Let’s be honest – do you know what your company spends daily across different areas like office management, production, or logistics? Expense management sheds light on this expenditure, allowing companies to analyze, document, and manage their expenses effectively. 

Digital solutions for spend management provide transparency and visibility across all expenses, enabling companies to identify potential risks faster and address them proactively. Additionally, they make CO₂ emissions transparent along the value chain, empowering companies to implement decarbonization measures and reduce their carbon footprint.Β 

AI as a Booster for Procurement and Purchasing Processes 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our daily lives, optimizing search engine results, personalizing advertising, and facilitating automatic text translation. On smartphones, we have streaming services, online shopping platforms, and even household appliances. AI is subtly integrated to make cumbersome, everyday tasks easier and more efficient. Since the rise of generative AI, companies and entire industries have been diligently working to incorporate it into their solutions for improved processes and efficiency. 

Procurement is one field where the impact of polycrisis is keenly felt, which has driven important changes. Resilience, transparency, and sustainability are the keywords here – and AI can make the crucial difference. 

AI can digitalize the procurement function, making it more efficient. Stakeholders rightly expect AI implementation to enhance decision-making, automate processes, and expedite insights. AI can also contribute to cost reduction and error rate mitigation. The question is no longer whether companies will adopt AI but when they will do so. And that time has to be now.

AI Strategies: Think Holistically 

To ensure the success of such projects, a holistic approach is needed. AI should become an integral part of the entire procurement process to benefit all areas. This begins with a consistent transformation strategy aligned with the company’s goals and values. It is important to have a strategic, solutions-oriented approach that makes it possible to find answers to real-life business challenges. By effectively integrating AI into data analysis and prediction models, companies can unlock tangible value and drive meaningful outcomes. The quality of the results depends on the quality and availability of corporate data – and this is where the greatest potential for improvement lies. Companies should clean up their data pool so that only valid and meaningful data is included. 

For spend management, procurement, and purchasing, generative AI in particular holds enormous potential. As in every area where AI is deployed, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has committed to strictly adhering to the principles of relevance, reliability, and responsibility in spend management, thoroughly examining each application accordingly. Employees can be relieved of repetitive, manual, and time-consuming tasks, allowing them to focus better on their core tasks. For example, Joule, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s generative AI copilot, will be embedded across ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s portfolio, including procurement solutions.

As an intelligent copilot, it can understand natural language, process data from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and third-party systems, and derive new insights from them. Thanks to unified data models, it can provide users with appropriate answers to their questions that fit the specific business context and thus helps to ensure that AI makes a meaningful contribution, enhancing business success. Moreover, it can offer meaningful advice to help them solve their daily tasks more intelligently and quickly, thereby helping to increase their efficiency in a secure and compliant manner. The practical use cases are numerous, ranging from HR or finance to supply chain management, procurement, and customer experience. Following our principle of responsibility, Joule can, for example, assist the HR department in eliminating potential bias from job descriptions and can even formulate suitable interview questions based on these job descriptions.

Category management plays a significant role in procurement, enabling companies to optimize their procurement strategies, strengthen supplier relationships, and reduce costs. Accordingly, 33% of procurement experts consider it a top technology trend to focus on in the next 12 to 18 months. A digitalized and AI-enhanced category management company integrates generative AI to increase efficiency and precision in product categorization and procurement. By applying AI-supported algorithms, relevant data is automatically analyzed, leading to informed insights for optimized inventory management and strategic purchasing decisions. 

With the steadily growing amount of data generated by daily business operations, it is becoming increasingly challenging for companies to find the resources to make the most of their own data, all while ensuring data privacy and security aspects are maintained. This data needs to be made accessible, visualized, and processed in a way that it can be leveraged. Therefore, it is important to rely on strong partners like ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ that bring both technical and strategic expertise to develop goal-oriented solutions with a strong focus on data protection and integrity. Now is the time to advance procurement through intelligent collaboration, smart category management, and an AI mindset. 

Practical Example: Category Management at OMV 

OMV, a global chemical and energy company based in Austria, is transitioning its linear value chain into a circular one with the aim of becoming a leading provider of more sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials. Procurement plays a key role in this transformation. OMV is automating and streamlining all procurement and supply chain processes. The company is now planning to digitalize category management. 

At the core of this initiative is , based on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP) and supported by generative AI. This solution helps procurement teams develop more effective category strategies by helping to accelerate the market analysis process and provide targeted recommendations. This can lead to faster and more efficient category management processes and increased cost savings.Β 

Complex planning processes that were once done manually can now be easily executed with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management. The solution integrates features and tools to help leverage data for Big Data analytics, and it can provide comprehensive end-to-end visibility throughout the procurement process. 

The adoption of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management offers OMV numerous benefits, including improved efficiency, cost savings, and the promotion of sustainability through the selection of more environmentally friendly suppliers and products. By implementing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management, OMV successfully bridges the digital gap in procurement and takes another significant step towards a circular value chain. 

Curious to Learn More?

Learn more about intelligent category management and of the virtual ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Innovation Day. A live event will take place on-site on .

Elena Parker is chief revenue officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network, MEE, at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me provides a central access point to solution support. The portal offers a user-friendly interface with improved functionalities that can enable better and faster interaction with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ support experts and can provide immediate guidance to solutions for daily business tasks. It aims to make detached information a thing of the past on the customer and partner journey to an intelligent enterprise.  

Since November 6, 2023, an English-language experience has been available for customers and partners to begin their exploration before the migration. And as of today, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network knowledge-related content on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me is available in over 20 languages. 

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me provides an integrated and comprehensive platform to help meet the diverse needs of its users. The Services & Support dashboard features an ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba card that helps direct users to multiple resources on the legacy ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Connect , including ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network release readiness information, product documentation, announcements, and specific content related to adoption and deployment.Β Β 

When getting started with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me, know that:

• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Connect S-user authorizations are automatically carried over to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me – no additional access authorization is needed to use ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me. 
• The portal gives access to personalized content in the most used languages – English, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. 
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me offers intuitive cards that categorize and bucket information for your convenience. Support-relevant cards are mainly located in the Services & Support and Systems & Provisioning dashboards.  
• The availability, maintenance, and subscriptions for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network can be found in the availability section of Systems & Provisioning.
• You can get a holistic view of licenses, orders, and consumption status.
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me is also available on mobile devices. The mobile app will be enhanced with additional features and the ability to create and manage a new case.
• The get support application is your primary touchpoint with support.

Get Support, Easier and Faster 

The get support application helps guide customers through technical product issues in real time or reaching ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ experts through an AI-enabled framework. It can provide an integrated and personalized support experience to help simplify and streamline the case creation process. AI can automatically recommend solutions during the interaction, predict the right product categorization, and recommend the most suitable support channel, like Expert Chat, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Community, or Ask an Expert Peer, when available for the selected product.  

Access ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Support on the Go 

With the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me mobile app, support interaction can be possible anywhere and anytime to complete tasks and access information directly on a smartphone. The mobile app can be downloaded from the Apple Store and Google Play Store. 

In conclusion, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me puts customer and partner interests into focus. While partners can manage their pipeline and customer success, the portal also serves as the central entry point for all support-related topics and questions for customers. It allows access to relevant information, self-services, and consumption status connected to any purchased product portfolio.  

The ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me migration for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network is a significant milestone as we tap into the next generation of AI opportunities to create an effective experience for our customers while delivering a seamless consistency in the look, feel, and delivery of critical support services.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me is made for you. Follow ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me on LinkedIn and bookmark ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Community to stay updated.

Rohan Patel is global head of Support for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Procurement.

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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI technology, the teams behind ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. We debuted new AI capabilities in various ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ spend management solutions. Check out some of these highlights:

• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management: We’ve incorporated that can assist category managers by generating recommendations in the solution’s category segmentation, market dynamics, and cost structure tools.
• Scoutbee Discovery: ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partnered with Scoutbee, a leading AI-powered supplier intelligence and discovery platform, to launch . This ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur customers to type questions in natural language and get quick answers using generative AI, .

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s 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’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network Discovery: With generative AI-enabled responses for postings in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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.Β Β 
• 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.Β 
• Intelligent error simplification using generative AI:Β 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’s more, G2 recently announced its , with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur receiving high honors:

• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass came in at No. 26 in G2’s Best Software Awards across all products and No. 12 in G2’s Best Software Awards for best midmarket products.
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur came in at No. 4 in G2’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions to internal management, OG&E gained the visibility to make more informed financial decisions, like supplier negotiations.
• Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, launched a large-scale quality initiative powered by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network to help mitigate product defects in a highly complex supply chain. Now, using ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions, connected to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ ERP, that allows employees to create hotel and entertainment expenses with fewer errors and fewer rejected expense reports.

Join Us at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire!

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference is June 3-5 in Orlando, Florida, this year and I can’t wait to meet with customers, partners, and my fellow colleagues. This is the best event in the industry in my opinion and you don’t want to miss out. Join us by registering on the , where you can also save your spot at the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire Virtual and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire Barcelona events. See you there!

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

Contracts govern every dollar in and out of the enterprise and provide a legal framework for ongoing business relationships. This makes contract data one of the most valuable assets to inform decision-making and accelerate strategic outcomes for enterprises.

According to estimates, poor contract management can cost companies nearly 9% of their bottom line, creating significant revenue leakage alongside the risk and compliance concerns that come with a lack of visibility into commercial agreements.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ understands the value of balancing risk and profitability in the contracting process. To complement our solutions and provide additional advanced contract management capabilities to our customers, we partner with Icertis in a joint development effort that includes technological integration between ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and Icertis solutions. This innovation complements a full suite of integrations designed to help ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customers turn contracts into strategic assets. It can enable global enterprises to realize the true intent of their commercial agreements while managing and automating core processes with their ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions.

Introducing the Latest Version of Icertis Contract Intelligence for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA

One outcome of our joint development efforts with Icertis is the latest version of (Buy Side), an ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ endorsed app available on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Store. at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire in 2023, the solution integrates ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA and the Icertis contract lifecycle management (CLM) platform. It can empower procurement teams to realize more profitable and compliant sourcing processes by optimizing supplier relationships and accelerating source-to-pay cycle times.

The new iteration of Icertis Contract Intelligence for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA takes the integration one step further, deepening the connection with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA for enterprise contract management. This can enable greater efficiency and visibility along with the ability to create a legal transaction in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA that can automatically initiate a contract in the Icertis solution. Through richer contract data pools and seamless connectivity across the agreement lifecycle, procurement decision-makers can track obligations after the contract is signed, discover clauses, and negotiate more beneficial commercial terms to mitigate revenue leakage and ultimately create cost savings for their enterprises.Β Β Β 

Expanding Our Partnership to Benefit ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Customers

Icertis and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ in 2022 and have continued to provide automation and analytics at scale by connecting AI and data that represents every business transaction within ERP, finance, procurement, sales, and HR solutions from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. Additional ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ endorsed apps available on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Store include , , and . Each solution is designed to provide enterprise leaders with a deeper understanding of what’s driving their business, as well as powerful new levers to steer future success.

To learn more about the transformative capabilities of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA with Icertis Contract Intelligence, .

Priya Wenzel is vice president and global head of Partner Ecosystem Success for Digital Supply Chain and Intelligent Spend & Business Network Solutions at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

On top of that, we still need to foster relationships with suppliers, manage costs, address sustainability mandates, and build resilient supply chains — all while transforming procurement into a more strategic business function. Not surprisingly, procurement leaders are looking to the next wave of technology to help them position their organizations to adapt quickly to changing conditions.

For many, moving key business processes to the cloud represents that β€œnext wave” and for that, is the perfect option.

The RISE with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solution is a managed cloud offering that enables a smooth, secure migration of on-premises ERP, including ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ ERP and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA, to the cloud. Its holistic approach to business transformation empowers organizations to better adapt to changing market dynamics and innovate more quickly.

Businesses can leverage RISE with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to modernize their IT infrastructure, optimize and automate key processes, and unlock new levels of efficiency. They can also harness the power of data and analytics to make informed decisions, enabling them to achieve their business goals more effectively and efficiently.

The Challenge for Procurement: Extending Digital Transformation to Suppliers

For many years, β€œdigital transformation” has been the hot trend for business functions, including procurement. Organizations are moving their internal business operations from manual processes and disparate software applications to integrated ERP systems. These systems are starting to leverage generative AI to improve the user experience, digitalize manual processes, and accelerate strategic decision making.

This is a win for the business with one caveat: β€œtraditional” digital transformation does not go beyond the four walls of the organization. This creates a challenge for procurement because suppliers operate outside those four walls, where communication can be anything but digitalized. In fact, * revealed that 68% of respondents use email to transmit and receive data and documents for procurement and supply chain collaboration. Other methods include telephone (44%), supplier/customer portals (38%), and EDI (26%).

