Like at home, identifying every dollar you spend and getting the most out of it is more critical than ever for your business. And as we continue to roll out 疯拍传媒 Business AI technology, the teams behind 疯拍传媒 solutions are working on ways to help you reduce the time spent on mundane tasks so you can focus on executing your strategy, unlocking spend potential, and unleashing efficiency.

The first quarter of 2024 was among the most productive in my 18 years at 疯拍传媒. We debuted new AI capabilities in various 疯拍传媒 spend management solutions. Check out some of these highlights:

• 疯拍传媒 Ariba Category Management: We鈥檝e incorporated that can assist category managers by generating recommendations in the solution鈥檚 category segmentation, market dynamics, and cost structure tools.
• Scoutbee Discovery: 疯拍传媒 partnered with Scoutbee, a leading AI-powered supplier intelligence and discovery platform, to launch . This 疯拍传媒 endorsed app can rapidly identify qualified suppliers that meet specific criteria and can help advance strategic business imperatives. of me participating in a recent LinkedIn Live with the Scoutbee team.
• Concur Request: Now, this service uses generative AI to help provide for trip planning.
• ExpenseIt: Users can upload receipt images to the ExpenseIt solution, which taps AI to help with several key fields prepopulated. Plus, ExpenseIt can now itemize hotel folios using generative AI.
• Generative AI search: A new capability within Concur Support allows 疯拍传媒 Concur customers to type questions in natural language and get quick answers using generative AI, .

疯拍传媒鈥檚 market-leading spend and business network solutions are getting even smarter, working to unlock greater value for our customers. We have many resources devoted to spend management and that鈥檚 why we continue to deliver innovation in spend management.

And we are only getting started. By the end of 2024,  is planning the following enhancements:

• Generative AI RFI/RFP responses in 疯拍传媒 Business Network Discovery: With generative AI-enabled responses for postings in 疯拍传媒 Business Network Discovery, suppliers will be able to respond to RFIs promptly and more accurately, helping to save time and reduce costs associated with manual labor and resource allocation.聽聽
• Catalog enrichment using ChatGPT recommendations: This feature can enable suppliers to generate and improve product descriptions and overall catalog quality based on prompts and keyword recommendations from ChatGPT.聽
• Intelligent error simplification using generative AI:聽This feature uses machine learning and a large language model to interpret and categorize invoice rejection reasons, allowing suppliers to reduce the number of failing invoices, improve rapid invoice submission and payment, and optimize cash flow.

For more on how AI is transforming business networks, read this recent article from my colleague Joern Keller.

But What Are Our Customers Saying?

Each quarter, G2 highlights the top rated solutions in the industry, chosen by the source that matters most: customers. Spring 2024 is no different, and once again our suite of spend and business network solutions scored extremely well.

• is a G2 Spring Leader in Vendor Management.
• is a G2 Spring Leader in Procure to Pay, Purchasing, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, and Contract Lifecycle Management.
• is a G2 Spring Leader in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

What鈥檚 more, G2 recently announced its , with 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass and 疯拍传媒 Concur receiving high honors:

• 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass came in at No. 26 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards across all products and No. 12 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards for best midmarket products.
• 疯拍传媒 Concur came in at No. 4 in G2鈥檚 Best Software Awards for the account and software product category.

My colleagues are also getting their flowers. Etosha Thurman, chief marketing and solutions officer of Intelligent Spend and Business Network, and Steve Seide, global head of Adoption for Intelligent Spend and Business Network, were named Top Procurement Pros in the . A big congratulations also goes out to Darcy MacClaren, CRO for 疯拍传媒 Digital Supply Chain, who received a Pros to Know Lifetime Achievement award.

Driving Success for Our Customers

Hearing me spotlight our direct and indirect procurement, external workforce, and travel and expense management solutions is one thing. Seeing them in action is something way more powerful. Here are a few recent customer success stories to take in:

• American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), a leading global specialty retailer offering high-quality on-trend clothing, accessories, and personal care products through its portfolio of brands, needed to evaluate indirect purchasing processes and vendor relationships to maximize efficiency. See how helped simplify processes and deliver compliant purchasing protocols across the company.
• Power provider to over 900,000 electric customers, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OG&E) faced challenges with the complexity of third-party and cross-department management of contingent workers. After transitioning 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass solutions to internal management, OG&E gained the visibility to make more informed financial decisions, like supplier negotiations.
• Vestas Wind Systems, the world鈥檚 largest manufacturer of wind turbines, launched a large-scale quality initiative powered by 疯拍传媒 Business Network to help mitigate product defects in a highly complex supply chain. Now, using 疯拍传媒 Business Network, suppliers complete predefined quality tests and document them before confirming or sending an order. This enables Vestas employees to be warned in advance of any quality issues further up the supply chain, so they can take corrective action.
• Most KUKA employees are based in Germany, where tax regulation is complex and submitting hotel and entertainment expenses is anything but simple. The KUKA team worked together to develop a simple process using 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions, connected to 疯拍传媒 ERP, that allows employees to create hotel and entertainment expenses with fewer errors and fewer rejected expense reports.

Join Us at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire!

疯拍传媒 Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference is June 3-5 in Orlando, Florida, this year and I can鈥檛 wait to meet with customers, partners, and my fellow colleagues. This is the best event in the industry in my opinion and you don鈥檛 want to miss out. Join us by registering on the , where you can also save your spot at the 疯拍传媒 Sapphire Virtual and 疯拍传媒 Sapphire Barcelona events. See you there!

