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This eBook summarizes a September 2024 webinar where procurement and supply chain leaders discussed industry trends. The discussion emphasized automation and integration's crucial role in enhancing efficiency and profitability, particularly in low-margin industries. Leaders highlighted the importance of seamless system integration and effective change management in technology adoption, as well as the potential of AI for automation. The session concluded by stressing the need for continuous improvement through stakeholder engagement and adaptive process design, ensuring procurement remains agile and responsive to evolving business needs.

Ironclad, the global leader in digital contract management, recently hosted a webinar featuring a discussion of the future of AI in contract management processes. The event explored how AI technologies are transforming buyside contracting, with a focus on streamlining inefficiencies and enhancing decision-making capabilities. Speakers demonstrated new contract management features such as AI-powered clause detection, smart import functionality, and enhanced reporting capabilities. The webinar also highlighted the potential of AI to revolutionize procurement processes within the next several years. Soon this technology will be capable of anticipating contract needs, preparing negotiations, and engaging in verbal interactions with suppliers, procurement professionals, and others.

This eBook is based on an August 2024 webinar hosted by ProcureCon Insights and SAP. The eBook explores current trends surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in procurement, AI’s role in driving efficiency in procurement operations, and what steps procurement leaders can take to ensure they successfully implement AI. Additionally, the eBook highlights the importance of addressing ethical and security challenges when adopting AI technologies.

The Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) now plays a critical role in the organization, not only in the procurement function, but also in high-level decision-making regarding strategy, technology, and sustainability. CPOs also face several challenges in the current procurement environment. These range from supply chain disruptions to inflation and global market volatility. This report explores how the role of the CPO has changed, as well as what challenges and opportunities today’s procurement leaders face regarding processes, technology implementations, and more.

This report presents an insightful exploration of the exciting future of Artificial Intelligence in the realm of procurement, as discussed by GEP technology leaders. It delves into essential advancements from rule-based AI to generative AI, and how these transformations are reshaping the interactions between sourcing managers and AI tools, particularly in the context of RFX engagements and negotiation assistance. Finally, the report highlights key recommendations for adopting AI in procurement processes.

Disruptions affecting global supply chains will continue in the years to come. These disruptions may take the form of major climate events, global crises, inflation, or even future pandemics. This report explores how procurement teams are achieving operational excellence even amid ongoing disruptions in the supply chain. It also identifies how leaders can secure key supply partners, communicate risk to supply chain stakeholders, and incorporate risk management into their decision-making to prepare themselves for the future.

In the United States, state production incentives are government programs designed to attract business and create jobs in specific states. They’ve been active for decades and have enabled states like Georgia and Louisiana to become some of the biggest media and entertainment production centers in the world, adding thousands of jobs to their economies. For recipients of production incentives, this can mean actual cash back on productions. However, many brands may be missing opportunities to receive cash back for shooting commercials or other types of advertisements. By adding state production incentives as a best practice, brands have the potential to save hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars each year. In this report, you’ll learn more about the benefits of state production incentives, how companies like yours can utilize them, and how third-party advisory firms can help. Based on a survey of 100 business leaders from across North America and Europe, we’ll explore their knowledge of these exciting opportunities.

Companies are facing increasing pressure due to inflation and uncertainty in the marketplace. Although organizations have no direct control over inflationary factors like monetary policy and global events, there are steps they can take within procurement to alleviate some of the costs of doing business. This report is based on a webinar about combating inflation by GEP. Here, GEP Vice President of Consulting Mukund Acharya explains how technology, strategy, and employee empowerment combine to create a better foundation for withstanding inflation shocks.

In last year’s CIO-CPO study, the WBR Insights research team focused on how far procurement had come in taking on responsibility for technology sourcing. In this report, the focus will continue with benchmarking the progress that CPOs and their IT counterparts are making in establishing flexible working environments. We will also explore how these two roles are collaborating in the adoption of new technologies into procurement processes, what steps they believe they need to take to coordinate new technology efforts, and what strategies they are planning to pursue while entering a potentially transformative decade.

Procurement’s role within the organization has only increased in importance. Chief procurement officers (CPOs) now stand at the forefront of companies’ efforts to address these barriers and establish a more agile procurement process. This report explores the CPO’s role in shepherding changes within the procurement function and the rest of the organization. It contains key insights from CPOs and other procurement leaders, identifies trends based on changes since last year’s report, and provides key suggestions for the role in 2023.

This report is based on a 2023 webinar presented by Productiv and WBR Insights. During the presentation, Ashish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CTO at Productiv, presented data from a recent study to demonstrate the growing complexities of SaaS management. The report also presents the capabilities of the Productiv platform, which were discussed during the webinar. Productiv is a leading enterprise SaaS management solution that simplifies and streamlines the complex process of SaaS management.