Amreek Lamba

Simplifying of procurement through process standardization, automation and integrated systems should be complemented with investing in appropriate training for their teams. There should be a defined internal process that should help identify training needs as and when there is a change to process or an application. Word of caution - everyone does not need same training (one size does not fit all). Training requirement should be role dependent. One way I have seen is by developing a training matrix for each process level (1-5), categorized by role and integrated with associated RACI. This helps develop appropriate training content and delivery mechanism (fit for purpose training for impacted stakeholders).

System integration is critical to simplify and automate procurement. Integrating systems helps to maintain data integrity, generate accurate reports and improve end-user experience

As the saying goes - "do more with less". Consolidation of suppliers is a great approach to simplify procurement and realize significant benefits like reduce supplier management costs, improve purchasing power etc. However, to consolidate suppliers, I recommend organizations to - review the supplier spend profile by category/sub-category (generally tail spend is where opportunities exist); review the supply risks with associated suppliers as certain suppliers may not have significant spend but support critical needs of the business at remote locations; assess supplier profiles and their impact to supplier diversity vision of the organization etc.

We often hear that streamlining the workflow would improve efficiency, reduce rework and processing cost. However, I see that there are two different types of streamlining is required. General workflow - which is series of tasks required to execute the process from start to finish. Streamlining entails - removal of duplicate tasks, consolidation of steps that are not creating any net new value to the process (point to note some non-value add activities cannot be removed due policy compliance etc.); reduction or removal of unnecessary decision criteria to improve process cycle efficiency; rearrange process steps where possible to reduce same role involvement at multiple stages. Second -Align financial thresholds for new and change orders.

In my experience, automation of repetitive tasks makes sense as that helps organizations in multiple ways - reduce errors, reduce processing costs, create capacity for the team to execute value added tasks and focus on exceptions. However, prior to going for automation it is important to assess few important criteria like: are there any tasks that can or need to be removed; is master data clean, complete and current. I have personally observed automation not driving the desired benefits when aspects like these are not addressed prior to automating the tasks.

Decision matrix is a tool and not a silver bullet for making right decisions consistently. It is important for users to understand when and how to use the decision matrix. For effective use of decision tree, in my opinion, it needs the following: Users should be trained on when and how to apply the tool when it comes to evaluating criteria, applying weights and scales. Extract relevant data to analyze to support. Right stakeholders should be engaged during evaluation to use their expertise and knowledge. This also helps in early buy-in. Document all decisions, with decision matrix evaluation for future reference.