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

That鈥檚 why we鈥檝e built our industry-leading suite of spend management solutions that span direct and indirect procurement, external workforce, and travel and expense management. These solutions help you gain visibility into your supply chains, procure what鈥檚 critical to get the job done, and protect your bottom line 鈥� whether you鈥檙e simplifying expense, travel, and accounts payable processes, or finding the right talent to ensure your company鈥檚 profitability.

With our core commitment to 疯拍传媒 Business AI, we are focused on applying generative AI technology to all categories of spend. Like my colleague says, we鈥檙e 鈥渄riving efficiency, quality, and insight into processes that cut across spend management.鈥� Here are we鈥檙e hard at work on.

Our spend management and business network solutions continue evolving and improving with time 鈥� and 2024 will be no different. But before I get ahead of myself, let鈥檚 reflect on the incredible last half of 2023, which has laid the foundation for all the amazing innovation to come in 2024.

Enhancing Your Control over Company Spend 

New enhancements to 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions, and 疯拍传媒 Business Network can take spend management from the most mundane part of your day to the most strategic. Here are a few enhancements we announced late last year:

• Region-specific strategy and planning for category management: Different regions of the world require different procurement strategies. The ability to in 疯拍传媒 Ariba Category Management is now a reality. With its advanced analytics, AI-driven insights, and integrated frameworks and tools, users of 疯拍传媒 Ariba Category Management can reap the benefits of data-driven decision-making, identification of strategic sourcing opportunities, and mitigation of risks.
• The biggest Concur Travel release to date: As we continue rolling out the globally, the new end-to-end booking experience became available for customers whose travel management companies use the Sabre GDS from the U.S. point of sale for air, hotel, and car rental bookings. Congratulations to all our customers that made the strategic switch.
• Supplier catalogs within 疯拍传媒 Business Network: With the newly released , suppliers can upload a catalog that is publicly searchable and viewable by buyers on the network. With a network catalog, suppliers can maintain a single list of all the products they offer, creating high-quality buyers looking for the exact items listed. More improvements to the catalog and user demos are coming your way soon.

Customer Love

With Valentine’s Day coming up, it鈥檚 only right to brag about all the customer love we鈥檝e been receiving. Words of affirmation is our love language.

• 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass is the .
• 疯拍传媒 Ariba is the .
• 疯拍传媒 Concur is the in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

To top it off, , , and swept the 2023聽鈥淏est Of鈥� Awards from TrustRadius! TrustRadius, the most trusted review site for business technology, also released more wins for our spend management solutions:

• is Top Rated in Workforce Management, Contractor Management, Freelance Management, and Vendor Management Systems (VMS).
• is Top Rated聽in Procurement, Expense Management, and Supply Chain Management.
• is Top Rated in Expense Management, Travel Management, and Accounts Payable.

疯拍传媒 Recognized by IDC MarketScape

I am also thrilled to announce that 疯拍传媒 was positioned as a Leader in the聽IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2023 Vendor Assessment.*

According to the assessment report, 鈥湻枧拇� Business Network is a comprehensive B2B collaboration platform that connects people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises, digitizing transactions and creating transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.鈥�

The report highlights these 疯拍传媒 strengths:

• Depth and breadth of product features, functionality, future road map covering all major B2B collaboration categories (indirect, direct material, MRO logistics, financial, services, sustainability), and scenarios in an end-user, persona-based manner
• Integration and extensibility capabilities including integration between 疯拍传媒 ERP, 疯拍传媒 procurement modules, and other applications (other ERP, SCAM, and customer applications) and technologies (machine learning, AI, blockchain) through 疯拍传媒 Business Technology Platform
• Global adoption and breadth of collaboration among the industry’s largest, highly adopted B2B collaboration platforms, enabling trading partners to collaborate in real time
• Ongoing efforts to harmonize commerce, asset intelligence, and logistics continue to enhance the power of the connected economy.

Thank you to our customers and my colleagues for collaborating on this fantastic win.

Customer Success Stories

Al Dahra, one of the world鈥檚 largest agribusiness logistics companies, manages food and animal feed supply chains from its home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to countries around the globe. to gain greater visibility into daily operations and as its digital solution to connect the company with its partners and clients.

Building material manufacturer Heidelberg Materials AG knew that visibility across its supplier base was key to enabling the smart decision-making that would help it improve financial performance while meeting sustainability goals. See how it achieved this by .

Watch how Chobani, America’s top Greek yogurt brand, uses to fully automate its expense processes.

BT Group aims to be the world鈥檚 most trusted connector of people, devices, and machines. Read how it to deliver a modernized, connected colleague experience.

Register for 疯拍传媒 Concur Fusion

If you鈥檙e lucky enough to attend this year, don鈥檛 miss my colleague Etosha Thurman, chief marketing & solutions officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network, presenting in the keynote. She will be demonstrating transformative AI in 疯拍传媒 Concur travel, expense, and invoicing solutions, and how we鈥檙e creating a world where travel and expenses can practically manage themselves.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

*Source: 鈥�,” by Simon Ellis, December 2023, IDC #US49948423.

Having so many brilliant customers, partners, and colleagues in the same place at the same time is incredibly special. What鈥檚 doubly special is how my own enthusiasm was often eclipsed by our customers about our latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

New Intelligent Spend Management Solutions from 疯拍传媒

At 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live, we showed how 疯拍传媒 is infusing generative AI technology into our suite of spend management solutions. This includes , which became generally available to customers in August.

疯拍传媒 Ariba Category Management can empower category managers to use data insights strategically to help identify trends, develop and implement strategies, and evaluate success relative to tangible business metrics. And with the upcoming integration of large language models through 疯拍传媒 Business AI, it can empower procurement professionals to jump-start category strategy development and planning.

