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Supply Chain Technology is reducing labor costs, while enhancing worker retention.

Procurement-focused technology is becoming a standard for today’s top-functioning global supply chains. Supply chain technology implementation adds value for procurement organizations in relation to stakeholder demands on transparency, traceability and sustainability.

In a recent report by The Hackett Group (published in Spend Matters), it was found that the impact of digital technology into the procurement function has begun to shift the efficiency of internal company dynamics. To be specific, it was found that the implementation of digital tech has reduced full-time workers by 29%, lowering labor costs by 22%.

One could look at this statistic and deduce that technology creates negative impact, because it is replacing human jobs (as is being seen in many sectors of business).  

However, despite the lowering of costs and labor-force due to digital enhancement, teams that have adopted the implementation of supply chain technology have been found to “[…] possess better retention and have lower turnover rates” (Weissman 2017).

Core procurement teams are seeing a trend of becoming stronger, more unified, and more sustainable when utilizing technological advancements. The automation of more routine (day-to-day) tasks boosts efficiency, and allows procurement teams more time to develop and execute management strategies.

In particular, “Operations and compliance management are the specific areas where world-class procurement organizations surge ahead of their peers, as it is in this area where tech and automation has its most significant impact due to the routine nature of the work” (Weissman 2017).

This trend is likely to continue in the direction that it is headed. Procurement professionals are becoming more dedicated to their craft, due to their newfound ability to juggle simultaneous tasks within a wide range of business issues with ease. Supply chain tech has actualized business agility streamlining tasks such as, collaborating with the right suppliers, reducing logistics risks, and improving quality assurance.

With this being said, the adoption of digital technology in the branch of supply chain management comes with a learning curve; one, sometimes too steep for procurement teams to accept. With that being said, the digital transformation of business and supply chain management is creating a new reality.

Is your business taking part?

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Sam Jenks

Press contact Communications Lead Communications and Marketing 0703644132

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