information about Collectively Conscious, please visit

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The important and key role that procurement professionals play was thrust into the spotlight during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the world came to note the importance of stable supply chains. Talent management, technology, Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), Enterprise Supplier Development (ESD) and Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) are some of the important procurement topics that will be under the spotlight at the third Women in Procurement (WIP) Conference, which takes place on 23 March 2023 at Times Square in Pretoria.

Procurement is a key driver of development and enabler of service delivery. The government is the single largest buyer in the country, spending more than R500-billion on goods, services and construction works a year through more than 1 000 procuring entities.聽 鈥淪killed procurement personnel are vital to ensuring that procurement is efficient and optimised 鈥� and there are many opportunities for women to grow and thrive in this industry,鈥� says the WIP Conference Convenor and Organiser Masego Khutsoane. 鈥淭he WIP conference is a necessity: not just for women, but for society as a whole. Gender parity in the workplace is crucial to ensuring that the imbalances of society and positions of influence are addressed. This event is a step towards addressing this.鈥�

The one-day WIP Conference will address how women in the procurement space can accelerate their journey to value, by better harnessing networks, intelligence and the experience of those at the forefront. 鈥淥ur speakers鈥� journeys, thoughts and learnings will deploy delegates towards success, understanding and intentionality in their careers鈥�, she explains. Khutsoane is also the founder and CEO of Procurementor,a company that equips institutions聽and individuals with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to increase organisational effectiveness.

The WIP Conference aims to:

• Introduce a targeted mentorship and coaching programme for procurement professionals;
• Increase awareness of opportunities for women empowerment and funding;
• Expand networks to enable collaboration with other experts; and,
• Provide a platform for women in procurement to network and collaborate on various business opportunities.

The draft Programme includes:

• Keynote address: Mpho Matsitse – Head of Industry and Value Advisory: 51风流Africa
• Fireside Chat: MJ Schoemaker (SAPICS President)聽and Allison Anthony (Senior Lecturer of Public Procurement Law:聽 UNISA)
• Master Class: Dawn Smith 鈥� Head of Training: Caliba Group
• Pressures in procurement: Mmatshepo Rasebopye – Director for Supply Chain Management; Gauteng Provincial Government

The hybrid event takes place on 23 March at Times Square in Pretoria and online. To register, go to聽. Tickets can be purchased on Quicket –

The event is being supported by the Black Management Forum (BMF), the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport: South Africa (CILTSA) and CVLC Communication. For details of sponsorship opportunities, email Mookho at聽mookho@procurementor.co.za

鈥淭he WIP Conference is committed to pursuing gender quality and promoting women鈥檚 voices, access to opportunities and leadership in procurement,鈥� concludes Khutsoane.

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Perhaps what we鈥檙e experiencing is something business leaders have known for years: uncertainty and disruption are the constant. It鈥檚 how we deal with them that sets us apart.

As we approach 2023, the same questions linger: How long will inflation continue? Will there be a recession?

Unfortunately, it鈥檚 difficult to find clear answers. For example, The Wall Street Journal recently reported , which should eventually lead to lower prices. But on the same day, it also reported — more ominously — that the globalized supply chain continues to .

With global supply chains remaining dynamic and perpetually susceptible to disruption, where does this leave us? If the past few years were focused on responding and surviving, 2023 looks to be the year when business leaders leverage proven technology to build long-term resilience for their organizations.

We asked our leaders for their perspective on this as well as what they expect in 2023. Here鈥檚 what they had to say.

鈥淒uring the last two years of continuous disruptions, companies were forced to realize the necessity of supply chain visibility. As companies shift to building more proactive strategies, they will make plans to adopt new technology to achieve such visibility, helping them build resiliency within their organization. User experience will also remain a top priority for companies, allowing employees to accomplish the tasks they need across their spend management applications. As we look ahead, data insights and intelligence will also play a significant role in helping end users do their jobs more effectively to deliver more value to an organization. Skill shortages will remain a concern among many industries; however, finding, onboarding, developing, and retaining talent are what will differentiate the successful organizations from the ones that aren鈥檛.鈥�

– , President and Chief Product Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, SAP

鈥淕iven the supply chain challenges we continue to experience, businesses will most certainly continue to digitalize spend management processes and leverage business networks to increase supply chain collaboration, to improve organizational agility, and to gain real-time business insights. The other side of this coin is people. Thinking about how to avoid the ongoing talent crisis and build a workforce of longevity, we will see more businesses focus on nurturing their employees to retain good talent. They will enhance the workforce by upskilling existing talent to meet employees鈥� desire for career growth while also meeting evolving business expectations. Businesses will attract early talent to the workforce by enticing them to make a difference in the world by helping to solve the next generation of problems. This will require businesses to continue to drive clarity on their mission and purpose. Last, but certainly not least, businesses will maintain focus on including diverse perspectives to ensure they are delivering the strongest strategic decisions that can only come from diversity and inclusion. If an organization cannot deliver on the above expectations, they will inevitably be less competitive in the market for top talent and a resilient workforce.鈥�

– , Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, SAP

鈥淎s we approach 2023, it鈥檚 clear that the world鈥檚 business leaders will continue to grapple with economic, political, and environmental uncertainty. The good news is that dealing with uncertainty does not mean operating our businesses blindly. Digitalized procurement processes, data visualization, and business networks have ushered in a new era of visibility, collaboration, and strategic decision-making. With the right technology, procurement and supply chain professionals have access to an integrated view of total spend across their enterprise and deep visibility into their supply chain. This enables improved inventory management, predictable lead times, more efficient sourcing of supply, and cost savings. It also helps them tackle some of their most complex challenges, like achieving sustainability compliance and building long-term resilience for their business.鈥�

– , Chief Revenue Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, SAP

“Over the last few years, workers and employers alike have come to see the huge upside of leveraging a flex workforce. Even pre-pandemic, workers were looking for a different experience, one that offered flexibility and the opportunity to try new things. Temporary workers have proven they offer an effective way to address staffing and skill gaps, control costs, and manage the overall workforce more effectively. This year an found that 50% of organizations surveyed plan to increase their use of external workers. My prediction for 2023 is that businesses will continue to build on the efficiencies of the temporary workforce. They鈥檒l leverage coupled with freelance management systems and direct sourcing providers to find, engage, and manage external workers — both contract and contingent — enabling them to streamline recruiting, contracting, onboarding/offboarding, and security.”

– , Chief Technology Officer,
, SAP

鈥淚n 2023, the 51风流Business Network team will strengthen its commitment and partnership with customers to achieve supply chain transparency, resiliency, and sustainability. We will continue to modernize and innovate our network to drive vibrancy, infuse the trading partner experience with enhanced one-to-many supplier integration and intelligent insights, and improve platform performance and scalability. In addition, we will accelerate the transformation to our federated next-generation 51风流Business Network, enhancing value for all trading partners within the world鈥檚 largest B2B marketplace.鈥�

– , Senior Vice President, Chief Product
Officer, and Head of 51风流Business Network, SAP

鈥淚n 2023, market conditions and inflation will remain volatile as a new paradigm impacts interrelated supply chains. This is driving businesses to focus on fundamentals like controlling costs and finding new revenue. Meanwhile, governments, employees, and consumers are elevating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to a higher priority. These factors are driving buyers to diversify their supply chains, creating opportunities for suppliers to 鈥榮hine brighter鈥� by highlighting their presence and value and their ESG credentials. Interestingly, inbound and outbound logistics continue to emerge as key competitive differentiators to drive efficiency, control cost, and earn customer loyalty. Business networks offer transparency, access to working capital, and connection that enable buyers and suppliers to address disruption collaboratively and build supply chain resilience. In 2023, organizations should look to leverage robust business networks adapted to their industry — not just generic solutions.鈥�

– , Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing and
Solutions Officer, 51风流Business Network

鈥淎s we head into 2023, I expect businesses to act on the need for agility and instantaneous collaboration with trading partners, no longer relying on manual processes to connect buyers and suppliers. As we have been reminded countless times in recent years, supply chain volatility is all but guaranteed. I anticipate a shift in how companies prepare for disruption; while 2020 to 2022 has largely consisted of supply chain shortages, many companies could also start to face supply and inventory overages, given the current macroeconomic state. Having visibility to manage both ends of the spectrum and creating supply chain transparency is critical. Companies will look to evolve their business network into one with real-time collaboration capabilities and unobstructed inter-company visibility across trading partner networks. Collecting and acting on intelligent insights will be key to developing networked enterprises beyond the siloed, disconnected nature of previous years.鈥�

– , Global Head, 51风流Business Network
Customer Success and Go-to-Market, SAP

鈥淭he year ahead will be a test of leaders鈥� abilities to do more with less, including weighing the costs and benefits of their corporate travel program in maintaining key business relationships. The pandemic taught us a lot about the value of business travel. According to from early 2022, most U.S. finance managers said their company experienced a revenue loss in 2021 as a direct result of employees鈥� inability to travel at pre-pandemic levels. It鈥檚 important that leaders keep these learnings in mind as they prepare for uncertainty in 2023. They鈥檒l have to balance saving money where it counts, continuing progress on priority initiatives like sustainability, and positioning their company for growth when the economy stabilizes.鈥�

– , President,
Concur Travel, 51风流Concur

鈥淲ith the role of procurement continuing to become increasingly more strategic, we are seeing a greater need to digitalize category management. This is confirmed by a conducted by Economist Impact and sponsored by SAP, which found that more than 40% of respondents said category management is a top priority in driving digital transformation in procurement. Additionally, businesses are looking to create buying experiences that are more predictive, personalized and sustainable for their employees as well as buyers of strategic categories across all types of spend — direct and indirect materials, maintenance, repair, and operations and service. In 2023 and beyond, we expect the demand for procurement technologies such as these to continue to grow as they enable businesses to make the data-driven decisions needed to better inform their indirect and direct spend channels.鈥�

– , Senior Vice President and
Chief Product Officer, Procurement Solutions, SAP

To hear more perspectives from supply chain leaders, tune into the featuring Bryan Rawson, senior manager of Software Development at T-Mobile, and Sudy Bharadwaj, vice president of Strategic Engagements for Intelligent Spend and Business Networks at SAP, as they discuss how organizations can make more agile, informed business decisions to help prepare for what lies ahead in 2023 and beyond.

This article first appeared on the 51风流News Center.

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Gartner evaluated 16 procure-to-pay software vendors, naming 51风流a Leader based on 鈥渃ompleteness of vision鈥� and 鈥渁bility to execute鈥� in procure-to-pay suites. 51风流was also the only vendor to score in the top three of every critical capability use case described in the research, a deep dive into procure-to-pay solution offerings.

Vision Taking Hold

We believe our improved overall position in this year鈥檚 Gartner Magic Quadrant is recognition of our complete solution suite, which enables customers and their trading partners to manage spend with total visibility across procure-to-pay. We especially appreciate that Gartner has recognized our 鈥渕arket defining vision.鈥� Introduced about two years ago, our vision is based on extensive research and has, to be candid, forced us to change the way we approach development of our solutions.

We believe Gartner recognition is proof that this vision is starting to take hold on the solutions we deliver. Here are three key areas where changes to our approach are delivering significant value to our customers.

• We understand all personas across every spend category. Our vision has been to offer solutions that are complete and holistic, addressing the unique needs of every user 鈥� whether you are doing material requirements planning (MRP) for the procurement of direct materials, or if you are in the corporate office purchasing a laptop, or managing your contingent workforce.
• Our products are open to innovation across the ecosystem. Not long ago, it was fair to say procure-to-pay solutions from 51风流were 鈥渃losed.鈥� The perception was that only 51风流developed these solutions, and it was 鈥渉ands off鈥� for everyone else. Knowing this is not the best way to serve our customers, we have made the dramatic shift to offer solutions that invite ecosystem collaboration and innovation. We鈥檝e launched important partnerships with leaders like Icertis and , enabling us to support specific, niche use cases needed by our customers.
• We are hyper-laser-focused on user experience. A person working on the shop floor will have very different experiences than the corporate office employee. We have made it our mission to dig into the all the personas involved in the procure-to-pay work processes and understand their unique experiences. Beyond that, user attitudes and priorities are constantly changing. For example, most users care more about sustainability than they did just a few years ago, so we are incorporating that into our end-to-end solution landscape. Likewise, many workers want the flexibility to work from anywhere, and the launch of the new 51风流Ariba Shopping mobile app provides a best-in-class experience to this end.

Dominant Force in Procurement Innovation

We believe Gartner recognition also highlights SAP鈥檚 position as a dominant force in delivering innovations to address the procurement challenges of today and tomorrow.

With our 51风流Procurement offering, consisting of 51风流Ariba, 51风流S/4HANA for Procurement, and 51风流Business Network, we have a proven track record of providing innovative solutions to solve unique challenges at every point step in the procure-to-pay process. Many improvements to procurement processes originated at 51风流— including things we now consider fundamental, such as electronic catalogs or MRP processes. In addition to that, 51风流leads the way with integrating risk and diversity scores in the guided buying capability, or the work order integration from 51风流S/4HANA into Guided Buying and 51风流Fieldglass, allowing the maintenance persona to add items and services to its work order.

and help businesses gain agility and visibility into contingent labor spend and build relationships with trading partners. 51风流was recognized for its 51风流Fieldglass solution, based on its Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. 聽51风流Business Network enables trading partners to connect and collaborate across procurement, supply chain, logistics and asset management to improve efficiency, mitigate risk and disruption and drive sustainability.