Given the technology available today, this is not only unproductive, but it also is completely unnecessary. With , ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ offers a premium plus edition that includes ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network for Procurement. This enables businesses to extend the digital transformation of business processes outside their walls.

Better Collaboration, Faster Invoice Processing, and an Improved User Experience

is a cloud-based collaboration offering that gives buyers and suppliers a way to find each other and do business within a single, networked platform. The network makes it possible for organizations to:

• Exchange data and documents digitally with suppliers, eliminating the need for phone calls, faxes, emails, or snail mail
• Achieve enhanced spend visibility and compliance
• Access a marketplace of suppliers to ensure business resilience, diverse spending, and alignment with sustainability objectives

Additionally, improved transactional operations and invoice status visibility enable better working capital management for stronger trading partner relationships. Finance colleagues can enjoy a faster month-end close due to improved accounts payable efficiencies and increased procurement and payment compliance.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network for Procurement Extends ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud

When RISE with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is combined with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network for Procurement, procurement teams can collaborate digitally with suppliers across procurement and invoicing processes. This dramatically improves transactional efficiency.

A natural extension of ERP, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network provides an environment in which procurement processes initiated from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud can be transmitted digitally to suppliers. As a result, suppliers can view and generate transactions like orders, order confirmations, ship notices, and invoices, and then act quickly to accelerate the procure-to-pay process.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network for Procurement improves process efficiency in many areas, including:

• Purchase order processing: Digital purchase orders that are created in ERP are sent automatically to suppliers. Once confirmed by the supplier, buyers have visibility into order acceptance and delivery dates.
• Invoice payment status: Invoice and payment status information is available on the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network dashboard to update suppliers, eliminating the need for phone calls.
• Invoicing business rules: Buyers have the flexibility to configure applicable business rules that require adherence to business process and regulatory compliance.
• Change order update: Buyers and suppliers can communicate changes to open purchase orders, which creates an auditable record of changes and variations. Related documents, such as shipping notices, are also synchronized with updates.
• Payment compliance: Quick invoice processing and data accuracy minimizes wrong or duplicate payments, while improving accounting processes and overall financial visibility.
• Supplier collaboration: Digitalization enables quicker feedback from suppliers, making it possible for suppliers to β€œflip” purchase orders into confirmations and invoices, reducing errors and manual effort.
• Promotional opportunities: Networked suppliers have additional opportunities to grow their business by using the network to promote their offerings and connect with new customers.

The Next Wave of Digital Transformation

When you invest in RISE with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, you are enabling your business to migrate core business processes to the cloud. By complementing this solution with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, you extend your digital transformation to interactions with trading partners though a single, end-to-end technology landscape built on standardized processes and consistent data.

This is the next wave of technology that will enable you to address the ever-growing list of business challenges you wake up and face every day.

is chief marketing and solutions officer of Intelligent Spend and Business Network at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

*, doc #US50854723, July 2023

These are among the findings of the newly released , conducted by and sponsored by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. In examining the current state of services procurement, the study seeks to answer two basic questions: Is procurement moving beyond the role of β€œa pass-through for services contracts”? And how are procurement teams using new approaches and technology to innovate services procurement?

The Challenges of Procuring Services

Whether it’s for IT consulting, marketing services, facilities management, or legal services, procuring services through a third party gives organizations access to personnel with advanced skills and expertise. It can also be cost-effective.

Business leaders have taken note, as highlighted in . β€œOn average, professional services spending comprises between 45% and 65% of an organization’s total non-employee spending,” Ardent reports.

However, acquiring these services requires a significant level of procurement sophistication. Many services are too complex to fit neatly into a catalog and sourcing them requires organizations to consider key questions, including:

• Are we buying labor or an outcome?
• What is the cost mechanism – daily rates, time and materials, fixed-fee?
• Can we balance risk with agility?
• How do we maintain our service provider relationship?

Procurement teams have the expertise to bring a higher level of maturity to professional services. They provide a strategic approach that streamlines everything from sourcing and contracting to invoicing and vendor management. But are businesses taking full advantage of their expertise?

Three Things the Study Tells Us

The Art of Procurement study reveals a lot about the state of professional services procurement. Here are a few of my thoughts – from a global perspective.

Many organizations aren’t benefiting from technology.

Fifty percent of respondents said they purchase services contracts via e-mail and phone, and 23% buy from the same procurement catalogs they use to buy goods. Only 27% use a technology platform designed for services procurement.

Choosing not to use services procurement technology creates compliance and governance challenges. It also limits buyers’ ability to get the best pricing. Moreover, e-mails and phone calls don’t provide a secure, centralized data trail, which is useful for demand planning and forecasting and for making strategic decisions about insourcing and outsourcing.

Too often, bidders seek fixed pricing. That inhibits innovation.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they use some form of fixed pricing to buy services. Although this allows them to know the price up front, it also presents challenges. For example, with fixed pricing, statements of work must be tightly written to detail exact project requirements. Otherwise, businesses could pay for more than they receive.

The Art of Procurement research also notes β€œa worrisome lack of risk and reward mechanisms in services procurement contracts.” It warns that disregarding these innovative mechanisms can jeopardize supplier relationships and stifle innovation. β€œWithout clear incentives for success and mitigations for failure, procurement could unintentionally foster a transactional, short-term mindset in suppliers, leading to cut corners or a reluctance to invest in long-term innovation.”

Organizations prefer single project bids, which are less efficient.

In the survey, 39% of respondents said they set rates by project. Managing bids one by one forces businesses to go back to the market continuously – requiring more proposals, more negotiation, and more contracts.

But there’s also good news. The remaining 61% of respondents say they use either frameworks or preferred supplier panels to drive efficiency. A framework is a general agreement with pre-qualified suppliers, outlining terms and conditions under which specific goods or services will be procured. Panels are groups of pre-approved suppliers, selected for their ability to deliver specific services. These suppliers meet specific qualification criteria and have undergone a competitive selection process.

Overall, the Art of Procurement study paints a picture where procurement is not putting forth its expertise to help the business acquire and manage professional services. As such, it is conceding its strategic role to stakeholders and suppliers.

How Technology Can Help Turn the Tide

The Art of Procurement study advises procurement teams to β€œselect and implement technology with breadth in mind, aiming to address as much services spend as possible rather than allowing pockets of sourcing activity to flow through non-standard platforms and processes.”

is a broad technology application that can simplify how external services projects are initiated, engaged, managed, and completed. It can enable procurement teams to:

• Initiate service requests with competitive bidding, facilitating collaboration on bid criteria with colleagues, expedited approvals for authorized terms and budgets, and distribution of bids to services providers.
• Engage selected vendors through a negotiation process that follows a side-by-side evaluation of all responses, and then finalize an agreement.
• Manage global services engagements within a single, centralized system – securely onboarding workers, tracking deliverables, validating work, and generating invoices.
• Complete the project with automated offboarding, including terminating system access, retrieving assets, and giving performance feedback.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass has been named to the G2 list of , based on user reviews. It is also one of G2’s .

Procurement Must Lead the Way

Based on the findings of the Art of Procurement study, it’s clear that organizations need to adopt a more mature approach to services procurement. Procurement teams have the expertise to lead this transformation, although they must do more to assert themselves within the business. Technology can help accelerate this by enabling procurement to establish consistent, end-to-end processes for initiating, engaging, and managing external service projects.

Read the Art of Procurement report .

Gordon Donovan is global vice president of Research, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Procurement, and External Workforce at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Meanwhile, as legislation to bolster transparency in supply chains , the digital platforms through which trading partners carry out interconnected operational processes have become indispensable for managing risk, advancing sustainability objectives, and verifying adherence to ethical business practices – even as volatility in international commerce gathers pace.

After rebounding from several years of logjammed seaports, idled factories, and quarantined workers, many businesses find that though COVID-19 has receded, disruption stubbornly persists. Yet visibility across all aspects of the supply chain – from sourcing raw materials and managing logistics capacity to securing working capital solutions and managing dispersed physical assets – remains paramount in the quest to ensure business continuity, instill operational resilience, and deepen competitive advantage.

To help provide businesses with the 360-degree visibility and collaborative capabilities they require across complex trading relationships, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network can connect people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises to help digitize transactions, harness data-driven insights, and create transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains. Through , trading partners can gain process efficiencies, improve supply assurance, and achieve business process and regulatory compliance by increasing operational transparency. With , companies can achieve supply chain visibility by enabling plan-driven automation, optimizing capacity and inventory, and streamlining workflow. Aided by , shippers and carriers can work together in unison, track and trace goods in transit, and achieve transparency throughout the supply chain by optimizing logistics processes, increasing on-time deliveries, and mitigating third-party risk. Relying on , owners, operators, and service providers can strengthen joint processes and the flow of shared information through a single, consistent version of asset master data to help streamline asset maintenance processes and reduce maintenance costs. With the benefit of , trading partners can enhance payment security, free up working capital through early-payment discounts, and leverage access to capital bound up in outstanding receivables.

By linking together the routine business processes of trading partners, cloud-based networks establish the breadth of data necessary to apply predictive and generative AI applications to yield meaningful insights and outcomes. Through large language models and other forms of machine learning, cloud-based applications create new content with characteristics resembling that which precedes it. With every successive effort, sharpens its ability to tailor desired content.

As the world’s largest platform for business-to-business commerce, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network can present an ideal setting for generative AI, in that it helps bring together an extremely large volume of trading partners across hundreds of millions of transactions representing US$5.3 trillion in commerce annually. Later this year, generative AI capabilities in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network will be able to help detect errors and present automatic summaries when businesses create invoices. AI will also enable the network to help enrich catalog content and discovery posting responses for suppliers.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network has accumulated significant structured content over many years to help generate broad operational insights for trading partners. When buyers, suppliers, carriers, and financing solution providers share operational data with each other in real time, the mutual value they create can be exponential rather than additive, enabling all participants in commerce to plan ahead with confidence, continuity, and enduring resilience.

For further information on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network and how we are equipping enterprises large and small with the digital tools needed to counter disruption, visit .

JΓΆrn Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network.

In today’s highly volatile business environment, having a strong sourcing strategy in place is key when it comes to overcoming challenges such as supply chain disruptions and delays. However, many organizations have inefficient operations and limited supplier options, which means they may also lack a contingency plan or alternative suppliers they can call on to overcome such challenges. 

With a strategic sourcing plan, companies have the ability to get the best quality, price, and fit for their business needs, helping them stay competitive.  

To help organizations achieve their strategic sourcing goals, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has the for to help streamline and automate sourcing processes. It can enable users to identify and qualify suppliers, create and manage sourcing events, and evaluate bids and proposals. It can provide a structured and guided approach to sourcing, helping organizations to efficiently identify the best suppliers and negotiate the best possible terms for their procurement needs, allowing them to complete more projects with less effort.Β 

The four key benefits of guided sourcing are: 

1. Improved user interface: The intuitive interface can make it easier for users to navigate the platform, resulting in faster adoption and increased user satisfaction. The revamp of the user experience has led to improved usability, rapid event creation, enhanced search capabilities, and contextual help with tools like . This can ultimately lead to a more efficient and productive sourcing process for businesses. The platform also offers intuitive management of the strategic sourcing and request for x (RFx) event process, making it easier for businesses to manage their sourcing events. This streamlined approach to event management can help businesses save time and resources while also improving the overall effectiveness of their sourcing strategy.Β 
2. Embedded analytics: The guided sourcing capability is at the forefront of innovation with features like no-touch procurement efficiency enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Such features include recommendation of suppliers and content within strategic sourcing and smart upload in Microsoft Excel to easily import unstructured data as line items within a sourcing event in a matter of seconds. In addition to this, we plan to release a mechanism we refer to as β€œinsights to action,” which can bring analytics back into the applications. This can enable business users to use insights and recommendations to help make decisions fast and effectively.Β Β Β 
3. Cross-product integrations: Through integration with and , guided sourcing can provide enhanced search capabilities with Supplier Lifecycle and Performance (SLP) criteria. It helps make risk information readily available so it can be accessed during the negotiation phase, while spend management data is made available via embedded analytics and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management. This level of integration helps businesses make more informed sourcing decisions by understanding and managing the level of risk at an early stage of supplier engagement and having the ability to view and analyze spend by category, which can help in making the right sourcing decisions.Β Β 
4. Enhanced capabilities via integration with partner applications: The capabilities of guided sourcing can be further extended through integration with partner apps endorsed by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, making it a comprehensive solution for companies looking to streamline their sourcing processes. For example, integration with can allow for seamless collaboration between sourcing persona and legal personnel. Integration with for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing can allow customers to access new suppliers across the globe based on supplier and product characteristics.Β Β 

The guided sourcing capability offers a wide range of benefits that can optimize and streamline the procurement process for businesses. From improved supplier management and enhanced visibility to cost savings and increased efficiency, the guided sourcing capability can provide a comprehensive solution for organizations to effectively manage their sourcing activities. By leveraging the power of guided sourcing, businesses can experience greater control and transparency in their procurement operations, ultimately leading to increased profitability and better business outcomes. With its innovative features, advanced capabilities, and integration with partner apps endorsed by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, the guided sourcing capability can be key to helping organizations that want to achieve strategic sourcing excellence.Β Β 

The capability is available at no additional cost for all licensed ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing customers. For more information, check out this . 

Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president and chief product officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba.

Following a series of issued during the past decade, the has now mandated e-invoicing for all B2G (business-to-government) procurements. The same requirements are expected to include B2B transactions in Europe as well. So far, over 100 countries including Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, France, and Romania have enacted mandatory e-invoicing legislation, as have numerous others in Latin America and Asia.

Cloud-Based Platform Collaboration Supports E-Invoicing Compliance

There’s no big mystery behind the e-invoicing push. In-country regulators and policymakers see digitalization as crucial to improve fraud detection, simplify VAT reporting, and gain a measure of transparency. While e-invoicing mandates from governments add a layer of complexity for buyers and suppliers, cloud-based platforms have become the norm to automate and simplify collaboration.

One example is , where buyers and suppliers can manage procurement and invoicing activities with their trusted ecosystem.

β€œAs governments add e-invoicing mandates, we’re committed to help organizations by providing capabilities for regulatory consistency,” Lorraine Yao, director of Product Marketing for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, said. β€œDigitalization automates the flow of accurate information from order placement, shipping confirmation, and delivery through e-invoicing that’s connected directly to the company’s ERP system. Organizations can replace manual verification with automation based on real-time updates that speed up accurate processing, order fulfillment, and timely payments.”

Buyers and Suppliers Reap Benefits of Connected Network

Yao said that organizations transact US$5.3 trillion in annual commerce on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, totaling 746 million B2B transactions each year. Business results to date have been impressive.

After centralizing automated supplier invoicing and collaboration on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, the procurement team at a U.S.-based clothing and accessories retailer saved time with quick access to spend details and reporting analytics. With fresh insights, the strategic sourcing team can identify savings opportunities and expediently act on emerging trends.

A multinational infrastructure and renewable energy company based in Europe moved to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network as part of its company-wide procurement transformation. Replacing manual processes with automated machine-to-machine transactions has reduced errors, increased efficiencies, and provided the procurement team with real-time insights across the supply chain for more informed decisions.

Global Business Transformation from E-Invoicing

E-invoicing is yet another advancement slated to leave legacy tax collection behind. In an survey, 61% of tax professionals agreed that e-invoicing will have a significant impact on their tax management process in the next 24 months. Researchers expect e-invoicing β€œto fuse compliance and invoice management into one extended process…as VAT and GST (goods and services tax) protocols grow…This essentially means that every company conducting business in the global market will have to interact with these e-invoicing protocols.” It’s no wonder that e-invoicing mandates are spreading rapidly as countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore adopt the EU model, adapting requirements to their specific needs.Β 

E-Invoicing Boosts Sustainability

Much more than surface automation measures, e-invoicing also contributes to what the calls the twin transition, meaning digital and green transformation. After all, when companies use less physical material such as paper, printing, and postage, along with fewer resources routing and archiving data, they can save energy.

β€œBuyers can quickly process information and data contained in electronic invoices and feed them directly into a company’s payment and accounting systems,” Yao said. β€œOur ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network customers find that procurement teams spend less time retrieving information and more time modeling strategic decisions. They can easily collaborate between internal groups and external suppliers, reducing inquiries and speeding up approvals while improving compliance.”

Broadened Positive Impact of Digitalization

Although e-invoicing is a government mandate in a growing number of countries, leaders in many organizations have realized that digitalization has broader business benefits. analysts predict that by mid-2025, 70% of global businesses will use embedded financing to collect and make payments. This includes services like invoice transmissions.

β€œDigitalization gives both buyers and suppliers transparency to see e-invoice status, saving time and improving efficiencies,” Yao said. β€œHaving immediate visibility to relevant procurement data in one dashboard, accounts payable teams can make the most of early-payment discounts and better manage working capital. This also improves cash flow for suppliers who receive timely payments. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is committed to help companies manage procurement end-to-end, including e-invoicing to meet country-specific mandates, and build trading partner relationships for business growth.”

Susan Galer is a communications director at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. Follow her @smgaler.

A total workforce management strategy allows businesses to keep the whole workforce in focus for increased agility, productivity, and bottom-line impact.  

OG&E’s experience with contingent and contract labor is unique. Despite the 121 years under its belt, OG&E has embraced the changing landscape of employment with open arms. For over 25 years, OG&E has been utilizing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions, including for over a decade. Together with the HR solutions of , ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions – a comprehensive vendor management portfolio for external labor – help pave the way for the successful workforce management of permanent and contingent and contract labor.Β 

The challenge lies in determining which positions to fill with contingent workers or profile workers, a process OG&E has mastered over the years. The decision hinges on the specific skills required and the immediacy and duration of the need. This flexible approach has enabled OG&E to successfully bring in workers with diverse profiles for various projects, such as its recent ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite implementation project.

Ownership of this process is shared between the departments of HR, the business units, and procurement, reflecting a trend observed across various organizations. A study conducted in 2022 revealed that HR was responsible for external worker functions about 51% of the time.* This is a testament to the rising importance of contingent and profile workers and the need for HR to engage them effectively.

However, this process isn’t without its complexities, necessitating collaboration between HR and procurement. Issues such as rate cards and other procurement-specific processes require strong cooperation between the two functions.  

Previously, a lack of comprehensive understanding about OG&E’s workforce made everyday HR and finance decisions increasingly challenging. The management of contingent workers through ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions was handled by a third party. However, the transition to internal management provided more visibility.  

This has empowered OG&E to make more informed decisions. For example, OG&E had 10 excellent candidates from different suppliers for a position, two of which came at a significantly higher cost. Recognizing the value of the other eight candidates, it challenged the high markup, resulting in one supplier lowering its rate. This type of negotiation was previously not possible for OG&E due to the lack of visibility, but now it’s an integral part of the process. 

In contrast, Brightspeed, a company that has recently started out, is managing a dynamic workforce of  4,200 employees and almost as many contractors. Its mission? To lay high-speed fiber in the South and Midwest of the United States. Alongside this, it also had a recent divestiture from Lumen, with hundreds of inherited applications and a fresh contingent workforce.

But its workforce needs are ever-evolving. With a contingent workforce that ebbs and flows according to the company’s needs, Brightspeed is flexible and can adapt, from field workers laying fiber to IT specialists building new applications.

Brightspeed utilized ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s suite of applications to help streamline its operations post-divestiture. Lumen had already implemented ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors solutions and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions, so Brightspeed decided to create a seamless transition and continue to use these solutions. The suite it uses now includes ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA.

The ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass portfolio is used to help manage contingent workers. Within this context, Brightspeed’s managed service provider plays a crucial role. It liaises with the hiring manager, handles candidate selection, and ultimately delivers the temporary worker in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions. These workers are then trained in compliance and technical procedures, with all the information interfaced back into ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors Learning. From an ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA perspective, cost center project activities and other elements are pushed out to its time system and raw time is imported to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA, capturing millions of dollars in project cost every pay period.

However, the journey wasn’t without its challenges. As a young company, Brightspeed had a massive task ahead of it in getting these systems up and running in just 10 months. The team successfully navigated this initial hurdle, but soon realized it hadn’t fully prepared for the post-go-live period due to the compressed implementation period. This led to a challenging few months, as it scrambled to train personnel and resolve system errors. Despite this, the team has since stabilized operations.

As these examples show, the role of contingent and profile workers is evolving and becoming increasingly integral to the success of organizations. They are no longer just field workers but are being relied upon for specific skill sets. This allows companies like Brightspeed and OG&E to stay agile, adapt to business needs, and manage their contingent and profile workers as well as their permanent employees.

A , when done right, can leverage the full potential of a diverse workforce and make companies more agile. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors solutions and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions can work together to help create and manage a dynamic, flexible workforce that can easily adapt. The experiences of OG&E and Brightspeed highlight the importance of strategic planning and the effective use of technological tools in managing the workforce.

Andrea Domhardt is part of Product Marketing for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors.

*β€œWorkforce Solutions Buyer Survey 2022, Americas,β€œ Staffing Industry Analysts, 2022.

That’s why we’ve 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’s critical to get the job done, and protect your bottom line – whether you’re simplifying expense, travel, and accounts payable processes, or finding the right talent to ensure your company’s profitability.

With our core commitment to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI, we are focused on applying generative AI technology to all categories of spend. Like my colleague says, we’re β€œdriving efficiency, quality, and insight into processes that cut across spend management.” Here are we’re hard at work on.

Our spend management and business network solutions continue evolving and improving with time – and 2024 will be no different. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management is now a reality. With its advanced analytics, AI-driven insights, and integrated frameworks and tools, users of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’s only right to brag about all the customer love we’ve been receiving. Words of affirmation is our love language.

• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass is the .
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba is the .
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur is the in Expense, Travel & Expense, and Invoicing.

To top it off, , , and swept the 2023Β β€œBest Of” 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 RatedΒ in Procurement, Expense Management, and Supply Chain Management.
• is Top Rated in Expense Management, Travel Management, and Accounts Payable.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Recognized by IDC MarketScape

I am also thrilled to announce that ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ was positioned as a Leader in theΒ IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Multi-Enterprise Supply Chain Commerce Network 2023 Vendor Assessment.*

According to the assessment report, β€œ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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.”

The report highlights these ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ ERP, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ procurement modules, and other applications (other ERP, SCAM, and customer applications) and technologies (machine learning, AI, blockchain) through ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’s 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’s most trusted connector of people, devices, and machines. Read how it to deliver a modernized, connected colleague experience.

Register for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur Fusion

If you’re lucky enough to attend this year, don’t miss my colleague Etosha Thurman, chief marketing & solutions officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network, presenting in the keynote. She will be demonstrating transformative AI in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur travel, expense, and invoicing solutions, and how we’re creating a world where travel and expenses can practically manage themselves.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

*Source: β€œ,” by Simon Ellis, December 2023, IDC #US49948423.

This is our long-standing strategy, and we have no plans to change something that clearly benefits our customers. No one knows this space better than ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. The introduction of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions more than 25 years ago revolutionized procurement processes for businesses. We’ve taken the investment, innovation, and integration across our product line to deliver a complete portfolio of solutions. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba is the future of procurement, and everything procurement at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is now ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ also understands that what works for one business, one industry, or one geography, may not play in another. Businesses need to choose the right source-to-pay solution partner – with a platform and ecosystem poised to ensure their procurement teams have the tools and actionable data they need to succeed in their increasingly essential and strategic roles.

As we’ve listened to our customers and the market, here is what they have told us are their critical requirements:

• The ability to see and analyze spend across all categories
• Intelligence-driven category management that leverages analytics, spend data, and market intelligence
• Robust contract management functionality
• Automated management of external labor and services
• Practical AI use cases that drive efficiency across the procurement process

Within the source-to-pay landscape, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ delivers integrated solutions to help manage all forms of spend. Our solutions comprise a full suite of enterprise-level functionality spanning sourcing, category management, buying and invoicing, services procurement, supplier relationship management, contract management, and spend analytics. Additionally, we enable businesses to connect with suppliers across 190 countries via ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network.

As you evaluate source-to-pay solution partners, consider the following:

• The source-to-pay landscape is changing quickly. Stay current. Today, everyone’s perspective on the source-to-pay technology landscape is vastly different than it was even half a year ago. Be mindful of how your business is evolving, and assess providers based on how their vision and road map align with your future needs.
• β€œBest of breed” doesn’t always mean β€œbest for your business.” ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has demonstrated that in addition to the breadth of our solutions for source to pay, we can enable businesses to address their global requirements, handle high transaction volumes, and integrate into many back-end ERP systems.
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s ecosystem of partners enables us to deliver advanced functionality to our customers. We remain committed to ongoing development of core, native capabilities across our source-to-pay portfolio. At the same, our strategy is to augment this development in some areas with innovation and advanced functionality through partners. This allows us to add significant value rapidly for our customers.
• Having access to a global network of suppliers is a game changer. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, which can extend the source-to-pay process beyond the walls of any business, can give our customers unmatched access to a global marketplace of trading partners. In 2023, annual commerce on the network reached US$5.3T, with 746M B2B transactions.

Five Ways ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Is Addressing Customers’ Strategic Needs

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has demonstrated its ability to balance product modernization, innovation, and our larger vision to enhance procurement capabilities in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA with delivery of cutting-edge innovations that benefit our customers. Here’s how we’re addressing the critical requirements mentioned earlier.

The Ability to See and Analyze Spend Across All Categories

In our conversations with customers all over the world, this is one of their top asks. They are also asking for greater visibility into spend that impacts their sustainability goals.

