The 10 Most Innovative Procurement Solution Providers 2018 by Insights Success Media

www.insightssuccess.com September 2018

The

10Most

Innovative Procurement Solution Providers

2018 Industry Perspective How Implementation of Procurement Impacts the Supply Chain Excellence

Workforce of Contemporary World The Rise of Gig Economy

Salvador Escobedo

President & CEO

PEMEX Procurement International: Making Procurement Easy

Procurement: Optimizing Processes Beyond Purchasing

perational efďŹ ciency at no additional cost is the current corporate strategy been practiced by several organizations. Businesses are taking smart steps by optimizing elegant procurement process in order to ensure the competition in the present global marketplace. An optimum procurement process not only streamlines the operation process but also add value to the organizational by reducing cost without compromising with the quality. In addition, an empowered procurement process also provides businesses an opportunity to come up with innovative products or services. Organizations are going beyond the concept of procurement process by adopting emerging digital and advanced analytics tools. From reducing time, eliminating waste, improving supplier performance, minimizing risks to enhancing procurement strategy, procurement process is connected to every tier of the supply chain management. Thus, it is no more a mystery that the digital transformation of procurement is underway. The evolving technological advancements are disrupting traditional procurement practices with modern cloud-based procurement solutions. Thus, managing relationships with suppliers, maintaining records, evaluating performance and processing payments have become more simpliďŹ ed and efďŹ cient due to rapid developments.

Considering the current evolution of the procurement industry, it therefore comes as no surprise that how progressive procurement processes are adding tremendous value to the organization as a whole. In order to support the ways to disrupt the traditional methods of procurement processes, Insights Success has shortlisted “The 10 Most Innovative Procurement Solution Providers, 2018”, which are driving global procurement practices. Featuring as our cover story is Pemex Procurement International, Inc., providing procurement services. The company offers purchasing, contract negotiation, logistic, inspection, and processing services. The magazine listing also includes Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing, a major publisher of business information, and specializes in private company data combined with software for searching and analyzing companies; Excella Global, a leading sourcing agent in various countries, serving interior designers, architects, hoteliers & hospitality industry to procure quality products; Nipendo which is providing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) cloud-based platform that streamlines Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) interactions; think, an online tool that helps make it easier, cheaper, faster and more secure to buy the essential products you need for your child care business; DataSource, a leading provider of end-to-end integrated branded supply chain managed services; ProProcure Ltd., a company providing web based product procurement solutions; Science Exchange , an online marketplace of research services, enabling scientists to outsource their research and development to scientific institutions; Sievo, a software provider that analyzes past purchases, predicts future, and manages procurement savings for companies; Tejari, a procurement portal that could allow a remote attacker to upload arbitrary files, caused by the improper validation of file extensions by the OPPrelimina. Also, make sure to flip through our articles, written by our in-house editorial team as well as CXO standpoints of notable industry personalities to have a brief taste of the sector. Let’s start reading!

Kedar Kulkarni

PEMEX Procurement International: Making Procurement Easy 08

Maestroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Insights Looking for or Using an EDI Tool? A Few Things you ought to Know

Expert's Advice Procurement Automation

Stellar's Vision Thriving In Technology: An Entrepreneur's Perspective

Articles

Bureau van Dijk: The Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Powerful Comparable Data Resource on Private Companies

Industry Perspective How Implementation of Procurement Impacts the Supply Chain Excellence

34 EXCELLA GLOBAL: An Exceptional Procurement Solution Provider for Interior Design Industry

Tech Implementation

Challenges in Implementing ERP Solutions

Nipendo:

Streamlining Purchase to Pay Processes

Workforce of Contemporary World

The Rise of Gig Economy 36

think: A Disruptive Procurement Solution Buying Better Proď&#x20AC; ts

Managing Editor Anish Miller Executive Editor Kedar Kulkarni Assistant Editors Jenny Fernandes Hitesh Dhamani Contributing Editors Abhishaj Sajeev Bhushan Kadam Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Associate Designer Shubham Mahadik Co-designer Sapana Shinde Art & Picture Editors Paul Belin Jayant Khanna Senior Sales Manager Passi D. Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Steve, Joe, Alan, Anup Sales Executives David, Kevin, Mark, Suraj Technical Head Jacob Smile Technical Specialists Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Online Marketing Strategists Alina Sege, Shubham, Vaibhav K SME-SMO Executives Prashant Chevale, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses Circulation Managers Robert, Tanaji Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes sales@insightssuccess.com