Speaking of new solutions, from 疯拍传媒 Concur launched in September. It helps automate the reimbursement process so you can securely, accurately, and quickly pay corporate cards or employees directly. This efficient service can free accounts payable teams to focus on high-value activities while helping to reduce the errors that accompany repetitive, manual tasks. With economic uncertainties like inflation and the slowdown of global growth, Expense Payment Manager can help ensure your dollars work on your terms.

Hear from Our Customers

Also at 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live, an amazing lineup of customers demonstrated the power of effective spend management. I鈥檇 like to share stories from two of our customers, Save the Children International and Medical Procurement of Ukraine, that were featured in the keynote:

(SCI) is working to build a world where every child can thrive, grow up healthy, educated, and safe, and look forward to a future full of promise. Working in the world鈥檚 most challenging environments, the quicker and more efficiently it responds, the more lives it reaches. SCI transformed its operations from spending US$400 million a year for procurement using Microsoft Excel and paper to having 100% supplier visibility and a 30% reduction in procurement lead times with 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions.

Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU) is a state-owned entity responsible for centralized procurement of medical supplies and equipment on behalf of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine. It uses digital procurement solutions from 疯拍传媒 to help rapidly source medicines and medical supplies through a challenging supply chain impacted by war. 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions provide access to a huge international market, allowing MPU to cooperate with manufacturers of the latest high-quality medical products. It is doing all of this while ensuring compliance with international standards, including anti-corruption, which is an important driver for MPU.

I鈥檇 be remiss to not share two more customer stories that showcase the potential for organizations of all sizes to achieve significant improvements in their operations:

Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and paper receipts are now a thing of the past at (MRN). This UK-based, market-leading clinical trial support organization wanted a single solution for expense and invoice management processes. Before implementing 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions, it used to take two to three working days a month for a team of five people to process invoices manually. Now, MRN has halved the amount of time spent on this process and can focus more on strategic activities.

Global science and technology company knew it was time to adopt advanced technology capabilities in its business to address growing customer expectations and increasing business complexities. In the 12 months since implementing 疯拍传媒 Business Network and 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, Merck has seen a 40% uptick in sales in B2B channels. It has also increased the share of its digital channels by 15%, helping reduce operating costs. With 疯拍传媒 as its technology centerpiece, we make Merck run better.

We Are Honored

Out of all 疯拍传媒 solutions, 疯拍传媒 Ariba is reaching Meryl Streep-status when it comes to winning awards. Last quarter, Procurement Magazine placed us as either No. 1 or No. 2 in the following lists:

Congratulations dsm-firmenich!
Sourcing Industry Group, the premier global sourcing association, recently awarded 疯拍传媒 and our customer dsm-firmenich the at its Future of Sourcing Awards celebration. This prestigious award honors our work with them in building a cutting-edge procurement process that champions sustainability.

G2 Leaders
疯拍传媒 Concur and 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass joined 疯拍传媒 Ariba as G2 Leaders in its fall 2023 awards.

• is named a leader in Expense Management, Invoice Management, and Travel Management.
• is named a leader in Vendor Management.
• is named a leader in Procure-to-Pay, Strategic Sourcing, Purchasing, Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), Contract Management, Invoice Management, Supplier Relationship Management, and AP & Spend Analysis.

TrustRadius Corporate Social Responsibility Honor
I鈥檓 also thrilled that 疯拍传媒 Concur is this year鈥檚 , which is only awarded to companies that have an outstanding commitment to corporate social responsibility in the tech industry.

Take Advantage of the Virtual Experience!

疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live was only the beginning! By , you can receive on-demand content available through the end of the year. This is your opportunity to see what鈥檚 on the horizon for intelligent spend management solutions from 疯拍传媒 and 疯拍传媒 Business Network with full keynote presentations, more than 20 breakout sessions for those interested in procurement, supply chain, or external workforce management, and additional on-demand learning opportunities.

The best part is that it鈥檚 completely free, so use this resource to your advantage.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

Through our many conversations, one common theme stands out: how 疯拍传媒鈥檚 suite of solutions helps maximize efficiency.

Maximizing efficiency is especially needed when the days are longer, and the vacations are too. A spend management strategy that enables cost savings, risk management, supplier management, and compliance with local regulations can give our customers peace of mind. No matter the industry or where you are in the world, our solutions never take a break.

But don鈥檛 take my word for it. Our customers have been strengthening their supply chains, managing talent through a polycrisis, controlling cost while boosting compliance, and gaining critical insight into their suppliers鈥� suppliers鈥� suppliers. Here are some of their stories:

• works with more than 700 direct spend suppliers to create the highest-quality luxury goods. When manual procurement processes were limiting supply chain visibility, Richemont turned to 疯拍传媒 Business Network and 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Supply Chain. As a result, it saw up to a 50% reduction in employee effort for warehouse receiving and a 12-day decrease 鈥� from 17 days to five days 鈥� in the confirmation feedback cycle.
• is a leading global professional services company that helps the world鈥檚 leading businesses, governments, and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth, and enhance citizen services. It underwent a digital procurement transformation that included the implementation of 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass Vendor Management System to help gain visibility into its global external workforce to reduce costs and improve the quality of services and contingent talent.
• is a global leader in designing and manufacturing premium commercial vehicles. Before implementing 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions, it had decentralized and inconsistent travel booking and expense reporting processes that blocked visibility into spend data, frustrating employees. Now, the employee travel and expense experience is dramatically improved, reducing costs and improving compliance. This mitigates risks so travelers can focus on moving the business forward.
• When Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO), one of Kenya鈥檚 leading state corporations, needed to enhance its procurement capabilities to meet regulatory commitments, it adopted 疯拍传媒 to leverage the power and scale of the largest procurement network in the world. With 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, KETRACO completely eliminated paper-based transactions and now has one centralized repository for invoices. It has 100% visibility into its supplier data and has standardized its templates for contracts. Additionally, 疯拍传媒 Business Network allowed KETRACO to monitor and manage suppliers from a single point of view, with a 360-degree view of data and performance. Read the full story here.