Last fall we unveiled ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower, which offers advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ cloud ERP solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions. Visibility into data from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, and non-·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions is also on our road map. This can enable businesses to uncover cost-saving opportunities and process improvements. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower is expected to be available in the second half of 2024. .

Intelligence-Driven Category Management

In our and research with Economist Impact, category management was ranked as a top driver of digital transformation in procurement. Driven by this and our extensive market analysis, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ released the solution last summer, empowering businesses to realize better results in this critical area.

The solution can streamline category strategy development, execution, and monitoring at scale. Additionally, it can enable organizations to optimize source-to-settle processes with embedded analytics enriched with spend data and market intelligence. .

Robust Contract Management Functionality

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ understands the importance of balancing risk and profitability within source to pay. To provide the additional advanced contract management capabilities our customers need, we entered into an expanded partnership with Icertis in 2022. This partnership helps ensure a joint product road map and deeper technological integration between ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and Icertis solutions.

For ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customers, integration with Icertis Contract Intelligence can allow them access to best-in-class innovations such as smart authoring, AI-assisted risk identification, obligation management, contract-driven insights for decision support, and the ability to have one contracting system for both sales and procurement – a capability no other source-to-pay solution offers.

Based on user evaluations, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions received these leader badges from .

Automated Management of External Labor and Services

Sometimes overlooked within the source-to-pay discussion is services procurement. That’s changing. A 2023 report said 72% of enterprises plan to focus more extensively on ROI in their services procurement and statement-of-work management activities. The goal is to manage external labor and services strategically, applying the same process rigor there as with any other procurement category.

solutions can enable you to transform how you find, engage, and manage contingent workers and services providers to maximize business value.

Practical AI Use Cases

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is embedding AI throughout the spend management process to help eliminate the mundane and elevate the strategic. Current use cases range from auto-complete and recommendation engines leveraging traditional AI and machine learning, to generative AI functions that can automate complex procurement processes. In 2024, we will continue to develop ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI use cases that help drive efficiency across spend management processes. .

In the Words of Our Customers…

More confirmation that ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s source-to-pay strategy is sound can be seen in the results we’re delivering for our customers. Here’s what they’re saying:

β€œ[·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba] has no comparison in the market. No other software is even close. Best part is, once our supply chain executives get using it, they simply fall in love with it…Savings are immense.”

, via TrustRadius

β€œ[·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba] stacks up by being a great, user-friendly platform that is easy to use.”

, via TrustRadius

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sweeps the 2023 TrustRadius β€œBest Of” Awards

Each year, TrustRadius issues awards to vendors who provide the best offerings in their category. In 2023, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions won all four awards based on customer satisfaction ratings.

Leaning In to Our Source-to-Pay Strategy

As we’ve seen in the input from our customers, as well as assessments from analyst organizations like IDC, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s source-to-pay strategy is producing solutions that help businesses run better. And that is ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s mission, plain and simple. In 2024, we’ll lean in to deliver solutions and innovations that continue to outpace the competition across the source-to-pay technology landscape.

Baber Farooq is senior vice president and head of Market Strategy for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Procurement Solutions.
Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president, chief product officer, and head of Engineering for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Procurement.

β€œOne of the biggest challenges I faced was the age-old problem of gender discrimination,” ThomΓ© recalled years later. She is one of many women driven to lead businesses that reflect their life passions.

Like other entrepreneurial women, she needed support. But where are the networks to help women turn their passions into successful businesses? ThomΓ© found her network in an ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customer. connects women-owned businesses to qualified buyers around the world. As a result of becoming WEConnect International certified – and a lot of hard work by ThomΓ© and her team – Projex Engenharia’s revenue grew by a staggering 200% in just two years.

Many Challenges, Huge Potential Impact

Women who start and lead businesses face unique challenges. Cultural and social norms, or simply being underestimated by investors, can impede their entrepreneurial efforts. observes that β€œwomen are massively under-represented among both venture-backed entrepreneurs and VC investors.” It adds that companies founded solely by women receive  of all venture capital investments.

Also, the pandemic exacerbated the imbalance in unpaid care work – managing the household or caring for children and aging parents – which disproportionally affects women in business.

Women must also deal with the challenges other businesses face, including access to markets, information technology gaps, and the red tape involved with government programs designed to help new businesses.

Yet despite these challenges, women-owned and women-led businesses offer the potential to make a significant impact on the global economy. The observed that “societies with greater gender equality not only offer better socioeconomic opportunities for women, but also tend to grow faster and more equitably.”

The WEF also reports that advancing women’s employment .

Yet despite a clear business case, the WEF sees global progress stagnating.

Who Has the Power to Drive Change? All of Us.

Traditionally, the procurement function within larger organizations has held the power to fill supply chain gaps and build networks of suppliers. Yet today, other voices are making themselves heard. Consumers are expressing preferences to buy from women and other diverse businesses. Around the world – for example in the United States, Australia, and Canada – government regulations are requiring increased diversity and inclusion.

Additionally, the C-suite is reframing corporate policy to reflect more sophisticated approaches to selecting suppliers. In my role as customer officer, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend & Business Network, I see business leaders prioritizing inclusive sourcing metrics within their procurement strategies to help ensure they have access to all the world’s best suppliers, not just the ones they always buy from.

Concerned about supply chain risks, procurement leaders are increasingly adopting localization strategies. While seeking new local suppliers, they also focus on inclusive sourcing. Of course, finding diverse suppliers is not easy – even local ones. Many women-owned businesses are small entities, not well-known in the business community. They often lack access to communication technology that would help them create greater visibility for the business.

How can we make it easier to connect enterprise buyers and women-owned businesses?

Creating Connections with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Technology

As president, CEO, and co-founder of , Elizabeth Vazquez is a leader in women’s economic empowerment and global supplier diversity and inclusion. Through WEConnect International, she helps women around the world grow their businesses to create wealth, hire more people, and contribute to the prosperity of their communities.

Last week, she participated in panel discussions during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The discussions focused on opportunities to direct more corporate spend to women-owned businesses, not only to do good but to close supply chain gaps.

β€œWomen-owned businesses are a valuable and under-utilized resource,” she said. β€œThe women who run these businesses understand what their communities need most, and they are in a unique position to help solve them. In the process, they are creating entirely new industries.”

WEConnect International recognizes that to compete in the global marketplace, women-owned businesses must be visible to potential customers. It developed the WECommunity platform, a global register of women-owned businesses that makes it easier for buyers to find women-owned suppliers.

Unfortunately, the initial version of WECommunity relied on technology that delivered a poor user experience, making searching the register cumbersome. WEConnect International needed a scalable, global solution that offered smooth user experiences in multiple languages for buyers and suppliers.

The solution and more than met these criteria. As an added advantage, many of the WECommunity member buyers were already transacting on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partner Premikati Inc., a women-owned business, was engaged to help deploy the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions.

In its first year, the improved functionality of WECommunity produced dramatic outcomes:

• Buyer membership increased by 91%, a $2 trillion increase in purchasing power.
• Over 6,000 women-owned businesses experienced revenue growth, creating 24,000 new jobs.
• Over 7,800 new registered women-owned businesses joined the database, a 95% growth.

β€œBy making it easier for women to register their businesses and for large buyers to find them, our online portal based on the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance solution, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform helps women compete in a global marketplace,” Vazquez explained.

Breaking Through the Barriers

Remember ThomΓ©, the teenage girl who wanted to work in her father’s construction business? Today, she is owner-director of Projex Engenharia, the business her father founded.

, Projex Engenharia earned the WEConnect International Women’s Business Enterprise Certification. ThomΓ© leveraged the global network of women suppliers and large buyers to become a more confident and assertive leader.

The relationship has also helped produce significant benefits for her business. In just six years, Projex Engenharia landed six large corporations as clients. This enabled the company to hire more people, ensure their safety and well-being, and support social, health, and environmental campaigns.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is committed to helping all customers achieve their diversity and equity goals. And it is gratifying to know that our technology has become a valuable tool in making this happen.

Megan O’Connor is customer officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend & Business Network.

It was also the year when business leaders worldwide decided enough is enough. They began taking steps to future proof their supply chains. And we can’t forget that 2023 was the year when generative AI came to dominate every conversation about technology.

Now it’s time to look ahead. Where will world events, business developments, and technology innovations take spend management in 2024? What strategies and technology will business leaders employ to bring greater resilience and efficiency to their supply chains?

Here are predictions for 2024, from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s intelligent spend and business network leaders.

β€œIn 2023, generative AI was like a bolt of lightning that compelled every business and technology leader to sit up and take notice. We’re no longer asking if businesses will adopt AI technology, but rather how quickly they can deploy it and realize its benefits. In 2024, businesses leaders will look beyond the industry buzz for solutions that deliver real-life, AI-based use cases. They’ll also see firsthand that AI is only as effective as the quality and availability of data. With the huge number of data and transactions running through our and , ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is uniquely positioned to help organizations access the data they need, visualize it, and take decisive action to drive their success.”

– , President and Chief Product Officer,
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network,
and General Manager for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network

β€œAs we enter 2024, procurement organizations will continue to focus on cost containment and supply continuity in order to bring value to their businesses. These have traditionally been the primary value drivers and, in today’s economic environment, I see this continuing. The opportunity will be maintaining the expanded voice earned with stakeholders during the volatile, crisis-riddled past few years, given the resurgence of hyper focus on cost containment. I believe that the scope of procurement will not contract back to a sole focus on supply stability and cost containment. In fact, I think procurement’s remit will continue to evolve to lead broader supply chain risk management, given the growing variety and number of risks faced such as geopolitical tensions, sustainability expectations, the need for more diverse sources of supply, and lingering labor availability concerns. The challenge facing procurement will be how to tackle all of this successfully. What we’ll see is the use of innovation like generative AI, spend analysis, and category management solutions to not only provide relevant, real-time business insights, but, importantly, to increase the efficiency and productivity of procurement teams, giving more capacity to focus on the strategic work stakeholders now expect.”

– , Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

β€œThe more things change, the more they stay the same. Or do they? Last year we were talking about how businesses needed to grapple with economic, political, and environmental uncertainty. That hasn’t changed. What’s different is how quickly new strategies and technologies have emerged to help businesses deal with these challenges. In 2024, I expect business leaders to continue pursuing supply chain resilience and to look for solutions such as AI that enable them to make big leaps. There will also be a continued focus on cost savings. With economic concerns looming as central banks raise funds rates to counter inflation, I foresee leaders being asked to deliver higher margins for their enterprises. To do this, traditional cost-focused sourcing and procurement cost compliance will be essential.”

– , Chief Revenue Officer,
Intelligent Spend and Business Network, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

β€œAs enterprises continue on their journey to digitalize procurement processes, the need for an even more intuitive user experience will increase. Procurement professionals are looking for ways to spend more time on value-adding tasks and are looking to generative AI and analytics to support them at the point of decision. Moving into 2024 and beyond, we expect the demand for these technologies to increase, as well as for new use cases to arise. At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, we are already evaluating further ways to embed generative AI and analytics into solutions throughout our ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba portfolio to help make our customers’ business lives easier than ever.”

– , SVP, Chief Product Officer,
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Procurement Solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

β€œAs technology evolves, pragmatic business leaders are looking for ways to leverage these new developments to help streamline and simplify their processes. Managing a workforce that can be comprised of up to 40% external workers demands tools that can simplify the user experience and offer broad visibility to both external and full-time workers. I predict that in 2024 we will see more organizations lean into total workforce management strategies to address this need for greater visibility across full-time and external workers, allowing businesses to align the skills they have with the work they need to complete. Along with a more holistic approach to managing their workforce, these same companies can leverage innovative AI tools designed to offer efficiencies and improve the user experience. In 2024, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass customers will be able to leverage powerful AI tools, including AI-enhanced statement of work creation, translation capabilities, and our new powered by generative AI. These offerings are just the beginning, with many more use cases to come.”

– , Chief Technology Officer,
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass Solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

β€œIn my conversations with customers and prospects about their plans for 2024, they consistently voice concerns about supply chain disruption and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, most seem to appreciate that artificial intelligence is vital to maintaining their competitive edge, yet many are unsure how to distinguish the actual value from the ample hype. In 2024, we will see more of the value that AI can deliver to organizations with capabilities to support their value chains. These include generative and predictive AI capabilities to help forecast disruptions, recommend alternate sources of raw materials, detect errors in invoices, extract pertinent data from requests for information, predict shipment and delivery times, and complete catalogue details. Trading partners need the ability to enter into additional collaborative relationships, such as those between buyers and suppliers spanning ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration and material traceability and freight collaboration solutions. Also in 2024, we see network convergence taking center stage to give organizations a shared onboarding experience across all network applications, as well as a set of common data federation services to support data residency requirements.”

– , Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, 
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network

β€œIn 2024, generative AI will deliver trillions in economic benefits. It will help companies realize greater top-line growth, be more productive, and safeguard supply chains. At the same time, resiliency will continue to be a major focus. The combination of AI and business networks will drive game-changing resiliency and productivity by facilitating improved demand forecasting and more efficient inventory management. These technologies will empower businesses to respond proactively to market changes, allowing them to source new suppliers quickly. In times of supply chain disruptions or demand surges, the nimblest companies will benefit most. Business networks will help them anticipate challenges with real-time information sharing and enhanced supply chain visibility. And there’s more good news for midmarket and smaller companies: as enterprise adoption of these technologies may begin to lag behind due to complex and unique use cases, segments like the midmarket and smaller companies will start to gain the competitive edge, building more resilient, predictable, and sustainable supply chains at scale.”

– , Global Head, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network
Customer Success and Go-to-Market, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

β€œWe’ll see business digitalization efforts go a level deeper – and become substantially more integrated – in 2024. Continued adoption of AI, automation, and virtual forms of payment will drive streamlined processes in travel, expense, and invoice. Instead of using a company credit card, employees will be able to expand their use of virtual payments for all business expenses, including travel. In turn, we’ll start to see two types of transactions emerge: trusted and exceptions. Most transactions will use trusted payment methods, and AI will quickly validate them as compliant, enabling near-immediate reimbursement. Exceptions will trigger AI-driven, automated audits to ensure compliance. In both cases, payments will be issued faster with more ease, and employees will have more time to focus on what matters most to them and the organization.”

– , Head of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur Market Strategy,
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur

“After another year of significant disruption caused by economic and geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain optimization has risen up the agenda as companies seek to better manage their working capital. Embedded finance has emerged as a solution, promising to reshape the way we do business and interact. Embedded finance has the power to expedite transactions, facilitate financing between trading partners, and lower trade barriers. By harnessing embedded finance, companies have the potential to optimize processes and access financing solutions seamlessly through B2B platforms. Ultimately, this will result in more streamlined payments, faster credit decisions, and expanded access to working capital.”

– , Chief Product Officer, Taulia

β€œAs organizations, especially midmarket companies, continue to navigate today’s dynamic business environment, they are realizing the need to work with solution partners to create more value for their customers and themselves. A strong relationship between organizations and their partner ecosystems is critical to success, and I expect we will continue to see more businesses, both large and small, looking to establish these relationships. With the cost of managing sustainable supply chains continuing to increase, companies should turn to their partner ecosystems to leverage their expertise, skills, and services. This approach can help unify a company’s operations to provide a greater experience for its buyers and sellers, enabling stronger collaboration, greater visibility and transparency, risk mitigation, and more efficient operations.”

– , Head of Intelligent Spend and
Business Network Partner Ecosystem, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

One More Prediction

Recent times have shown that unexpected disruptions aren’t the only reason businesses struggle in times of crisis. It’s also about their readiness to deal with disruption, to adapt, and to come out stronger when the crisis subsides. Many business leaders have learned this lesson. They’re taking action to ensure – to the best of their ability – that their businesses are prepared for what comes next.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. Sometimes it feels like we need a crystal ball to see into the future. Or, to use a more common term, we need β€œvisibility.” Visibility into market trends. Visibility into world events. Visibility into every corner of the supply chain.

Here’s a prediction you can take to the bank: in 2024, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ will continue to design and deliver and solutions that can drive efficiency, leverage AI in ways that are relevant, reliable, and responsible, and create greater visibility for every size business.

Mike Conners is a communications specialist for the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Management Communications team.

Based on an IDC analysis and customer feedback, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has been positioned in the Leaders Category of the .*

For those of us at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ who have been working to deliver that help organizations work more strategically and efficiently, this is another milestone as we continue to advance up the leader board. More significantly, it is gratifying to know that this positioning is not just based on the IDC MarketScape’s detailed examination of our solutions. It’s also based on the word of our customers.

According to the IDC MarketScape’s assessment report, β€œ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba is a mature, established, and trusted brand…users expressed that the integration with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ ERP and SCM products is a compelling feature.”

The report highlights these ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ strengths:

• Integrated sourcing functionality leverages capabilities across spend analytics, supplier identification, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, analytics/reporting dashboards, and contract management to serve as a “force multiplier” and provides a view to total cost impact of sourcing decisions.
• Milestone/project view extends functionality beyond simple sourcing events and provides all impacted stakeholders with the ability to follow progress, achieve milestones, assess the sourcing strategy, and provide input.
• Complex sourcing capabilities are strong, providing the ability to plan and execute large and compliant global sourcing events that come with a myriad of deliverables and complex pricing. Client references noted and appreciated the ability to scale and support sourcing events often involving many thousands of line items.

The IDC MarketScape report says, β€œConsider ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ when you need a trusted, enterprise-grade sourcing application that can be utilized for large, complex, and global sourcing activities while also leveraging the capabilities of the full ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions.”

Continuing Our Commitment to Customer-Focused Innovation

I believe one of the reasons ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ continues to advance its leadership position is our commitment to steady innovation. However, this is not just innovation for innovation’s sake. We carefully study the day-to-day role that sourcing and procurement professionals play today and, importantly, how that role is evolving. With these insights, we build solutions that are designed to help sourcing and procurement teams play an increasingly valuable role within their organizations.

In just the past year, we have introduced a slew of innovations:

• empowers category managers to use data insights strategically to help identify trends, develop and implement strategies, and evaluate success relative to tangible business metrics. Just a few weeks ago at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect, we announced enhancements to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management with the power of generative AI to help procurement professionals build comprehensive and effective category strategies faster. We also highlighted Joule, which will be embedded across the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ portfolio and available in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Management solutions in 2024. Integration with large language models through ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI empowers procurement professionals to jump-start category strategy development and planning. Generative AI enables us to enhance our market analysis tool, offering valuable, visual insights into supply and demand, risk, opportunity, and top suppliers. .
• The next evolution of the guided buying capability in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions provides a personalized buying experience for today’s professional and casual buyers. It leverages AI to offer suggestions for specific work roles, and intelligent recommendations to help weigh the sustainability and environmental impact of a purchase. Much of this functionality is available today with more to come in future releases. .
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower delivers comprehensive spend analysis capabilities. To make it easier for procurement professionals to make timely, informed decisions, new dashboards in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Buying embed near real-time insights where they are most useful — within key process workflows. These capabilities are available today and built on a new architecture that helps create the foundation for future innovation. Beginning in the first quarter of 2024, can help uncover cost-saving opportunities with advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend — in cloud ERP, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions.
• With risk-aware procurement with AI-infused risk assessment in source-to-settle solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has embedded AI-powered supplier risk assessment capabilities into its source-to-settle solutions to help business users make smarter decisions faster. This can make it possible to assess risk profiles within the sourcing, contracting, and buying solutions as an integral part of these processes to determine third-party risk. Supplier risk assessment capabilities are available today in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Contracts, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Buying.
• Supporting the future of supplier management, at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live we provided a sneak preview of a feature we refer to as “the new supplier 360,” which can deliver instant access to risk data, AI-powered sustainability information, and operational evaluation to help track metrics like price variance. .

Want to read more about these innovations? Check out our announcement from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live 2023 that provides additional detail.

Why ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is a Leader

With our steady stream of innovations designed to help businesses solve their biggest sourcing challenges, I am not surprised that ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is once again a Leader in the . Of course, we don’t intend to stop here.

Looking ahead, we know that sourcing professionals are looking for an intuitive user experience that allows them to focus on strategic, value-added tasks. And as we have seen recently, they are eager to use generative AI, analytics, and to support them.

Of course, AI is only as effective as the quality and availability of data. A huge amount of data and transactions run through ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s and . This makes us uniquely qualified to help organizations — large and small — access the data they need, interpret it, and take decisive action.

As we have already shown, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is in the best position to deliver the broad-based use cases that businesses will need to stay competitive as conditions evolve.

Baber Farooq is senior vice president and head of Market Strategy for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Procurement Solutions.

*β€œIDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Sourcing Applications 2023 Vendor Assessment” November 2023, IDC #US51215923e

However, with increasing importance comes new challenges. Companies also need to be concerned about risks that can result from not knowing enough about their supply chains. To avoid this, companies need to make their supply chain more resilient, requiring more visibility and transparency. This includes sharing information up and down the supply chain with partners about such things as supply and demand fluctuations, capacity constraints, and sustainability data around emissions, waste, and the health and safety of employees.

Let’s take sustainability, for example. In the past, the supplier selection and sourcing criteria for indirect and direct materials were more focused on price, quality, and delivery accuracy. Now, as more sustainability regulations emerge, the procurement function has turned into a strategic operation that is responsible for monitoring carbon emissions, waste, and other important sustainability factors.

We see a trend where CPOs and CFOs model sustainability costs into their systems and supply chains, which can lead to a renewed sourcing process where established suppliers might be replaced with ones that can fulfill new sustainability criteria and requirements. As such, midmarket companies operate with constrained resources and a more localized approach than their multinational competitors, so they often depend on partners to manage relationships with customers.

How ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s Partner Ecosystem Can Help

Generally, supply chains are often global, while suppliers and buyers are more localized. Given this, they require further assistance and understanding of a global supply chain. The ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partner ecosystem provides a unique combination of global partners that can manage global rollouts and business services for their clients while also providing local champions that understand local conditions best. Even if clients are local and need to provide global services, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s partner-to-partner framework can provide global or regional coverage for local clients that require rollouts in multiple countries.

For instance, the ecosystem offers a crucial link to local customers, working as an extension of companies to help them find the right solution for their needs and offering a blend of expertise, such as overcoming potential language barriers or navigating local regulations.

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, we’ve put an increased emphasis on serving midmarket companies with partner-driven solutions. With programs like Boost Your Core and Spend Management for Midmarket Companies, the midmarket has become our fastest growth area in the whole of intelligent spend and business network, growing more than 50% quarter-over-quarter.

But more importantly, the partner ecosystem for midmarket is growing even faster at over 70%, underlining the importance of partners for midmarket operations.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ offers powerful software and tools for businesses, but a strong partner ecosystem is crucial for tailoring those tools to the unique needs of each company. Partners can build customized solutions on top of the tools we provide, creating niche opportunities and use cases that can attract customers, which is especially helpful in a localized environment.

The offers businesses four specific models: , , , and . Each one allows midmarket companies to use ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s leading technology in conjunction with a partner’s unique IP to help grow their business. They can even group to earn a seal of approval that could further expand their customer base.

That’s where a solution like can also help. It offers businesses the visibility and transparency to help ensure delivery to the right customer at the right time, working to eliminate siloed processes to better collaborate with partners. This additional layer of insight can help midmarket companies make informed decisions to help prevent materials shortages, work stoppages, or demand fluctuations. And by allowing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partners to manage the end-to-end relationship, companies can ensure that they’re getting the guidance and expertise that can help them continue to grow.

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, midmarket companies face unique challenges when it comes to procurement and supply chain management. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s emphasis on serving midmarket companies with partner-driven solutions has led to significant growth in this sector, highlighting the importance of partnerships in driving success.

With powerful software, customizable solutions, and comprehensive support from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and its partners, midmarket companies can navigate complexities with confidence, ensuring their operations run smoothly to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

Claus Gruenewald is head of Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Ecosystem at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Having so many brilliant customers, partners, and colleagues in the same place at the same time is incredibly special. What’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live, we showed how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is infusing generative AI technology into our suite of spend management solutions. This includes , which became generally available to customers in August.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI, it can empower procurement professionals to jump-start category strategy development and planning.

Speaking of new solutions, from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live, an amazing lineup of customers demonstrated the power of effective spend management. I’d 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’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to help rapidly source medicines and medical supplies through a challenging supply chain impacted by war. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’d 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ as its technology centerpiece, we make Merck run better.

We Are Honored

Out of all ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass joined ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’m also thrilled that ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur is this year’s , 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!

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’s on the horizon for intelligent spend management solutions from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’s completely free, so use this resource to your advantage.

Jeff Collier is chief revenue officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

β€œCustomers undergo a cloud transformation because they want to accelerate their time to realize business value and they want to take advantage of innovations faster,” says Rohan Patel, global vice president, Customer Support and Innovation, Product Support – Procurement, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. β€œThat’s what helps them maintain a competitive edge. And they want to do this while decreasing overall cost and minimizing risk.”

This is where from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can add real value. In this conversation, Patel gives insight into how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ support can benefit procurement customers.

Q: How are you supporting procurement customers on their journey to the cloud?

