Procurement's Time to Shine

According to a report by The Hackett Group, 84% of procurement organizations believe that digital transformation will fundamentally change the way how organizations procure and how services are delivered over the next three to five years. Yet only 32% have developed a strategy for getting there. Working closely with SAP and SAP Ariba, NTT DATA is helping companies around the globe close this unacceptable gap.

A survey conducted by the University of Applied Science Würzburg/Schweinfurt, in cooperation with SAP Ariba, revealed the top priorities and challenges that global organizations are facing on their path to go digital. A selection of key findings include:

• Big data and predictive analytics are the number one priority for procurement
• Talent management is the number one challenge
• Automation will redefine the way procurement gets done

Catch the B2B e-commerce and the digital automation craze (via the Ariba Network)

By the end of 2017, 52% of corporate buyers are expected to make half or more of their work purchases online, as reported in Digitalist.

Today, consumerization in the workplace, cost and competitive pressures, the ever-pressing need for efficiency gains, strong demand for an easy, convenient, and simplified purchasing experience, and the potential for tapping rich new revenue streams collude to create an inflection point for business networks and a boon for B2B e-commerce, which according to the experts is expected to grow dramatically in the years ahead:

• Frost & Sullivan is optimistic about the future growth of B2B ecommerce, predicting that, globally, by 2020 the B2B ecommerce market will be twice as large as the B2C market — $6.7 trillion vs. $3.2 trillion.
• According to SAP, analysts report that by 2020 the volume of global business trade between connected businesses will reach $65 trillion.

The inability to synchronize end-to-end business processes within an enterprise as well as across extended supplier and partner networks is a foremost supply-chain challenge. Cloud-based supply chain solutions and business networks present great options for strategically tackling this problem by providing a robust, unified platform that enables close collaboration.

According to research presented in an INFOGRAPHIC prepared by SAP Ariba, collaborative supply networks deliver quantifiable business value, including:

• 60% improvement in order accuracy
• 50% - 70% faster transaction cycles
• >90% “touchless” transaction processes

Already the world’s largest, most global business-to-business marketplace, the Ariba® Network continues to grow and connect more buyers and sellers around more commerce than any other business network on the planet. As of December 31, 2017, more than 4.6 million companies are connected to the network and use it to transact over €1.5 trillion in commerce on an annual basis. In the fourth quarter alone, over 132,000 new selling organizations – or more than one per minute – joined the network, where they had access to nearly 3,000 opportunities worth more than $16.5 billion.

Streamline the full source-to-settle process

Source-to-settle involves both strategic and operational processes. It includes analyzing the spend data, discovering and negotiating with vendors, engaging with the suppliers on contract terms, on-boarding the supplier and tracking performance, publishing and maintaining catalogs, procuring, and paying.

It pays for companies to spend money on source-to-settle technology and streamline the full S2P process. The significant benefits include cost reduction, process efficiencies, spending controls and compliance assurance.

SAP Ariba offers a full source-to-settle solution that enables organizations to streamline their procurement processes and drive compliance and control – all while cutting costs, risks.

As reported in TechTarget, the bottom-line benefits are impressive:

• 60% lower operating costs
• 1% to 8% reduction in supply chain costs
• 50% to 75% faster transaction cycles
• 90% fully automated transaction processing
• 60% improvements in order accuracy
• 5% to 20% increases in revenue with new customers
• 30% or more higher share of wallet with current customers
• 15% improvement in retention rates among customers

Partner experience counts

At NTT DATA, we understand the importance of S2P and digital supply chains in today’s competitive global economy. We also understand the need for an over-arching strategy that ensures full optimization and integration of all cloud-based and on-premises technology investments.

NTT DATA manages some of the world’s largest and most complex SAP Ariba implementations, and we have been awarded by SAP and Ariba for our excellence in global implementations. With over 18 years of Ariba experience, we have performed several global implementations and built the following IPs around SAP Ariba solutions.

NTT DATA investments on SAP Ariba solutions include:

• Intelligent Reporting and Automation using Ariba Operational API for Compliance and statutory reporting®
• Ready to use Custom Workflow for Quality Notification and SDR with Ariba Network
• Digital Contract Migration Tool for Ariba Contracts®
• Digital Light Weight Inventory solution extensions for Ariba on SAP Cloud Platform
• Connected Logistics Solutions for real time tracking of shipment®

Contact NTT DATA today to today to learn more about our experience and success working closely with Supply Chain, Procurement and Finance business units across all industries to leverage SAP and Ariba solutions for strategic, sustainable value, or to schedule a meeting with NTT DATA at SAP Ariba Live.