Award-Winning Customer Feedback

疯拍传媒 has once again won honors from G2 and TrustRadius, two trusted review sites that source their rankings from the people that matter most, our customers.

We are G2 Summer 2023 Leaders for the following categories:

• 鈥� Leader in Procure-to-Pay, Strategic Sourcing, Purchasing, Contract Lifecycle Management, Supplier Relationship Management, and AP & Spend Analysis
• 鈥� Leader in Strategic Sourcing
• 鈥� Leader in Expense Management, Travel Management, and Invoice Management

Additionally, TrustRadius has honored us with these 2023 Top Rated awards:

• 疯拍传媒 Ariba is Top Rated in the , , and categories.
• 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass is Top Rated in the , , and categories.
• 疯拍传媒 Concur is Top Rated in the ,听, and categories.

What鈥檚 more, 疯拍传媒 Concur has won TrustRadius鈥� Top Rated award for the fifth year in a row. Thank you to all customers that left us reviews and helped us earn this winning record!

Join Me at 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live

I鈥檇 be thrilled if you would join me and our community of procurement, supply chain, and travel and expense professionals at 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live in Vienna, Austria. From October 9-11, 2023 at the Messe Wien Congress Center, you will be surrounded by peers sharing transformation stories and learning how 疯拍传媒 solutions can empower us all to reach our corporate goals.

Our keynote speaker is Jim Ridgwick, CPO for (SCI). SCI鈥檚 goal is to create a world where all children have a voice, receive a quality education, and are protected from violence and death due to preventable causes. Join us to hear how introducing source-to-pay 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions led to 100% supplier visibility and a 50% reduction in procurement lead times for SCI.

Like my colleague Etosha Thurman says in her piece, 鈥淲ith today鈥檚 highly complex and sometimes volatile and disruptive environment, spend management and supply chain professionals鈥� remit is bigger than ever.鈥� There will be over 100 interactive sessions covering the hottest topics in spend management 鈥� and we can鈥檛 wait to see you.

Check out the to learn more about joining us. Space is limited, so register today.

The Best Is Yet to Come

What a first half it鈥檚 been, and I believe the best is yet to come! I am so excited to see many of you at 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live in Vienna. Right now, we鈥檙e working hard to make this an event like no other, with tons of information and opportunities to help your business run better. Stay in touch!

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

In March, 疯拍传媒 was named a Leader in the (Doc #US48785722, March 2023). 疯拍传媒 Ariba was named a Leader in the 2021 vendor assessment for this same market.

The IDC MarketScape noted, 鈥湻枧拇� Ariba is a mature, established, and trusted brand. Brand perception is high, and users expressed that the integration with 疯拍传媒 ERP and supply chain management (SCM) products is a compelling feature.鈥� The report also noted that 鈥湻枧拇� Ariba solutions are strongly positioned to help companies administer spend that spans complex events, direct and indirect, services, and capex.鈥�

But this progress didn鈥檛 happen overnight. My colleague Baber Farooq said it best in his piece: 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked hard to evolve our vision, focusing on delivering a complete suite of solutions that enables our customers and their trading partners to manage spend with total visibility 鈥� while never losing sight of the people who use these solutions.鈥�

疯拍传媒 was also named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled P2P Applications 2023 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US50464223, March 2023) and a Major Player in the (Doc #US48785822, March 2023).

The IDC MarketScape for Buy-Side Contract Life-Cycle noted, 鈥淐onsider 疯拍传媒 when you need a robust contract management platform that supports the full contract life cycle, collaboration, and audit trails and that drives more efficient negotiations, provides an intuitive interface, and delivers reduced administrative costs and time.鈥�

Over the past couple of years, our commitment to delivering the most complete set of procurement solutions, from sourcing and supplier networks to supplier relationship management, contract lifecycle management, spend analytics, procure-to-pay, and sustainability, has only grown stronger. And we鈥檙e seeing that commitment pay off with more recognition for our extensive capabilities within 疯拍传媒鈥檚 procurement suite.

High Honors from Customers

疯拍传媒 customers continue to see the quality and value of our solutions. In January, TrustRadius, which bases its awards on customer reviews, conferred its 2023 Winter 鈥淏est Of鈥� awards on several 疯拍传媒 solutions, including , , and .

Each of these solutions took first place in the Best Feature Set, Best Value for Price, and Best Relationship award categories.

And if that wasn鈥檛 enough, our customers rated us as Spring 2023 Leaders on G2 in the following categories:

• 疯拍传媒 Concur 鈥� Leader in , , and
• 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass 鈥� Leader in
• 疯拍传媒 Ariba 鈥� Leader in and

Recognizing Our People

I鈥檝e said this many times, but the people are the best part about working at 疯拍传媒. My colleagues are some of the smartest, most committed, and kindest people around. Two of our leaders, Val Blatt and Muhammad Alam, have been named . Blatt is the global head of 疯拍传媒 Business Network Customer Success & Go-to-Market; Alam is the president of 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network and general manager of 疯拍传媒 Business Network.