A: Support in the old, on-premise world is what I like to call β€˜break-fix’ support. When something failed, the IT department submitted a ticket for support, the problem was fixed, and communication ended until another issue arose. Being a break-fix support provider doesn’t work in the cloud environment. Support requires speed and foresight. Support today identifies problems and optimizes products before customers even notice something’s not working as it should.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s strategy is predictive and proactive. We want continuous dialogue with customers to provide insights and guidance that are a value-add so we’re there long before something breaks. Success in the cloud requires adoption outside of the traditional IT environment. Business end users and lines of business, like procurement, supply chain, and HR, expect easy-to-use support portals that are intuitive and quickly anticipate user needs.

Can you share some examples of how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is using data to enhance predictive support?

The tools we use not only help us deliver a great experience to our customers, they also continue to improve the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solution itself. Consider the cloud health monitoring tools within , our application lifecycle management solution that helps streamline the way our customers implement and operate their cloud and hybrid environments across the entire business.

These tools can analyze what’s happening at the customer experience layer – for example, how long it takes a specific page to load, how long a user needs to complete a task, and any delays that could frustrate users, hinder adoption, and slow business outcomes. We act proactively at the engineering and cloud operations layer to help continuously improve that user experience.

We also use knowledge and data to improve the support experience, such as with , which has millions of active trading partners. This business-to-business network of companies connecting, transacting, and partnering with numerous shared processes and information expands the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ footprint well beyond the four walls of traditional operations.

Equally important is that our consumers today aren’t just IT support users, but rather work in departments throughout the clients’ operations. We’ve taken steps to help meet the needs of all those different user types. We can provide quick, easy-to-understand guidance and answers to their questions using intuitive, personalized, and real-time channels driven by both humans and artificial intelligence (AI). This recommendation engine can provide guided answers based on who the users are, what they’re doing in the application, or what questions they ask. Users can quickly get useful and relevant content for answering their questions. The data from those guided-answer experiences is then fed into the product road map to help make the entire user experience more optimal and eliminate problems before they happen.

What have procurement customers seen in 2023 from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ support?

Our procurement coverage in 2023 hits two themes: harmonization and Real-Time Support. Let me begin with the harmonization perspective. We’re taking significant steps to create a customer support experience that’s consistent across all ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions – most notably a single entry point to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ support with . ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions went live on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me case management in March 2023, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network will soon follow. The ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for Me portal can give users the information and answers they need, specific to the solution they’re using. Earlier this year, procurement support went live on , where our business and IT users can access blog posts, tips, and connect with experts. Even customers and partners can provide an additional layer of insights and guidance, especially to a specific industry.

This year we have been working to bring our Real-Time Support concept to reality for procurement. When I talk about Real-Time Support, I mean support that is always on, continuously evolves, and adapts to customer needs. This can be direct access to support experts for business-critical processes when and where customers need it. It’s the live support channels such as , Ask an Expert Peer, context-sensitive help, , and AI-driven self-service access to a vast knowledge base and user community.

What do you see in the future of support for procurement?

I envision a day when customers don’t need to see or hear from us because we’re already working behind the scenes to give our customers a seamless, reliable, and delightful experience. The ultimate vision is preventative support with the help of AI and machine learning – in other words, self-healing IT systems.

Of course, there will always be times when customers need us. In those times, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is prepared to offer as simple of a support experience as possible, such as with and direct access to experts or a quick call to solve an issue the moment it occurs. We also continuously look to disrupt ourselves by using new technologies such as ChatGPT to enable self-help or self-guidance and provide the best possible customer experience.

What sets the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ support experience apart in the industry?

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ mindfully takes steps that help give customers the best support experience possible. We can provide a cohesive array of support channels, self-service tools, and cloud health and integration monitoring. Even with these successes in hand, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ will continuously push the boundaries of customer support with new innovations, help ensure support interactions are delightful, and offer Real-Time Support that can bring ambition to life.

Follow Rohan Patel on .

Regina Postman is part of Customer Support and Innovation Communications at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), meanwhile, are accelerating the value that businesses reap from the digital networks through which they engage in commerce, collaboration, and coordinated sustainability efforts with trading partners. As AI reshapes traditional procurement and supply chain processes, its emerging capabilities fall into two primary types: generative and predictive.

Generative AI and Business Networks

Generative AI produces text, images, or other media based on the structure and patterns of the information used to train it. Through large language models and other forms of machine learning, cloud-based applications create new content with characteristics resembling that which precedes it. With every successive effort, generative AI sharpens its ability to tailor desired content.

As the world’s largest platform for business-to-business commerce, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network presents an ideal setting for generative AI, in that it brings together an extremely large volume of trading partners across . Starting in 2024, generative AI capabilities in will help detect errors and present automatic summaries when businesses create invoices. AI will also enable the network to enrich catalog content and discovery posting responses for suppliers. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network has significant structured content accumulated over many years to help generate significant insights to enhance all these processes and unlock ongoing value for buyers and suppliers alike.

But what if AI could help businesses to automate their most time-consuming procurement and supply chain activities, not only through generative mechanisms but predictive ones as well?

Predictive AI and Business Networks

How much strategic value, previously tied up in tactical tasks, could enterprises unleash if business-to-business networks could reliably predict certain operational requirements and execute them autonomously? With the rise of cloud-based, intelligent applications, they’re beginning to find out and, in the process, uncovering substantial efficiencies throughout their operations and those of their trading partners.

These technologies are dramatically simplifying some of the most labor-intensive business processes, from sourcing and purchasing to contracting and payments. Through digital transformation, many businesses have streamlined procurement, supply chain, and logistics processes and spurred collaboration among trading partners. That’s because they’re seeing an increasingly clear connection between embracing intelligent – an approach that draws upon immense repositories of operational data to mitigate risk, yield contextual insights, fund innovation through savings, and extend competitive advantage.

Where are AI-enhanced spend management solutions headed in years to come? Toward systems that can carry out end-to-end procurement, supply chain, and logistics processes within parameters strategically set and overseen by humans. These cloud-based solutions are bringing us closer to an era of autonomous functionality, where AI-enabled applications reveal detailed insights, provide prescriptive recommendations, and unshackle talented procurement professionals from endless administrative burdens.

It is important to note that autonomous functionality does not obviate the need for humans. Quite the contrary! There can be no replacement for the carefully considered judgment of a seasoned business leader. But AI-enabled spend management solutions offer an invaluable set of tools through which human professionals can bolster their effectiveness in evaluating complex alternatives and making decisions with confidence.

The trend toward autonomous procurement, supply chain, and logistics processes represents a journey that different industries and personas will pursue from different directions and at varying speeds, embracing AI to reduce human labor for some activities while augmenting it in others. For example, a business network may anticipate the need to replenish inventory levels based on the rate at which they diminish, initiate sourcing events by inferring information drawn from activities transpiring elsewhere in the value chain, or leverage operational analytics to update trading partners with key performance indicators – all without manual intervention. An autonomous system can even notify suppliers when catalog searches turn up empty, suggesting that new goods be made available.

Yet even as humans relinquish various tactical tasks, they remain very much in charge of the strategic ones. Determining an organization’s approach to spend management, in concert with trading partners, is likely to remain in human hands for the foreseeable future. By contrast, deciding how to meet those needs – and then meeting them – presents a very exciting moment for cloud-based AI solutions. In the future, a user may initiate a process, only later to be informed of subsequent actions taken by the system, requiring human approval for only certain types of decisions. Or a user may employ a set of fully trusted, self-learning, analytical applications. Procurement, supply chain, and logistics professionals remain in control, adjusting their level of intervention per the needs of the business.

As emerging AI applications transform the interconnected operational processes among trading partners, manifesting capabilities both generative and predictive, spend management professionals stand poised to usher in a new era of accelerated growth, operational agility, and enduring competitive advantage for their organizations.

JΓΆrn Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network.

Muhammad Alam’s opening keynote supercharged ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live with the announcement of and how it can help businesses see and analyze their spend across all categories. We also saw how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is using artificial intelligence (AI) to drive scope 3 carbon reporting within total spend management.

On the procurement side, we’ve had so much news to share. This includes demos of ; the ; and Joule, the embedded AI copilot in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing. We also provided a sneak peek at the future of supplier management – we’re referring to as “the new supplier 360” that can deliver instant access to risk data, AI-powered sustainability information, and operational evaluation to help track metrics like price variance.

We put the world on notice that ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions are the future of procurement, and that future is already a reality. We’ve taken the investment, innovation, and integration across our product lineup – successes we relived together – to deliver a complete portfolio. Everything procurement at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is now ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba.

Eliminate the Mundane. Elevate the Strategic.

You may have noticed that while others in the market were making noise about AI, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has been relatively quiet. But we’ve been very busy, with many use cases in production today and more on the way.

Our goal is to streamline procurement processes to remove mundane, manual interventions, elevate strategic activities, and accelerate decision-making and approvals. At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live, we announced a series of procurement innovations focused on this goal.

Enhancing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management with the Power of Generative AI and Joule

In August, the new solution became generally available to our customers. It helps empower category managers to use data insights strategically to help identify trends, develop and implement strategies, and evaluate success relative to tangible business metrics.

Now, we are pleased to announce the integration of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Category Management with large language models through ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI. This can empower procurement professionals to jump-start category strategy development and planning.

By harnessing generative AI, we are enhancing our market analysis tool, offering valuable, visual insights into supply and demand, risk, opportunity, and top suppliers. Additionally, we will be simplifying category segmentation, powering up cost structure analysis.

These innovations help streamline content creation, saving category managers weeks of time and expediting strategy development. General availability is planned by the end of 2023, representing a substantial leap in enterprise-level category management efficiency.

Embedding Spend Analysis Capabilities in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Solutions for More Informed Decisions

To make it easier for procurement professionals to make timely, informed decisions, new dashboards in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Buying embed near real-time insights where they’re most useful – within key process workflows.

These capabilities are available today and built on a new architecture that helps create the foundation for future innovation. Advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend – in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ cloud ERP solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions – can help uncover cost-saving opportunities in the new ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower solution beginning in the first quarter 2024.

Delivering Risk-Aware Procurement by Embedding AI-Infused Risk Assessment in Source-to-Settle Solutions

Successfully managing third-party supplier risk often comes down to the ability to answer basic questions accurately. Does the supplier have the ongoing capacity to satisfy the needs of the business? Do they meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards? Are their risk scores in danger of slipping below the acceptable corporate risk standard?

There are software solutions that offer information to answer these questions via dashboards, reporting, and alerts. But this approach can be risky, requiring savvy business users to check the information and assess the risk profiles of suppliers within a specific context. This approach can also waste resources because it allows unqualified suppliers to slip into RFx events, even though they’ll ultimately be eliminated through resource-intensive due diligence.

β€œRisk-aware procurement” refers to the embedding of risk knowledge into source-to-pay decision processes via software solutions. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has embedded AI-powered supplier risk assessment capabilities into its source-to-settle solutions to help business users make smarter decisions faster.

This can make it possible to assess risk profiles within the sourcing, contracting, and buying solutions as an integral part of these processes to determine third-party risk. Supplier risk assessment capabilities are available today in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Contracts, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Buying.

AI-powered supplier risk assessment capabilities within ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions can offer numerous benefits across the procurement process:

• Supplier management: Improved user decision-making throughout supplier lifecycle processes
• Sourcing: Exclusion or warnings when high-risk suppliers are included in sourcing decision-making
• Contracting: Systematic reference risk scoring to include mitigation clauses and activities in authoring and contract signature as needed
• Buying and invoicing: The inclusion of risk workflow if the risk score drops below an acceptable standard

A great example of this activity in action is Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG), the German supply chain act focused on human rights due diligence. With this, information is not only available to support the due diligence activities with suppliers, it also helps business users make natural decisions that help prevent non-compliant activities from occurring systematically.

Continuing to Lead in Procurement Innovation

Of course, the innovations and use cases we demonstrated at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live are just the tip of the iceberg. The coming year promises to be just as exciting, as we continue to roll out new features and capabilities to enhance our comprehensive set of procurement solutions.

We hope you will be along for the ride!

Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president, chief product officer, and head of Engineering for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Procurement.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global LoB Partner Excellence Awards are a partner recognition program focusing on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s strategic business priorities for the following lines of business: ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Customer Experience, and Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Awards select finalists and winners for their valuable contributions in realizing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s vision for cloud growth based on data and key performance indicators.

Winners and Finalists

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Sales Success – Large Enterprise

• Winner: Accenture
• Finalist: Deloitte
• Finalist: PwC

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Sales Success – Midmarket

• Winner: NTT Data
• Finalist: Nitor Partners
• Finalist: Premikati

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Delivery Quality

• Winner: PwC
• Finalist: Accenture
• Finalist: Deloitte

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for Customer Success Management

• Winner: IBM
• Finalist: Accenture
• Finalist: NTT Data

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform Customer Success

• Winner: Stratesys Tecnologias da Informacao
• Finalist: Cordis Solutions Ltd
• Finalist: Thomson Reuters

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Global Intelligent Spend and Business Network Partner Excellence Award 2023 for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass Managed Service Provider

• Winner: Monument Consulting
• Finalist: Allegis Global Solutions
• Finalist: Kelly OCG

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ.  Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
Β© 2023 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE. All rights reserved.
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and other ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

For the past year, Alam, president and chief product officer of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network, and his team have been speaking with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customers, gaining an intimate understanding of their spend management challenges and envisioning solutions to address them. This includes carefully assessing the buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) to separate what is the usual tech hype from the true promise.