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he process of procurement can be very complicated for companies. It takes a good amount of time and resources to set up a team full of expertise; able to retrieve the desired output from the process. However, the whole process can be handled by a third party, a procurement service provider. The very idea behind the arrangement is to save cost and time of the company. Procurement services enable companies to get quality goods and services at a lower cost, enhances efficiency, and a better control on logistics. The team provided under the services is trained to make the best decisions. It is proactive and has excellent communications. There are many companies providing topnotch services to all kinds of enterprises. One of them is PEMEX Procurement International. Formerly known as Integrated Trade Systems, PEMEX Procurement International (PPI) is an affiliate of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) and was created as a result of PEMEX’s strategy to establish a closer presence in international energy markets and to develop direct relationships with key suppliers. Founded in 1994, it started with a mission to generate value for PEMEX by providing integrated Supply Chain Management solutions. In the span of 24 years, the company has shown flexibility in adapting a changing and demanding

environment, both internationally and in Mexico, in terms of PEMEX’s regulatory framework, international industry practices, and overall market conditions. The company has also developed more than two hundred strategic agreements with key industry partners and produced over 1,700 contractual relationships with suppliers all over the world by working under conditions of innovation, quality, efﬁciency, and competitiveness. Delivering Efﬁciency PPI, on behalf of its customers, negotiates long-term

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PPI generates value to its customers by providing international procurement solutions through innovative integrated supply chain management based on quality, efﬁciency, and competitiveness principles.

strategic agreements with key players in the Oil and Gas Industry, particularly Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and providers of critical technology for PEMEX. Based on historical expenditure, demand aggregation, and PEMEX’s purchasing power, the agreements establish commercial and legal terms prior to purchasing. When the demand for the goods and services arises, the procurement activities become just a matter of preparing the purchase order from an authorized price list, obtaining approvals, and releasing it electronically to the supplier. PPI contracts through direct assignment, restricted tendering, and international open bidding mechanisms. Additionally, once contracts have been executed, PPI expedites deliveries with suppliers and performs quality inspections, ensuring all conditions are met before shipping, and handles logistics and forwarding through third party service providers. Visionary’s Chronicle Salvador Escobedo is the President and CEO of PPI since May 2017. He established an overall strategic direction for the company in which transparency and ethical values, compliance with applicable regulations,

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PPI ensures the most favorable commercial conditions achieved through aggregated demand and direct relationship with manufacturers and service providers avoiding intermediaries. and robust quality and internal control systems are the key pillars. Salvador also prioritized increasing the number of strategic alliances with key suppliers and service providers, vastly contributing to the improvement of the agility for the internal review and approval process for said alliances. In addition to strengthening PPI’s corporate governance principles and purchasing instruments, core to the procurement activities, Salvador has also contributed to the increase of PPI’s purchasing operations, which - as a result - lead to greater saving levels for its customers.

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We are committed to the satisfaction of our customers by continually improving our services through innovation, quality, efﬁciency, and competitiveness. Journey of Eminence The motive behind the creation of PPI was high degree of dependence on technology and services for the procurement operations that were not locally available in Mexico. By managing relationships with its partners, PPI has been able to identify opportunities and implement new procurement instruments to address the procurement needs of its customers. PPI facilitates communication, early identiﬁcation of requirements, and evaluation and application of new technologies; all

while providing continuous monitoring of key activities of the supply chain from beginning to end. All of it is possible due to the experience and knowledge accumulated throughout many years of operation, specialized workforce, and the implementation of best practices for the management of the company. Eliminating Obstacles Prior to the Mexican Energy Reform, the regulatory requirements applicable to the public sector in

Mexico did not allow for practical innovations to the procurement process. Balancing the compliance with Mexican regulations with international commercial practices was difﬁcult and it involved a demanding effort from PPI to communicate and negotiate highly sophisticated commercial requirements with suppliers. After the widespread of Energy reforms in 2012, PEMEX implemented various measures to simplify its administrative processes and make the overall operations more efﬁcient. The regulatory framework changed correspondingly as part of the effort to turn what was, until then, an oil monopoly into a competitive world-class organization. In close coordination with the

