A key factor in the success of purchasing digitalization projects, the ability of suppliers to collaborate via digital solutions and channels remains perfectable. To better understand their level of maturity in this field, Acxias is launching a Barometer in partnership with several major contractors.
More than two out of five companies consider as "very low" (4%) or "rather low" (39%) the digital maturity of their suppliers, i.e. their ability to collaborate with customers via solutions or digital channels. And none of them consider this maturity to be high (see diagram opposite). Taken from a survey carried out at the beginning of the year by Acxias with some fifty directors and purchasing managers, these figures show how much room for improvement remains to optimize digital relations between business partners and maximize results.
However, the main stages of the processing chain benefit from distinct levels of digital maturity. While the “Source-to-contract” (sourcing, consultation, contracting) and “Procure-to-pay” (procurement component: orders, catalogs, logistics flows) segments receive the most “very low” responses, these are also those where suppliers seem most involved. In both cases, 4% of survey respondents believe that the digital maturity of their suppliers is “rather high” for these processes at the heart of the purchasing and supply cycle.
The same is true for the finance component of the “Procure-to-Pay” segment (invoicing, purchase card, financial services, etc.), which overall receives the best ratings.
“With regard to historical invoicing and payment transactional flows, it is logical that the dematerialization of these exchanges is now well in place”, and Bertrand Gabriel, director of Acxias.
Finally, it is on the segment “ Supplier relationship management (information, management, performance) that the delay seems to be the most significant, with more than half of respondents considering the digital interaction capacity of suppliers to be “fairly weak” or “very weak”.
To help purchasing departments see things more clearly and make their supplier partners aware of the need to make progress in this area, Acxias initiated the establishment of a Barometer on the subject.
"Suppliers' ability to collaborate digitally is a key factor in the success of purchasing function digitization projects", insiste Bertrand Gabriel.
The objective of the Barometer is twofold: to contribute to the rise in maturity of suppliers, to help purchasing departments to introduce corresponding criteria into the sourcing process. "It will also make it possible to identify the capacities of e-purchasing solutions and exchange platforms, thus providing publishers with avenues for improvement", adds Thierry Parisot, in charge of the Barometer.
To do this, a questionnaire will be sent to a panel of suppliers from several major partner contractors, who mandate Acxias to measure the level of digitization of exchanges, assess the capacity for digital collaboration, determine the flows and processes most concerned, identify preferred tools and channels, define performance levers. The survey will cover all purchasing categories, supplier profiles and geographic scopes.
If you would like to participate in this process and benefit from a free evaluation of the digital maturity of your suppliers, contact Acxias: contact us | 01 84 17 63 31 | Thierry Parisot, project manager.