They also mobilized their team of spend management-focused developers to deliver the very innovations he was about to unveil. β€œThe bottom line is we deliver more spend management innovation than anyone else in the industry because we have more resources devoted to spend management than everyone else in the industry,” Alam told the audience.

With its β€œmassive force of engineers” and deep commitment at the highest levels of the business, he reminded everyone that ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is singularly focused on helping businesses solve their urgent and critical spend imperatives – whether they are practical or existential. This includes:

• Improving visibility into the supply chain and taking action to counter an ever-changing trade landscape
• Doing business in a socially and environmentally responsible manner
• Finding the right talent, at the right time, for the right job

β€œThe common theme in all of this, of course, is your spend…the biggest lever you have to help your business achieve the results it needs to achieve,” he said.

Applying Generative AI Technology to Spend

As ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live moves forward, there will be a lot of talk about generative AI and how it can help businesses address urgent and critical imperatives. In his keynote, Alam noted that we are seeing a step change around AI – not just in the technology, but also in the willingness of customers to adopt AI to drive strategic transformation across business processes and functions.

But what does Alam consider the underlying promise and purpose of AI? β€œThe ability to harness data to drive insights and make decisions…That is the promise of AI and it’s what’s driving all of the AI the momentum and excitement,” he said. β€œIt’s not a matter of if anymore with AI. It is a matter of when or perhaps how quickly businesses can adopt these technologies and feel the impact.”

With its intelligent spend management solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has made it a mission to enable businesses to use generative AI to harness data for greater insights and decision-making. Which brings us to two of the important innovations Alam announced during his ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live keynote: ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower and 12 new generative AI scenarios to be deployed across the spend management portfolio.

Introducing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower

β€œIn the hundreds of conversations I’ve had with customers in the last year, the No. 1 ask I get from them is the ability to see and analyze their spend across all categories,” Alam said. β€œAnd by β€˜spend’ I mean more than just the financials. Today, spend also means the carbon emissions impact across all categories.”

Then he unveiled , which offers advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend – in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s cloud ERP solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network – to help uncover cost-saving opportunities and process improvements, beginning in the first quarter 2024. Alam said he was also β€œexcited about AI driving scope 3 carbon emissions reporting in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower.”

All of the spend data is rationalized in a unified data model as part of our next-generation data lake, the supplier data platform. Three years in the making, it is the backbone for all of our spend analytics. In addition to fueling ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower, it also enables embedded spend insights in our applications and powers our generative AI innovations.

12 Generative AI Scenarios for Spend Management

Alam noted that each day, individuals spend a significant amount of time doing mundane tasks because they need to be done. These take time and focus away from tasks that are more strategic and of higher value.

β€œGenerative AI has the potential to eliminate the mundane and elevate the strategic in the daily lives of you and your team members,” he said. β€œThis is our moment to unleash productivity gains that have been lacking for years.”

He announced designed to help β€œdrive efficiency, quality, and insight into processes that cut across spend management.” Here’s a high-level view of how these scenarios can help businesses:

• In ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions, they can provide a better understanding of suppliers’ sustainability position, enabling businesses to make the right decisions.
• In ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass solutions, they can make it possible to write better, more comprehensive statements of work (SOW) and job descriptions in seconds versus hours.
• In ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions, they can help users estimate the potential trip cost and better understand travel and expense policies.

Find out more about the new generative AI scenarios .

Virtual Experience

If you were unable to attend ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live in Vienna, you can still take part in our virtual experience on October 24. for details.

Mike Conners is a communications specialist for the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Management Communications team.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Continues to Innovate with Generative AI and Its New Copilot Joule

The newly released will be enhanced with the power of generative AI to help procurement professionals build comprehensive and effective category strategies faster. This capability will help jump-start the market analysis process and offer a suggested category strategy for procurement professionals to refine and execute, saving category managers weeks of valuable time and increasing strategy validity. General availability is planned by the end of 2023. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ will also embed Joule, its new generative AI copilot, throughout its cloud solutions, with availability in its spend management software planned for 2024. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is also developing in collaboration with customers, with availability planned for the first half of 2024. β€œThese are just some of the examples of how we are thoughtfully integrating generative AI technology with our market-leading spend management solutions to help our customers be more productive,” said Muhammad Alam, President and Chief Product Officer, Intelligent Spend and Business Network, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. β€œAs with all of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI solutions, we are developing these new spend management AI innovations with security, privacy, compliance, ethics and accuracy in mind.”

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower to Deliver Comprehensive Spend Analysis Capabilities

The new ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Control Tower solution will include advanced AI features and the ability to see across all spend to help customers uncover cost-saving opportunities and discover process improvements. These capabilities will be available starting in the first quarter of 2024. New dashboards in the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Buying solutions also give customers near real-time information within key process workflows, making it easier for procurement professionals to help make timely, informed decisions. These capabilities are available today and built on a new architecture that creates the foundation for future innovation.

AI-Infused Risk Assessment Embedded in Source-to-Settle Solutions

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has embedded AI-powered supplier risk assessment capabilities into its source-to-settle software to help business users make smarter decisions faster. The new features make risk assessment profiles an integral part of sourcing, contracting and buying solutions, helping users better determine third-party risk. Supplier risk assessment capabilities are available today in the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Contracts and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Buying solutions.

AI-Powered Supplier Discovery from Scoutbee to Integrate with Guided Sourcing

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and GmbH, a leading AI-powered supplier intelligence and discovery platform company, plan to integrate an AI-powered supplier search solution with the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Sourcing solution. solution, called Scoutbee Discovery, quickly identifies suppliers aligned with complex requirements, such as production capacity, quality standards and certifications. Through the integration, short-listed suppliers will be imported automatically into guided sourcing events, enabling sourcing professionals to make decisions with more confidence. The integration will be available in the first quarter of 2024. Scoutbee Discovery complements the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network Discovery solution capabilities to help sourcing professionals quickly find new suppliers that are aligned with their requirements but are outside the network.

Expense Payment Manager Saves Time and Money

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur solutions now offer a new Expense Payment Manager service that offers customers the ability to reimburse employees in more than 25 currencies. A streamlined payment process saves hours, money and headaches in the expense reimbursement process. Contracting directly with third-party payment providers increases flexibility. Expense Payment Manager, which also gives customers the opportunity to select their payment provider, is now generally available.

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.
Β© 2023 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE. All rights reserved.
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and other ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

Personally, I am so excited to attend ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live because it’s an opportunity to continue the conversation we started earlier this year at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire about the innovations that will drive the future of procurement. I also love the chance to connect with our customers in open, in-person discussions.

Along with my keynote appearance and a full slate of customer meetings, I’ll join Daniel Holz from Google Cloud to discuss our partnership in one of the largest Google Cloud platform migrations. Attendees will see a demo of how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and Google are empowering strategic purchasers in supplier management through generative AI.

Continuing our Conversation

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire in May, we showed innovations that are transforming the way businesses do procurement. We introduced the buying 360 capability for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba Buying, the , which provides an updated user experience and can incorporate intelligence into each step of the purchasing process to help make purchases more sustainable, personalized, and predictable. With this next iteration, users can receive targeted suggestions for goods and services based on their role and the organization’s procurement and sustainability policies. This personalized approach helps make procurement more focused and strategic.

We also introduced , which became generally available in August. This solution can empower category managers to use data insights strategically to identify trends, develop and implement strategies, and evaluate success relative to tangible business metrics. Intelligent category management is key to reducing manual processes and focusing energy and resources on strategic initiatives to create and support resilient supply chains.

As we look forward to , you can expect new announcements to take procurement to the next level. Of course, you’d have to be living under a very big rock not to notice the hot topic of the day: artificial intelligence (AI). The release of ChatGPT earlier this year has only supercharged this discussion. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is a leader in providing AI-powered, end-to-end business processes. And now, with the new generation of AI, we can step into the next horizon for business applications.

With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI, transparent, responsible artificial intelligence can help you make every aspect of your business run smoother and more intelligently. We are creating β€œsystems of intelligence” that can enable organizations to preserve their core business processes while also freeing them to adapt, adjust, and uniquely optimize for their needs. With systems of intelligence, processes are self-learning to optimize business outcomes.

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live, we look forward to demonstrating the ways ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ continues to leverage AI to help procurement teams increase productivity and expand on the strategic value they bring to their organizations. Beyond AI, be ready to hear about all the latest ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ innovations during the keynotes and our full slate of learning sessions.

Procurement Session Highlights

We’ve scheduled to bring you up-to-date on the very latest in procurement and our procurement solutions. You’ll hear from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ experts, procurement leaders, and, most importantly, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customers who will share their experiences and best practices.

The sessions will cover many areas of interest – including generative AI, sustainable procurement, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) best practices, and improving supply chain visibility. Of course, we’ll also provide the latest details and demonstrations of new and planned ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ procurement innovations.

Here are some quick links to our procurement sessions:

To date, we’ve scheduled more than 20 sessions where our customers will share their success stories and best practices. Here are a few of my recommendations:

• Pfizer’s Procurement Journey to the Cloud with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½

See the full list of customer success sessions .

Join Us in Vienna!

takes place October 9-11, 2023, at the Messe Wien Congress Center in beautiful Vienna, Austria.

This event is for you. It’s an opportunity to join our community of procurement and supply chain leaders from businesses and industries across the world to share ideas, learn from each other’s success, and discuss best practices.

I look forward to joining you there. Get started by registering .

Salvatore Lombardo is senior vice president, chief product officer, and head of Engineering for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Procurement.

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur, AI technology underpins our core travel, expense, and invoice solutions. It’s also what powers Verify, our self-serve audit service within Concur Expense that can automatically check 100% of expense reports to help identify potential compliance issues. It uses AI and machine learning from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur to tap decades of expense user data that helps identify hard-to-detect spend issues and anomalies.

Verify is a great example of how humans remain an important part of today’s workforce and of how humans plus AI technology can deliver better results than either could independently. Even the most advanced AI systems have gaps. For those, at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur, we augment the technology with a 24/7 team of human auditors to keep accuracy high and false positives low.

Verify Auditors

In the past year, Verify performed over 38 million audit checks on expense reports submitted through Concur Expense. Each month, on average, one-third of expense reports analyzed by Verify are flagged for organizations to review potential errors and policy violations.

Before errors are flagged to organizations, the AI results are validated by a team of Verify auditors. The team represents a special part of our workforce because most of them have some form of hearing loss. Not only has AI created their roles, but as technology becomes more and more accessible, it’s provided valuable career opportunities to the deaf community. We rely on these workers to help ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur drive a strategic part of our innovation strategy to help make auditing easier for Concur Expense customers.

β€œThe Verify auditors are very special to us,” said Tom Olsen, VP of Managed Business Services at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur, who works directly with the team. β€œWe partner with Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) to create a diverse, inclusive, and accessible workplace that includes a sign language interpreter to develop training and work materials, even down to fire safety and emergency plans.”

New Audit Checks

We’re thankful for our team of Verify auditors as well as our customers, whose feedback makes us run our best. As we continue to learn from Verify customers, we’ve recently added 10 checks that can alert customers of potential issues prior to reports being paid. Scenarios include duplicate receipts – even across employees – old dates, personal use of a company card, unreasonable amount, improper merchant category, and more.

These additional checks, inspired by the companies using Verify, help increase the amount of policy variation that can be enforced by the service. It can also help improve the speed to reimbursement by allowing common issues to be identified early in the workflow. Additionally, it can create efficiency for auditors by reducing the need to manually check reports for noncompliance.

That’s not all that’s new. Verify is now generally available for enterprise customers as well.

Tim Lebel is vice president and head of Spend Products at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur.

Through our many conversations, one common theme stands out: how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s 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’t 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’ suppliers’ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 – from 17 days to five days – in the confirmation feedback cycle.
• is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’s leading state corporations, needed to enhance its procurement capabilities to meet regulatory commitments, it adopted ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to leverage the power and scale of the largest procurement network in the world. With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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:

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

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

• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba is Top Rated in the , , and categories.
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Fieldglass is Top Rated in the , , and categories.
• ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur is Top Rated in the ,Μύ, and categories.

What’s more, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Concur has won TrustRadius’ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live

I’d be thrilled if you would join me and our community of procurement, supply chain, and travel and expense professionals at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions can empower us all to reach our corporate goals.