Etosha Thurman, chief marketing & solutions officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network, came in at No. 12 in the . She is blazing a new trail in the procurement space, and I couldn鈥檛 be prouder to work together with her every day.

Award-Winning Customers

This time, the celebration isn鈥檛 exclusive to 疯拍传媒. We recently named the to celebrate our customers whose innovation achievements exemplify positive economic, environmental, and social impact, help the world run better, and improve people鈥檚 lives. To my delight but not to my surprise, customers using 疯拍传媒 spend management solutions were well represented in the winner鈥檚 circle.

Here are a few of their stories:

• is one of America’s leading transportation companies with over 10,000 customers, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. It chose 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions to help streamline employee travel and expense management for over 20,000 impacted employees. This implementation was a puzzle piece in its larger journey to the cloud.
• is a leading international bank, headquartered in London and listed on the Stock Exchanges in London and Hong Kong, with a presence in 59 markets. 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass solutions were integrated into 疯拍传媒 SuccessFactors Employee Central to provide a total workforce management solution for 85,000 employees and 20,000 contingent workers, replacing a more than 20-year-old legacy platform.
• Less than 1% of the US$3 trillion of spend was directed to women-owned businesses. So, it decided to work with 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions to give WECommunity buyers a solution that makes it easier to find and do business with women-owned suppliers in over 135 countries.
• When the pandemic hit, fluctuations in supply and demand significantly increased and transportation resources were limited and unreliable for and much of the world. To optimize its planning and logistics functions for the cooperative鈥檚 $300M supply chain, it deployed 疯拍传媒 Business Network for Logistics to help provide deep insights into the transportation and logistics aspects of the business, allowing Blue Diamond Growers to meet demand, address supply gaps, and identify transportation bottlenecks.

If you missed my recent piece on the five lessons learned from Royal DSM when it utilized 疯拍传媒 Business Network and 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions to enhance the sustainability of its global indirect procurement, give it a read.

Join Us In Person at 疯拍传媒 Sapphire and 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live

If you鈥檙e a spend management professional or someone who wants to optimize their total spend management platform, make coming to 疯拍传媒 Sapphire or 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live a priority this year.

疯拍传媒 Sapphire starts May 16 with a live experience in Orlando and virtual sessions and events that meet you wherever you are. Visit the event page to learn more.

疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live is in Vienna, Austria, October 9-11 鈥� and there鈥檚 so much to look forward to. It鈥檚 the must-attend event for leaders and practitioners in procurement, supply chain, sustainability, 鈥媐inance, logistics, and operational risk. to get the latest updates for 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live 2023 and save on registration.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

Royal DSM utilized and to enhance the sustainability of its global indirect procurement. As a result, the company learned several valuable lessons that can be applied by other organizations looking to transform their procurement practices in a sustainable manner.

DSM has set ambitious sustainability goals, which include making a positive impact on people, the planet, and communities through its “purpose-led, performance-driven” strategy. This includes transitioning to a net-zero economy, fair supplier arrangements, and ensuring adequate access to healthy food for all.

To support these goals, DSM implemented a transformation of its global, indirect sourcing and buying operations. This was essential for the company to create truly sustainable end products. It is not possible to be a sustainable business without having sustainable partners.

buy.SMART Program

DSM’s buy.SMART program aimed to not only achieve cost savings but also digitize and automate procurement transactions to align its spending on indirect goods and services with its sustainability and supplier diversity policies. Through this process, the company learned several valuable lessons.

1. Leverage a Business Network

To achieve the buy.SMART vision, DSM integrated 疯拍传媒 Business Network with an upstream, indirect source-to-contract process. The company did this using 疯拍传媒 Ariba Sourcing, 疯拍传媒 Ariba Contracts, 疯拍传媒 Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance, and 疯拍传媒 Ariba Supplier Risk. For the downstream, indirect procure-to-pay process, DSM chose the 疯拍传媒 Ariba Buying solution.

This setup offers multiple advantages, including faster identification of suitable trading partners in your supply chain, such as suppliers, logistics service providers, asset operators, and maintenance contractors. Thanks to automation, you can perform many tasks more efficiently or even automate them completely. Automation enables more efficient and even fully automated processes as well as increased visibility into all supply chain processes.

The integration of automation and sustainability in procurement can bring several benefits. For example, automation can facilitate the collection and analysis of supplier sustainability data, which can help in making more informed decisions when selecting suppliers. Additionally, automation can help in monitoring and tracking the sustainability performance of suppliers over time, which can help in identifying and addressing sustainability issues more quickly. Automation can also help in reducing the environmental impact of procurement activities, such as by decreasing paper usage and transportation emissions.

“Thanks to 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, DSM has strengthened collaboration with suppliers, improved the user experience of all participants, automated the transaction flow, and significantly reduced errors,” says Andries Feikema, global director of Procurement Digitalization & Transformation at DSM.

2. Leverage Independent Sustainability Ratings

Using criteria from external vendors is crucial for enhancing procurement processes with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. Having transparency into the sustainability performance of your supply chain is crucial for modern business. DSM utilizes EcoVadis, which is integrated with 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, to provide the necessary sustainability solutions to enhance procurement processes with ESG. This allows DSM to obtain reliable ESG ratings on its trading partners and efficiently evaluate suppliers based on specific sustainability criteria. Additionally, DSM continues to expand its sustainability assessments to provide procurement professionals with greater insight into their business partners.

“Sustainability is in DSM’s DNA. It therefore plays a major role for our procurement organization. It is an important element in the selection of our suppliers, and we test that directly in 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions. It is important that we select the right suppliers to do business with. This is directly embedded in our process design,” says Feikema.

