On the occasion of Purchasing and Logistics Executive Day, held at the end of October in the suburbs of Namur, nearly a hundred local decision-makers were able to measure the real consequences of digitalization on their business processes. And listen to Acxias' recommendations to choose the solution most suited to their organization.
"The Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing the world before our eyes, with endless opportunities for innovation, and those who don't adapt risk being left behind." From the opening session of the day organised on Thursday 24 October by the Belgian Association of Purchasing and Logistics Executives (Abcal), Koen De Leus, Chief Economist of BNP Paribas Fortis, went straight to the point. Before him, Dominique Vangermeersch, vice-president of the association, had reminded the hundred or so participants that "no one can avoid the movement of Digitizing, which will have more or less profound impacts on companies, in all sectors of activity, in the more or less long term".
But what are the concrete consequences for procurement and supply chain ?
In his macroeconomic analysis, Koen De Leus simply indicated that the digital wave is disrupting current models, both in terms of the organization of companies and their processes, and in an accelerated way. "By surveying a panel of companies, 80% say they will become more automated, and faster and faster, in the coming years," he said. Focusing more on Purchasing issues and supply chain, the following speakers successively addressed the issue of collaboration between ecosystem stakeholders, through the use of a "digital supply network", and listed the latest innovations in purchasing. Among them, the use of software robots Able to replace teams is now becoming a reality.
Before returning to futuristic perspectives, at the end of the day, Bertrand Gabriel, director of Acxias focused on drawing the current landscape of the Solutions Marketplace. Recalling that "as soon as we work as a team, which is the buyer's own, office automation tools and messaging are no longer efficient", he first detailed the components of the purchasing information system. In a classic and simplified way, it consists of four main layers covering, on the one hand, the "source-to-contract" and "procure-to-pay" operational processes, on the other hand the various components of management of the function and management of the supplier relationship. In addition, there are the technical layers, specific to the IT aspects, to l'Tool administration or master data management.
Segmented according to this division, the e-shopping market today has a multitude of players. In addition to their size and geographical presence, they are distinguished by their more or less extensive functional coverage and their possible specializations: by sectors of activity, by categories of purchase. Insisting on the fact that "the choice of the right solution is a key factor in the success of an e-purchase project", Bertrand Gabriel also recalled that The ergonomics of the solution (comfort and ease of use) as well as its durability were crucial criteria for the selection of the software package. And added that "the publisher of the chosen e-purchasing solution must become a strategic partner".
On the sidelines of this presentation, three other workshops were offered to participants. A first on the "how" (new technologies, innovative approaches, etc.) and the "why" (new services and products, digitalized external processes, optimized internal processing) of the digital transformation, and its impact on the procurement process. The other two workshops focused more on technological innovations, mainly the blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence. The day ended with an analysis of the impact of digitalization on team and talent management. The next edition will be an opportunity to take stock of the experiences and trends presented.