Our keynote speaker is Jim Ridgwick, CPO for (SCI). SCI’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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, β€œWith today’s highly complex and sometimes volatile and disruptive environment, spend management and supply chain professionals’ remit is bigger than ever.” There will be over 100 interactive sessions covering the hottest topics in spend management – and we can’t 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’s been, and I believe the best is yet to come! I am so excited to see many of you at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live in Vienna. Right now, we’re 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

The global supply chain continues to contribute to a significant part of our social and environmental impacts. At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, we are working towards a sustainable supply chain by eliminating single-use plastics, decreasing carbon emissions, enforcing human rights, and closely collaborating with a diverse supplier network – including social enterprises – across our seven procurement categories. As a purpose-driven company, we are always looking for ways to improve through our global procurement organization. Sustainable procurement practices have become one of the key enablers in achieving net-zero targets.

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, we aim to establish a multi-phasedΒ supply chain engagement program by 2024 for our key suppliersΒ to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions along our upstream value chain. The program will incorporate environmental considerations throughout the procurement process by integrating a new sustainability classification system and embedding environmental impact criteria in procurement documentation.

β€œReducing scope 3 emissions is a key factor on the journey to net zero. This is a team effort, and we are happy to collaborate with our business partners on reducing emissions throughout our supply chain,” said Dominik Asam, chief financial officer and member of the Executive Board of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE. β€œWith our supply chain engagement program, we will integrate a new sustainability classification system into our procurement process and embed environmental impact criteria in our procurement documentation.”

We plan to work with our top 100 suppliers to report and record product-level emissions. We aim to have all of our top 100 suppliers report their company-wide emissions and product-level emissions for relevant key products by 2027, allowing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to report emissions based on actuals instead of averages. Standardizing and sharing sustainability data securely provides clarity on exactly who is accountable to reduce emissions. We plan to leverage for CO2 information exchange. This will help increase transparency through the supply chain, so we can mutually act to significantly reduce scope 3 emissions and support ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s 2030 net-zero commitment.

Nikolaus Kirner is chief procurement officer at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a webinar with Ian Lawless and David Rae of , during which we discussed effective talent strategies for this unprecedented period. We touched on the changing workforce, the impact of turbulence, and how procurement can build effective talent strategies for 2023.

Talent is a topic that is close to my heart and one that we are hearing is top of mind for procurement executives. Here are three key takeaways from our conversation that procurement leaders can apply to address talent strategies in 2023 and beyond.

1. Focus on Attracting and Retaining Employees to Overcome the Ongoing Talent Shortage

The polycrisis has changed the workforce, and it is time to change with it. , the COVID-19 pandemic, arguably the first and most significant event of this recent polycrisis, has caused long-lasting disruption to the workplace, creating β€œa once-in-a-generation – or even once-in-100-years – opportunity to question some of our long-held assumptions about how we work.”

Being able to nurture existing talent, being able to upskill existing talent, being able to recruit young talent to the procurement function – these are all top concerns. And not just in procurement: logistics is another area where we’re seeing increased demand for that skill set but where we do not have the capacity or enough capability in our current organizations, especially not to meet the demand that continues to build.

2. Engage and Manage External Workers as a Pillar of Your Strategy

°Υ΄Η»ε²Ή²β’s workforce must be viewed holistically to include external resources, a practice that is growing more common as businesses seek to gain flexibility and control.

In the most forward-thinking companies I have seen, the CHRO and CPO have a collaborative relationship. It’s one where they are building a total workforce strategy together that looks at the capabilities within the full-time employee base and being sure that they are recruiting and training to have those critical skills. They are also thinking about what is the best way to leverage contingent workers and service providers to get global reach, specialization, or agility – to be able to have flexibility to expand or contract the workforce without having to go through the emotional task of restructuring or downsizing.

3. In Times of Turbulence, Meet Workers Where They Are

Agility is key to fulfilling the evolving role of procurement, as well as the demands of the talent pool. Living in a polycrisis has shown that we need different ways of thinking and working. In a dynamic environment, procurement teams must strengthen and regain capabilities that were previously unused or lost given the years of fairly consistent supply chain stability. Businesses must employ new methods to access crucial skill sets while mitigating risk, such as investing in the external workforce and providing flexibility to workers.

In a lot of areas, the last few years have made us very risk weary. CFOs are saying, β€œHow can I better mitigate risk? We’ve been through a roller coaster. I really want to take more risk out of our business.” And one of the ways to do that is to have a dynamic workforce where you can efficiently shift labor or capability where you need it, when you need it.

In this age of uncertainty, procurement responsibilities have increased and are even more in the spotlight. Upskilling procurement talent is a vital part of being more effective and meeting the growing expectations of business stakeholders. But you can’t do it alone. Thankfully, technology is here to help you manage the complexities and the risk, and make proactive, informed decisions. At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, we continue to listen to the market, to not only address the challenges encountered today but to bring the solutions that will help procurement evolve into the future.

To learn more about the webinar and read a full summary, check out this white paper: .

Explore these solutions from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ that can help procurement leaders navigate through challenging times:

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about the full range of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s procurement and total workforce solutions at in Vienna, Austria.

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing and solutions officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

With today’s highly complex and sometimes volatile and disruptive environment, spend management and supply chain professionals’ remit is bigger than ever. Throughout the event, you will hear how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can help you develop a spend management strategy that can enable cost savings, risk management, supplier management, and compliance with local regulations. Learn how our powerful business network, spend management, and data-driven intelligence solutions provide the visibility needed to address the challenges of today and tomorrow, so you can set your business up for long-term success.

Vienna was named the world’s most livable city for the fourth time by the Economist Intelligence Unit in . Also known as the β€œCity of Music,” Vienna has a rich musical legacy and many famous classical musicians, such as Beethoven and Mozart, called the city home. But if Mozart and Beethoven aren’t your idea of a good time, there are still many reasons to join us at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live 2023. Here are my top reasons to attend:

Learn How to Fuel Total Spend Management with Inspiring Keynote Speakers

I love hearing our customers share their stories, and this year’s speakers will blow you away. You will hear compelling speakers share their transformation stories and how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions are empowering them to reach their corporate goals. This year’s keynote speaker is Jim Ridgwick, CPO for (SCI). SCI’s 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions for source-to-pay led to 100% supplier visibility and a 50% reduction in procurement lead times for SCI, fueling its mission to provide for marginalized children around the globe. You can read more about Save the Children’s strategy and successes on its .

Over 100 Interactive Sessions Covering Hot Topics in Spend Management

With a variety of formats, you can find resources on specific topics or explore our learning tracks to meet your organization’s spend management needs. From keynotes and customer stories to solution deep dives and demos, we have something for everyone at every step of the spend transformation journey. You do not want to miss these sessions that cover the hottest trends – and what is coming next – across procurement, external workforce, travel and expense, and business network:

• How to unlock the power of effective category management
• Why it takes a network to build a sustainable supply chain
• How to implement total workforce management to optimize skill availability
• How to create a P2P automation strategy to support your accounts payable business case

Check out our for a sneak preview of the answers and insights you are looking for.

Connect with Experts from around the Globe in Our Marketplace

I talk about the importance of connection often, so one of my favorite things about ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live is the marketplace. This is a one-stop shop for connecting with our partners and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ subject matter experts.

At the marketplace, you can experience the best of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s spend management solutions while establishing relationships with contacts from different industries from all around the globe. You will find demos, meeting areas for peer-to-peer discussions, and a customer connect center to meet with partners and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ leadership. And, of course, you can enjoy plenty of Vienna’s famous coffee to fuel these exciting conversations.

In-Person, Pre-Conference Training Sessions to Make the Most of Your Experience

The need to upskill employees has never been more urgent, as outlined in a recent Forrester Consulting study, β€œ.” To address this need, we will be offering pre-conference, in-person, expert-lead training sessions to help you drive efficiency and growth. They’ll be held at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live on October 9, allowing you to take part in live discussions and peer-to-peer interactions in a stimulating environment that cannot be replicated online. This hands-on training and direct access to experts can help you extend your expertise and support your organization’s digital transformation journey. Space is limited, so today to secure a spot!

It’s in Vienna!

Does this need explaining? Our venue for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live is beautiful Vienna, Austria. A sustainable city that holds a delightful balance of urban walkability and lush natural areas, Vienna is a world-class city full of the arts, history, and, yes, plenty of great food. At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live, you will experience some of what the city offers at our celebration night with a β€œTaste of Vienna.” Whether it is sipping water that comes from natural springs in the Alps, trying your hand at ballroom dancing, or sampling Viennese Schnitzel, you’re bound to have a wonderful experience in Austria’s capital.

If you are a procurement, supply chain, or travel and expense professional – or support these areas in sustainability, finance, logistics, or operational risk – ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live is a must-attend event. To learn more about how you can be part of this vibrant community of buyers, suppliers, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partners, visit the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live 2023 . Check back often to see new session offerings, speakers, and pre-conference trainings.

Most importantly, remember to take advantage of our significantly discounted β€œearly bird” pricing that ends on July 28.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Spend Connect Live is October 9-11, 2023, at the Messe Wien Congress Center in Vienna, Austria. With so many collaborative and innovative opportunities at this year’s event, I’m confident you will leave energized with new ideas and an expanded network. See you in Vienna!

Etosha Thurman is chief marketing and solutions officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Spend and Business Network.

With nearly 70 years of animal health heritage, the company is committed to helping its customers improve the health of animals in their care, while also making a meaningful impact on local and global communities. Elanco is driven by its vision of “Food and Companionship Enriching Life” and its approach to sustainability, “Elanco Healthy Purpose” — all to advance the health of animals, people, the planet, and its enterprise.

Veterinary medicine is highly regulated, with complex licensing requirements for purchasing medications. A key part of the Elanco business model is to make it simple for veterinary and agribusiness customers to get the medications and treatments they need to keep animals healthy.

β€œSpend control is very important to Elanco,” said Sin Yi Tan, procure-to-pay global process owner at Elanco. “It was essential that we gain technological and financial independence from our ex-parent company.”

Elanco’s digital transformation started with two corporate events: a spin-off from former parent company Eli Lilly & Company and acquisition of Bayer Animal Health. To establish an independent company, Elanco needed technical, financial, and management independence. Continuing to use Eli Lilly systems did not meet the company’s specific business needs and was costly.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ stepped in to provide Elanco with a comprehensive suite of that not only addressed its immediate needs but also helped ensure compliance with tax and business environments. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s investment in future development and product development, particularly the product road map for the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba portfolio incorporating artificial intelligent (AI), played a crucial role in Elanco’s decision-making process.

Elanco selected ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network because of their emphasis on self-service. The two offered a better front-end user experience than competitors and provided the ability to expand the customer base, efficient supplier registration, and flexibility in catalog management. Elanco saw the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ procurement solutions as an extension and enhancement of its investment in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud. Additionally, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba facilitated intuitive PO status updates, electronic invoice submission, and communication from suppliers, further enhancing the self-service aspect.

Having one platform for supplier registration allowed Elanco to limit risk in its supply base. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba is the only registration tool and provides a secure platform for suppliers to manage their own data. Elanco does not need to manage data changes, which reduces the risk of fraud and compromised financial data.

Scaling an Implementation

The company’s Stallion Project, which began in 2019, marked the start of its digital transformation journey. With the help of an external consultant, Elanco moved from the design phase to go-live in 18 months. The entire process was conducted remotely due to COVID-19, and Elanco managed to process $1 billion in spend within six months.

The next priority was consolidation of systems after the 2019 acquisition of Bayer Animal Health. Elanco knew that it needed to continue to scale processes to onboard a business unit that would account for 20% of its business.

Elanco successfully integrated 13,000 unique vendors from Bayer Animal Health, achieving a 1:1 volume ratio. Since Bayer was already using ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba procurement solutions and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, the transition was not entirely new for all suppliers. Elanco built an internal “Contact Center” team to handle external suppliers and encouraged them to register on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba for compliance and security reasons.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud Drives the Value of Connected Systems

The seamless integration between ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ procurement solutions was a significant reason behind the decision to choose ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. This integration has paid off, with minimal customizations required and faster adoption by the business. For users, there is communication and delineation of tasks among the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ platforms. The company uses ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud for its direct spend management and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba for indirect spend. It is easy to establish governance and manage access to help ensure users are guided to the right process for each purchasing activity.

β€œ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud with the intelligent spend solutions add key value to the business” Sin Yi Tan said. “The integrations added a quicker time-to-value and the standardization has been integral to our growth.”

A Path Toward Logistics Transformation

While Elanco is still exploring the full potential of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network for Logistics, global track and trace capability, the company has already experienced greater transparency in its shipment tracking.

Elanco Animal Health’s digital transformation journey with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has been a resounding success. The seamless integration of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud, coupled with the focus on self-service and compliance, has enabled the company to achieve independence and cater to its specific business needs. As its continues to grow and evolve, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ remains a trusted partner in an ongoing journey – striving to keep animals in good health.