3. Do the Pilot in the Most Challenging Market

It may be tempting to test a procurement solution in an easy market, but it’s not always the best approach. DSM adopted a different strategy: it started with the most challenging market. By doing so, it was able to identify and address potential issues early on. The company piloted the new procurement system in Brazil, which has a complex tax system. This approach helped it learn a lot about the solution and processes, making the global rollout much smoother.

Brazil has a complex tax system with multiple federal, state, and local taxes. The country has implemented several tax incentives to promote sustainability and environmental protection, making it an interesting pilot case.

4. Standardize Where Possible

Standardizing the pilot process design across all countries led to immediate efficiency gains for DSM. The design was only modified to comply with local tax or regulations. This standardization streamlined procurement processes globally, accelerating rollouts and increasing transparency and efficiency.

Procurement processes that include sustainability focus on buying products and services with positive environmental and social impact. This includes using sustainable materials, choosing suppliers with a strong sustainability record, and considering the entire lifecycle of a product or service. Standardization enables easy replication of processes and, by incorporating sustainability and standardizing their procurement processes, organizations like DSM can scale their sustainability impact.

5. Don’t Forget Change Management

Digitization relies on the implementation of new technologies and processes, and success in this endeavor is contingent on the participation of all employees. Without their buy-in, return on investment will be negatively impacted. Therefore, change management must be a key component of any transformation program.

To that end, DSM dedicated significant attention to change management by establishing an expert desk to support suppliers and assist with contract implementation, as well as a global team of 270 “champions” to help with adoption and guide users through new procurement processes. These champions were able to communicate in the local language and provide training to end users. Many young employees and the new generation of workers desire to be a part of sustainable business practices and goals, which has also contributed to the success of the adoption of these new technologies and processes.

“We made communication, training, and change management part of program management. We approached our program not as the implementation of a tool, but as a real business transformation. Users are central to the success of our transformation program,” concludes Feikema.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 疯拍传媒.

疯拍传媒 has certainly not been immune. We鈥檝e felt the effects on our own business. But more importantly, we鈥檝e seen firsthand how our customers are struggling to succeed in the face of the most daunting challenges of our times.

Since the start of this year, I鈥檝e been meeting face-to-face with customers around the world to hear what鈥檚 on their mind. Many are urging us to play more of a consultative role and to help them 鈥渇ind their problems鈥� rather than just 鈥渟olving鈥� them.

From our conversations, it鈥檚 clear that beyond day-to-day business pressures, our customers are being pressed by investors, consumers, and governments to:

• Find new ways to cut costs in the face of rising interest rates and inflation
• Make their supply chains more agile, efficient, and resilient
• Manage risk
• Address the scarcity of skilled workers
• Comply with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards

ESG is especially problematic because it can be defined broadly. In our conversations, customers called out some of their top concerns. These ranged from scope 3 emissions and green energy; to supplier development, diversity, and codes of conduct; to human rights and worker safety.

But I鈥檓 not here to complain about all that needs to be done 鈥� quite the opposite. I am grateful for the opportunity to consult with businesses around the world and to provide tools and expertise that help them address ongoing disruption and external pressures. 疯拍传媒 offers a comprehensive set of solutions 鈥� including , , , and, of course, 鈥� to help our customers succeed.

We know solving business challenges requires foresight and innovation. As my colleague Salvatore Lombardo noted recently, we don鈥檛 intend to rest on the accolades we鈥檝e earned for our procurement solutions. Same goes for our external workforce, travel and expense, and business network offerings. We intend to continue to lead the market in ideas and innovation that drive our customers鈥� success.

Our Customers Have Spoken 鈥� Again

Last week, TrustRadius announced that 疯拍传媒 is the winner of 10 Winter 2023 “Best Of” awards. This includes the three flagship offerings in our spend management portfolio:

• won in the Expense Management category.
• won in the Procurement category.
• won in the Vendor Management Systems (VMS) category.

Each received first place in multiple categories: Best Relationship, Best Feature Set, and Best Value for Price.

These awards represent the voice of our customers. As Vinay Bhagat, TrustRadius founder and CEO, said in the announcement, 鈥淭hese aren鈥檛 pay-to-play awards. We recognize the products with genuine positive feedback from real customers. It鈥檚 the key to providing buyers with trusted information so they can make an optimal technology decision.鈥�

I am also happy to announce that 疯拍传媒 Concur was recognized as a Great Place to Work in Japan for the sixth year in a row.

疯拍传媒 Helps Solve Customers’ Toughest Business Challenges

In the fourth quarter of 2022, hundreds of 疯拍传媒 customers worldwide 鈥� including Cenit Transporte y Log铆stica de Hidrocarburos S.A.S., Aiko Solar, Technical University of Munich, and Petr贸leo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) 鈥� engaged with 疯拍传媒 either for the first time or by expanding their footprint to leverage our market-leading procurement, external workforce, travel management, and supply chain solutions.