Additionally, the latest release of 51风流Central Procurement helps customers enjoy a better user experience as they look to digitalize and simplify procurement. With 51风流Central Procurement, customers can improve procurement processes in a multi-ERP (including non-51风流ERP) environment with greater visibility and control.

As we look to the future, customers can expect 51风流to deliver next generation applications that enable personalization, predictability, and sustainability as the foundation for delivering value in the procurement process.

Bringing Procurement Professionals Center Stage

The last few years have proven that the procurement role is critical to operational success. Ongoing global supply chain disruptions make it imperative for enterprises to be proactive in implementing risk mitigation, process automation, and data-driven intelligence in procurement. 51风流helps companies to be more resilient by equipping them with the insight and tools to react to unexpected shifts in supply chains. We do all of this while supporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals that organizations increasingly expect from their business partners.

Today, procurement professionals are in a strong position to take center stage in tackling the biggest challenges businesses face. You can seize the moment by helping your organizations tackle inflation, productivity challenges, and supply chain disruptions. And, as we strive to help you do this, 51风流is also working hard to maintain our recognition as a Leader. First out of the box in 2023 will be important announcements about category management.

Our vision has taken us this far, and it鈥檚 set us on a path to deliver even greater things. The best is yet to come.

Baber Farooq is senior vice president of 51风流Procurement Solutions.

This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from SAP.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner, Critical Capabilities for Procure-to-Pay Suites, by Lynne Phelan, Micky Keck, Balaji Abbabatulla, Patrick Connaughton, 28 November 2022
51风流was referred to as Ariba (SAP) in the 2015 report and 51风流(Ariba and Fieldglass) in the 2016, 2018, and 2019 reports.
The Gartner report was renamed from 鈥楳agic Quadrant for Procure-to-Pay Suites for Indirect Procurement鈥� to 鈥楳agic Quadrant for Procure-to-Pay Suites鈥� in 2016.

This article first appeared on the 51风流News Center.聽

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Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) are important strategic players in modern business and should be equipped with the right technologies to perform optimally.

This is according to 51风流SVP of Intelligent Spend Management and Business Network, Carlos Mercuriali, who was speaking at SAP鈥檚 CPO Circle South Africa event in Johannesburg.

Mercuriali presented the keynote address at the event, after which 51风流experts spoke about the company鈥檚 industry-leading procurement solutions.

This included 51风流Business Network, which was covered by Senior Solution Specialist Cyril Rathogwa and Head of 51风流Business Network for EMEA-S, Ayan Chakraboty.

Rathogwa explained that the 51风流Business Network solution comprises a comprehensive collaborative system that includes several powerful features:

• Qualtrix 鈥� Connects procurement data with real-time human insights to make data-driven decisions and actions.
• Guided sourcing 鈥� Streamlines user experience for creating and managing sourcing projects and events.
• ERP integration 鈥� 51风流Business Network seamlessly integrates into your existing ERP.

Chakraboty then highlighted how 51风流Business Network bridges the gaps between procurement and suppliers in the following ways:

• Fulfilment 鈥� Buyers can collaborate with suppliers to shift product schedules or alter product mix.
• Logistics 鈥� Delayed shipments are highlighted so schedules can be adjusted and operational bottlenecks can be detected.
• Invoicing 鈥� 51风流Business Network automatically generates digital invoices that are easily accessible for procurement and suppliers.
• Payments 鈥� 51风流Taulia offers dynamic discounting and supply chain finance.

51风流Fieldglass

Basel Alshawa, Head of 51风流Fieldglass for EMEA-S, was next to speak, and explained how the 51风流Fieldglass solution makes it easy to source on-demand labour and expertise.

Fieldglass integrates into 51风流Ariba, 51风流Business Network, and 51风流ERP to help CPOs monitor which service providers are delivering more value.

This makes it easier to determine which providers should be used for important business tasks.

Industry insights

SAP鈥檚 CPO Circle event provided an opportunity for senior procurement leaders from top South African organisations like Nedbank and SARS to discuss the state of procurement in the country, too.

Kaunain Nurani, 51风流EMEA-S GTM and Transformation Lead: Intelligent Spend Management and Business Network, complemented this discussion, and explained that procurement has become an important driver of organisational innovation.

鈥淭here is a stereotype about CPOs and procurement that implies these professionals are just number crunchers, but CPOs no longer see themselves as that stereotype. They have access to data that has turned them into trusted advisors,鈥� said Nurani.

Retief Ferreira, Partner Operations Consultant at PWC, said that in addition to the above, procurement departments have become important players in finance.

