We are in the third month of 2020 and many events have already impacted the B2B purchasing sector. The dollar is rising, export problems, confirmation of the coronavirus pandemic and so many other things that are happening behind the political and economic scenes. The year has only just begun and it has already brought us countless challenges.
But even with all this, companies need to structure themselves and update themselves to keep their businesses running, achieve their goals and satisfy their customers.
So, in this post, we will talk about the trends for the B2B purchasing sector and the practices that can help buyers in the year 2020.
Are you ready? Keep reading!
1. Investments in Machine Learning
Companies are investing in Machine Learning to achieve greater productivity, financial gains and assertive results. This market movement is expected to increase even further in the coming years. By 2021, investment in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is expected to grow 46,2% annually, totaling US$52 billion, according to a recent survey by consultancy IDC.
In the case of the purchasing sector, growth means more space to implement tools and solutions that optimize the time spent on manual processes. In addition, it creates a strategic culture of organizing transactions, managing suppliers, managing risks and, most importantly, analyzing data.
Machine Learning focuses on creating more accurate profiles of your customers and even predicting behaviors for assertive decision-making.
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2. Suppliers as partners
The way buyers interact with their suppliers has changed over the years. Nowadays, due to market challenges and fierce competition, organizations need vendors to supply them with established deadlines and quantities.
Therefore, today, more than ever, relationships are functioning as an exchange. The buyer is a partner of the suppliers, in order to favor them during the relationship agreement. In this way, the sellers are happy to do business and help organizations achieve their objectives in terms of deadline, price and quality.
At this point, the supplier begins to act as a partner in the company, where, together, they can create and develop scenarios that are satisfactory for both parties. This relationship, in addition to reducing risks in the supply and acquisition chain, favors innovation in companies.
3. Digitalization of purchasing processes
According to the report “World-class Purchasing: Redefining Performance in the Digital Age,” produced by the Hackett Group, a leading benchmarking and best practices company for global companies, purchasing departments that use 4.0 technologies can achieve cost reductions of up to 17%. However, when they truly embrace digital transformation – that is, change their mindset and not just use a specific technology in a specific way – they can reduce costs by 45% or more.
The report also addresses the importance of freeing professionals from routine and repetitive activities, giving them more time and conditions to be strategic. Through digital transformation, it is possible to implement robotic solutions, which help reduce errors in processes and, of course, make more profit.
After the change in behavior, organizations will have to decide how to use the cost savings generated by digitalization. This may be a great opportunity to invest in employees, qualifying them for more strategic and important tasks for the company's business.
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4. Risk management to avoid problems in the supply chain
No business is untouchable. Threats are inherent to all of us, and when we talk about risks, there are those that we can foresee and avoid, and those that simply happen and force us to act quickly so that the impacts on business and society are minimal. Therefore, it is necessary to have a contingency plan whenever something unexpected happens.
In the case of Coronavirus, we have seen that the risk had not even been mapped. In this scenario, it is necessary to revisit the 5 steps of risk management, not only looking at the primary risk of people becoming infected, but also the secondary risks in the supply chain and the global economy.
Response planning should include alternative sources of supply and inventory levels, also considering a possible drop in demand for the company's products or services.
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What other trends would you include in this list? Leave your comment!
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