Here are their stories:

• (Colombia, Oil & Gas) is an oil transportation company that relies on 疯拍传媒 as a strategic ally to transform its procurement strategy. With 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions and 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass solutions, the organization that is part of the main Colombian petroleum company Ecopetrol can efficiently manage its purchasing processes and external labor, reduce costs, minimize risks, and digitize its entire procurement platform for a unified vision of expenses.
• (China, High Tech) is a major provider of PERC cells across the globe, covering business in R&D, production, and sale of solar cells. The company is facing challenges of globalization, with the rapid growth of its business. Aiko adopted 疯拍传媒 ERP and 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions to build a unified digital management platform to help eliminate data silos, reshape business processes, establish global supply chain management system, and improve business operation capabilities.
• (Germany, Public Sector) is a public research university specializing in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. It has purchased 疯拍传媒 S/4HANA and 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions.
• (Brazil, Oil & Gas) embarked on a digital transformation journey with 疯拍传媒 to expand technology adoption and innovation to become an intelligent enterprise. By going live with 疯拍传媒 Ariba Buying and 疯拍传媒 Business Network, Petrobras can collaborate with its 6,700 suppliers, working to ensure transaction traceability, transparency, and compliance. Objectively, this phase allows the receipt of invoices from suppliers.

Like the customers mentioned here, we want to help you write your success story. You bring the challenges. We鈥檒l bring the ideas and innovations to take them on.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network at 疯拍传媒.

in Dallas was incredible. Attendees were engaged in the conference and passionate about the important work they do. But most gratifying were my conversations with customers, who spoke about how they trust 疯拍传媒 to help them solve large, complex problems. Things like economic challenges, supply chain disruptions, and sustainability, along with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals: these are challenges 疯拍传媒 is uniquely qualified to address, and we鈥檝e made it our purpose to help our customers tackle them.

It was an honor to with Christine Hipp of Los Alamos National Labs (pictured below), who spoke about a successful transformation with 疯拍传媒 Ariba and 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass solutions. Likewise, we were all fascinated by Patricia Miller’s account of Accenture鈥檚 internal services spend journey with 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass.

We came to Dallas to hear from 疯拍传媒 customers like these — and we were not disappointed.

Recognitions, Accolades, and Awards

疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live was a great moment for 疯拍传媒 and the organizations that use our solutions to run their business. In fact, more than a few customers told me we should 鈥渂rag a little more鈥� about what we鈥檙e doing.

I won鈥檛 do that, but I would like to share some of the accolades that our solutions and our customers have received in the past few months.

疯拍传媒 Ariba

• 疯拍传媒 Named a Leader for the seventh consecutive time in the for 疯拍传媒 Ariba
• 疯拍传媒 was recognized in the among the three highest vendors across all the five Gartner Use Cases and ranked highest for the Use Case Service Focused
• No. 1 in Procure-to-Pay,
• Top Rated Procurement Software award, TrustRadius
• No. 1 leading procurement software provider,
• 聽Procurement Platform,

疯拍传媒 Concur

• No. 1聽for Worldwide Travel and Expense Management Software,
• No. 1 leader in Expense Management, Travel and Expense Management, and Invoice Management,
• 2022 Top-Rated Software (Concur Travel & Expense),
• No. 1 in ZDNet鈥檚 list of the five best travel planner apps (TripIt),

疯拍传媒 Fieldglass

• No. 1 in Strategic Sourcing,
• Market Leader, 鈥� 2022 Vendor Management System (VMS) Technology Advisor

疯拍传媒 Fieldglass and 疯拍传媒 Ariba were also selected for Spend Matters鈥� . And Capgemini, an 疯拍传媒 Fieldglass customer, is the winner in the 鈥淚nnovations in Talent鈥� category of the Future of Sourcing Awards.

Beyond the Accolades

While it is great to receive industry accolades, at the end of the day, our truest measure of success lies with our customers. This quarter, hundreds of 疯拍传媒 customers worldwide — including Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, the City of Vienna, Austria, The Pennsylvania State University, Dole Asia Holdings Pte., Ltd, and Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft — are engaging with 疯拍传媒, either for the first time or by expanding their footprint, to leverage our market-leading procurement, travel management, and supply chain finance solutions.

Here are a few of their stories:

• is a top jewelry brand with a huge retail network in China and the rest of the world. To support the group鈥檚 strategy to drive sustainable growth empowered by technology, the company chose 疯拍传媒 Ariba software to build its unified digital procurement system, deploy procurement in the cloud, improve end-to-end visibility and efficiency, reduce procurement cost, and greatly improve business efficiency.
• has been using 疯拍传媒 Concur solutions for more than 15 years. This quarter, it chose to expand that partnership as it has seen an increase in student, faculty, and administrator travel and expense management requirements.
• . is a Singapore-based, global consumer food and beverage company that produces and distributes fresh and packaged fruit products. It has chosen Taulia, part of 疯拍传媒, for Taulia Dynamic Discounting and Taulia Supply Chain Finance on the Taulia multi-funder network. This will enable the company to strengthen its supply chain by improving the financial resilience of suppliers, therefore improving sustainability.

Another Reason to Smile

I am also proud that our team considers it our purpose to lend a hand to the people who have served our nation. We are thrilled to announce that Nettie, short for 鈥淣etwork,鈥� the beautiful service dog our North America sales team helped to sponsor, is now a graduate of the program. She has joined her Warrior, Kevin, and we wish them a wonderful life together.

Our Customers鈥� Moment

As we near the end of 2022, we are working harder than ever to help our current customers, as well as customers we haven鈥檛 met yet, to address their biggest challenges and achieve their business goals 鈥� always with purpose; now, with a smile.

Experience 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live virtually

If you were not able to join us in Dallas, check out the . This on-demand forum will share recordings of the keynotes and select breakout sessions from the conference. It will also feature additional, recorded sessions not seen at 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

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 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’s 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.

These distinctions formally recognize the merit of 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, from market share to software innovation and customer approval.