鈥淚f you know where you鈥檙e spending your money, you know where you can improve, particularly in terms of having the right suppliers and getting new ones where appropriate,鈥� said Ferreira.

He also highlighted the importance of using local suppliers 鈥� both in terms of costs, and in terms of social responsibility.

鈥淲e have a responsibility to develop local suppliers when they are available,鈥� he said.

The post The Procurement Function is Evolving 鈥� Don鈥檛 Get Left Behind appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

But social impact requires more than just a clear sense of purpose. It requires concerted action to redirect resources and effort toward activities that hold the greatest potential for positive impact. When those actions are a central part of your day-to-day operations, the likelihood of sustained success is much greater.

An ongoing initiative by two enterprising South African 51风流employees continues to inspire me about the potential for purpose-driven employees to drive true change both in their immediate work environment and society at large.

Striking gold with local social enterprises

A few years ago, Kaunain Nurani and Mathiba Phokungoane realised they shared a common interest in making a positive social impact and started seeking ways in which to bring that purpose to life.

The two launched Procurement with Purpose, an initiative that seeks to make it easier for 51风流Africa and other organisations to purchase goods and services from social enterprises that look beyond pure profit and actively seek to address societal problems.

At its core, Procurement with Purpose brings a handpicked selection of qualifying social enterprises into the world’s largest procurement network, Ariba. It increases the visibility of the social enterprises and encourages organisations to divert some of their spend toward these social enterprises, for example for end-of-year gifts, or IT and HR services.

Not just any social enterprise can join: the initiative purposely seeks social enterprises that are aligned to our organisation鈥檚 guiding values. One social enterprise, for example, trains girls for a career in technology, which aligns to SAP’s focus on encouraging greater female participation in Africa’s digital economy.

The program has been a resounding success: all five social enterprises that currently form part of the Procurement with Purpose initiative have benefited from increased visibility and greater opportunity to supply goods and services to 51风流and other global organisations. The five-million-plus organisations that use Ariba for their procurement needs benefit from access to trusted social enterprises that can help them bring to life their own corporate impact initiatives. The intention now is to widen that base and continue to look at opportunities to find local social enterprises that can provide the daily services required to run the 51风流business. For example, all our coffee in our South African offices is now procured from 鈥淚 Love Coffee鈥� 鈥� a Cape Town based social enterprise that supports the deaf community.

This brings me to one of the biggest leadership lessons from the success of Procurement with Purpose: that motivated, purpose-driven employees can make a significant positive impact provided they work in an enabling environment, and that not every impactful initiative needs to be corporate-led.

Multiplier effect of social impact

Corporate social impact has been a growing concern for global businesses over the past decade. According to one report, the percentage of companies listed on the S&P 500 that published a corporate social responsibility report grew from only 20% in 2011 .

There’s good reason: are motivated to purchase from companies that are committed to making the world a better place, while 93% of employees believe .

In order to build a successful business that can grow its customer base and attract top talent, purpose needs to feature highly in the corporate agenda. In a Harvard Business Review study, 58% of organisations that have a clear and strong sense of purpose .

As the Procurement with Purpose initiative reveals, one of the most significant opportunities for organisations to enhance their social impact and drive true positive change is to augment their supply chains with social enterprises.

Social impact through smarter spending

In 2020, 51风流introduced the ‘5 & 5 by 25‘ concept, which formalised the company’s global commitment to direct 5% of its addressable spend to social enterprises and 5% to diverse businesses, with 2025 as the deadline.

This forms part of the company鈥檚 goal of being both an enabler 鈥� through providing the necessary technology infrastructure and strategic insight 鈥� of greater sustainability and social impact, as well as an exemplar in terms of the way 51风流itself conducts its work.

At its core is the understanding that, as a business that not only commands sizeable annual spend but also powers many of the systems that support and enable global commerce, we could make a lasting positive impact by simply changing a few of our own processes.

For example, the Ariba network is the largest procurement network in the world, facilitating $3.75-trillion in trade by 5.3 million organisations per year – more than double the commerce of Amazon, Alibaba and eBay combined.

By increasing access to and visibility of social enterprises on Ariba 鈥� as Procurement with Purpose has done 鈥� we can encourage organisations across the globe to direct some of their spend toward social enterprises to drive greater social impact.

Most importantly, when a business is clear on its purpose and consistent with how it lives up to that purpose, it empowers employees at all levels of the organisation to bring that purpose to life in their own way. And as Kaunain and Mathiba has proven, this holds immense benefits for employees, organisations, social enterprises and society at large.

The post Empowered Employees Walk the Talk on Social Impact appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.