Survey of participants at Procuri user conference finds reducing supply costs remains perennial leading priority
Atlanta — October 18, 2006 — Managing compliance and exposure to risk are rising in importance for supply management executives, even while reducing supply costs remains the perennial top priority, according to the results of a new survey from solution provider Procuri.
Based on the response of nearly 300 supply management executives surveyed at Procuri's Empower 2006 user conference, the study also revealed that securing executive support for supply and contract management initiatives is among their top challenges.
Focus on Spend Visibility, Compliance
As supply chains become increasingly global — and influential to overall operational success — Empower attendees cited "improving visibility into timely and accurate spend data" and "adopting technologies and policy changes to ensure compliance" as the top strategies they plan to implement within the next two years.
These survey findings echoed other industry research showing that automated spend data cleansing and analysis helps enterprises identify hidden savings, better leverage corporate spend and roll out informed sourcing strategies. Spend visibility is also a critical cog in companies' ability to ensure regulation compliance.
In addition, industry research reveals that contract lifecycle management solutions can streamline contracting cycles, reduce contractual risks and dramatically improve compliance.
Rounding out the top-five strategies that supply management executives plan to employ are:
The majority of survey participants reported that accessing supply management solutions in an on-demand or software-as-a-service (SaaS) mode provides faster time-to-deployment, lower upfront costs and lower total lifecycle costs than installed software. Other SaaS benefits noted by respondents include more frequent functional upgrades, better support services and lower risks.
From the conference, Procuri made several announcements, including the acquisition of TrueSource to add advanced spend analysis and spend management capabilities to Procuri's supply management suite. TrueSource solutions are currently used by the likes of Alliant Techsystems and the state of Minnesota.
New Partnerships
Procuri also announced a partnership with SEEBURGER to provide an integration-as-a-service offering intended to simplify, streamline and lower the cost of integration by using predefined adapters between Procuri's solutions and leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business applications. The hosted, Web-based service facilitates real-time data integration to optimize contract management, supplier performance management, spend analysis and other supply management functions.
In addition, Procuri announced a partnership with SciQuest to provide an on-demand procure-to-pay platform with supplier network and enablement services. Procuri said that the partnership would enable its customers to extend their supply management initiatives to incorporate operational procurement processes. Likewise, SciQuest customers will have the opportunity to augment their procure-to-pay programs with broad spending analysis, strategic sourcing, contract management, and supplier performance management capabilities, all available in an on-demand environment.
Finally, Procuri rolled out TotalView, a new Web-based dashboard and portal designed to provide role-based views into all supply information, performance data, projects and tasks. The enabler also is offering an on-demand supplier compliance service that gives customers an automated service to ensure that new and existing suppliers and other partners are not debarred from doing business by the U.S. government under the Patriot Act or the Sarbanes Oxley Act.
Additional Articles of Interest
— As threats mount and unwanted hazards become a reality, companies must be prepared to invest in safety. For more information on safeguarding your supply chain, read "Current Technology for Ensuring 'Safefreight' and 'Safemail,'" an Executive Best Practices column in the August/ September 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— Supply chain security requires a proactive approach to crisis planning and preparedness. Are you ready for the next disruption? Find out more in "Stopping Your Supply Chain Problems Before They Start," the Final Thoughts column in the August/ September 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
Atlanta — October 18, 2006 — Managing compliance and exposure to risk are rising in importance for supply management executives, even while reducing supply costs remains the perennial top priority, according to the results of a new survey from solution provider Procuri.
Based on the response of nearly 300 supply management executives surveyed at Procuri's Empower 2006 user conference, the study also revealed that securing executive support for supply and contract management initiatives is among their top challenges.
Focus on Spend Visibility, Compliance
As supply chains become increasingly global — and influential to overall operational success — Empower attendees cited "improving visibility into timely and accurate spend data" and "adopting technologies and policy changes to ensure compliance" as the top strategies they plan to implement within the next two years.
These survey findings echoed other industry research showing that automated spend data cleansing and analysis helps enterprises identify hidden savings, better leverage corporate spend and roll out informed sourcing strategies. Spend visibility is also a critical cog in companies' ability to ensure regulation compliance.
In addition, industry research reveals that contract lifecycle management solutions can streamline contracting cycles, reduce contractual risks and dramatically improve compliance.
Rounding out the top-five strategies that supply management executives plan to employ are:
- Adopt technologies to strategic sourcing performance;
- Adopt technologies to improve supplier performance management;
- Transition to a centralized or center-led contract management organizational structure.
The majority of survey participants reported that accessing supply management solutions in an on-demand or software-as-a-service (SaaS) mode provides faster time-to-deployment, lower upfront costs and lower total lifecycle costs than installed software. Other SaaS benefits noted by respondents include more frequent functional upgrades, better support services and lower risks.
From the conference, Procuri made several announcements, including the acquisition of TrueSource to add advanced spend analysis and spend management capabilities to Procuri's supply management suite. TrueSource solutions are currently used by the likes of Alliant Techsystems and the state of Minnesota.
New Partnerships
Procuri also announced a partnership with SEEBURGER to provide an integration-as-a-service offering intended to simplify, streamline and lower the cost of integration by using predefined adapters between Procuri's solutions and leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business applications. The hosted, Web-based service facilitates real-time data integration to optimize contract management, supplier performance management, spend analysis and other supply management functions.
In addition, Procuri announced a partnership with SciQuest to provide an on-demand procure-to-pay platform with supplier network and enablement services. Procuri said that the partnership would enable its customers to extend their supply management initiatives to incorporate operational procurement processes. Likewise, SciQuest customers will have the opportunity to augment their procure-to-pay programs with broad spending analysis, strategic sourcing, contract management, and supplier performance management capabilities, all available in an on-demand environment.
Finally, Procuri rolled out TotalView, a new Web-based dashboard and portal designed to provide role-based views into all supply information, performance data, projects and tasks. The enabler also is offering an on-demand supplier compliance service that gives customers an automated service to ensure that new and existing suppliers and other partners are not debarred from doing business by the U.S. government under the Patriot Act or the Sarbanes Oxley Act.
Additional Articles of Interest
— As threats mount and unwanted hazards become a reality, companies must be prepared to invest in safety. For more information on safeguarding your supply chain, read "Current Technology for Ensuring 'Safefreight' and 'Safemail,'" an Executive Best Practices column in the August/ September 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— Supply chain security requires a proactive approach to crisis planning and preparedness. Are you ready for the next disruption? Find out more in "Stopping Your Supply Chain Problems Before They Start," the Final Thoughts column in the August/ September 2006 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
- More articles about Procuri.