IDC: 疯拍传媒 Ranked No.1 for Worldwide Procurement Applications Software, 2021 Market Share

疯拍传媒 holds the largest share of the procurement applications software market, according to IDC鈥檚 recently published report, . IDC estimates that 疯拍传媒 holds a 31.3% market share with 9.2% YoY growth for 2021, maintaining its market leading position 鈥� ahead of the next six vendors combined.

鈥湻枧拇� continues to enhance its procurement application suite through its enhanced strategic relationship with Icertis, the acquisition of working capital management firm Taulia, and the launch of 疯拍传媒 Sustainability Control Tower,鈥� writes Patrick Reymann, IDC鈥檚 research director, Procurement and Enterprise Applications.

Supply Chain Digital and Procurement Magazine: Top 10 Procurement Software Providers

In ranking 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions in its , these publications noted the in-depth spend analysis capabilities; efficiency, accuracy, and visibility; and cloud, automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

疯拍传媒 鈥渢akes procurement beyond the basic processes, applying its innovations to remove obstacles, link all spend categories in a single place, and create deeper, dynamic, and end-to-end collaboration.鈥�

TrustRadius: Top Rated for Customer Satisfaction

It is truly heartening to know that our customers think enough of our solutions for us to earn a Top Rated award in the TrustRadius Procurement Software category. Our customers are central to everything we do and every decision we make. Their satisfaction is what we work toward every day.

疯拍传媒 earned its top rating 鈥渂ased entirely on feedback from their customers,鈥� said Megan Headley, vice president of Research at TrustRadius. 鈥淩eviewers on TrustRadius value the products’ invoice tracking capabilities, catalog management features, and integrations with ERP systems.鈥�

From my perspective, it鈥檚 no surprise that 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions have earned these honors. Every day, I see how our solutions help customers solve business challenges, empowering organizations to:

• Simplify procurement. Replace complex steps with a guided experience that directs employees to make the best decision 鈥� whether they’re buying raw materials or office supplies.
• Collaborate. Dynamically share plans, capacity, and progress with suppliers, so you can count on your supply chain to deliver what you need when you need it.
• Do business locally, or globally. Manage contracts, suppliers, and compliance in virtually every country and currency 鈥� or in your own backyard 鈥� so you can deliver what the business needs, where it’s needed.

Expanding the Value of Our Procurement Solutions

疯拍传媒 Business Network continues to expand, enabling visibility, collaboration, and resilience. Additionally, we have significantly boosted the impact of our procurement solutions both through our acquisition of Taulia and our enhanced relationship with Icertis.

• 疯拍传媒 Business Network: In these challenging times of broken supply chains and economic uncertainty, transparency, collaboration, and resilience are the name of the game. 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions, together with , can extend our customers鈥� visibility into their supply chains, helping to manage collaboration with trading partners. Today, the network extends across 190 countries. In the last 12 months, it has facilitated more than 699M B2B transactions and US$4.1T worth of commerce 鈥� more than any other network in the world.
• Taulia: At a time when inflation is hitting our customers hard, access to working capital management solutions has been a lifesaver for buyers and suppliers alike. Taulia鈥檚 solutions offer early payment through supply chain financing, dynamic discounting, and accounts receivable financing.
• Icertis: The leading enterprise contract management platform in the cloud helps businesses transform contracts into strategic business assets, giving them powerful capabilities to maximize revenue, control costs, improve compliance, and manage risk.

And There鈥檚 More Good News

Spend Matters recently published a brief, titled which offers a positive assessment of 疯拍传媒 Ariba and its ecosystem.

The report states, 鈥湻枧拇� is focused on architecting an open, future-oriented technology ecosystem that embraces the realities of complexity, while still providing a powerful on-ramp to those who are at an emerging level of organizational maturity through its ecosystem of technology partners and service partners alike.鈥�

Our success extends beyond our recent honors and accolades. Hundreds of customers, including MLP Finanzberatung SE, Air France KLM, Swellfun, Nacional Monte de Piedad, BeiGene, and CONA Services have chosen 疯拍传媒 in 2022 to digitalize their procurement processes. Here are a few of their stories:

• CONA Services LLC (USA, go-live): The premier IT service company for the 12 largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers in North America, CONA Services has consolidated its procurement processes to provide their suppliers with a single platform for collaboration. 疯拍传媒 Business Network delivers an integrated and easy-to-use platform, enabling more than 1,000 suppliers to share documents and access working capital opportunities. with the guided buying capability provides a modern user interface and a consistent catalog buying experience.

• Nacional Monte de Piedad (Mexico): This non-profit, private assistance institution, with more than 300 branches, took another step forward in its procurement strategy with the adoption of 疯拍传媒 Ariba Contracts. With this solution, it can eliminate the management of paper contracts, making it possible to automate, standardize, and accelerate their life cycle while reinforcing operational, contractual, and regulatory compliance with suppliers.

• BeiGene (China):聽A leading biotech company specializing in anti-cancer drugs, BeiGene selected 疯拍传媒 Ariba solutions to quickly build a cloud-based platform that covers procurement, contracting, and payment. BeiGene aims to ensure procurement collaboration in its offices around the world, meet language requirements, comply to local regulations, and improve efficiency.

Join Us at 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live

If you鈥檇 like to learn more about 疯拍传媒鈥檚 intelligent spend solutions for procurement, external workforce, travel and expense, and business network, please join us for 疯拍传媒 Spend Connect Live, October 24-26 in Dallas, Texas.

This will be a unique, in-person networking experience where you鈥檒l gain actionable insight from inspirational speakers, industry experts, and customers as they share real-life digital transformation stories.

To learn more and register, visit the .

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for 疯拍传媒 Intelligent Spend and Business Network.