PEMEX’s Procurement Office, all within the new regulatory framework, PPI is continuously working on innovating and modernizing its operations to better serve its customers in the most effective and efficient way. Significant Milestones The implementation of contractual agreements with the strategic partners has been, and still is, one of the biggest achievements of PPI. It enabled the company to offer the clients flexibility and agility to solve their procurement needs, due to pre-negotiated terms and conditions. Moreover, it has given suppliers enough visibility of the goods and/or services that might interest PEMEX in the short-, medium-, or long-term. PPI is able to expedite the information exchange with its clients with the help of the development of custom transactional system, which was done with the purpose of incorporating business rules specific to PEMEX’s procurement process and PPI’s processes that support it, in addition to integrating electronically with PPI’s clients’ systems. All of this, has been done under strict quality measures for which the company achieved its original ISO 9002

standard certification in 1996, less than two years after the company was created. Since then PPI has been developing and improving the quality management system through multiple certifications and, in May of this year, it successfully completed the re-certification audit for the new ISO 9001-2015 standard. Distinctive Approach PPI covers the full cycle of the procurement process in an integrated manner, from beginning to end. This allows the clients to have full visibility of their operations. The company’s extensive experience on the procurement regulations applicable to the energy sector in Mexico, together with the best international commercial practices, have benefited its customers throughout the years. Moreover, PPI’s bilingual and multicultural personnel is able to overcome any cultural or language barriers between its customers and the suppliers, in a framework of transparent and ethical business practices that are compliant with the applicable regulations. PPI strives to maintain and strengthen the strategic alliances with key suppliers, which provide PEMEX

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Our mission is to contribute by generating value to the PEMEX Group by providing comprehensive management solutions for the supply chain of imported goods and/or services with innovation, quality, efﬁciency, and competitiveness.

with the most favorable conditions in terms of price, availability, quality, and technology. Through these alliances, PPI contributes in generating signiﬁcant savings as well as adding value for PEMEX and all its stakeholders Towards Excellence PPI assures to continuously generate value for PEMEX by running an efﬁcient operation that maximizes Return of Investment (ROI). Moreover, it is directing the efforts to achieve a greater penetration of its services in every area within PEMEX in order to be able to aggregate demand, which could result in even greater savings for its customers. Looking at the long term aspects, PPI aspires to expand the reach of its services to other participants in the Mexican energy sector that could

beneﬁt from its proven experience in integrated supply chain management. Additionally, PPI will continue to expand the scope of the strategic alliances to achieve the best terms and conditions for the procurement of goods and services for the whole energy industry in Mexico, as PEMEX continues to establish partnerships with major international players for exploration, drilling, production, and transportation among other areas.

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Management

Brief

Bureau van Dijk bvdinfo.com

Louise Green CMO

Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing is a major publisher of business information, and specializes in private company data combined with software for searching and analyzing companies.

DataSource data-source.com

Phil Schoonmaker CEO

DataSource, based in Kansas City, MO, is a leading provider of end-to-end integrated branded supply chain managed services.

Excella Global excellaglobal.com

Vivek Agrawal CEO

Excella Global is a leading sourcing agent in Various Countries, serving interior designers, architects, hoteliers & hospitality industry to procure quality products.

Nipendo nipendo.com

Eyal Rosenberg Co-founder & CEO

Nipendo provides Robotic Process Automation (RPA) cloudbased platform that streamlines Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) interactions.

PEMEX Procurement International pemexprocurement.com

Salvador Escobedo President & CEO

Pemex Procurement International, Inc. provides procurement services. The Company offers purchasing, contract negotiation, logistic, inspection, and processing services.

ProProcure proprocure.com

Frank Treanor CEO

ProProcure Ltd. provides Web based product procurement solutions.

Science Exchange, Inc. scienceexchange.com

Elizabeth Iorns CEO

Science Exchange is an online marketplace of research services, enabling scientists to outsource their research and development to scientiﬁc institutions

Sievo sievo.com

Johan-Peter Teppala CEO

Sievo is a software provider that analyzes past purchases, predicts future, and manages procurement savings for companies.

Tejari tejari.com

Richard Hogg CEO

Tejari Procurement Portal could allow a remote attacker to upload arbitrary ﬁles, caused by the improper validation of ﬁle extensions by the OPPrelimina.

think thinkprocurement.com

Adam Ryan Founder

think is an online tool that helps make it easier, cheaper, faster and more secure to buy the essential products you need for your child care business.

Company Name

Maestroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Insights

Looking for or Using an EDI Tool? A Few Things you ought to Know

Tom Kieley

CEO & Co-founder SourceDay

|September |MM 2018|

e run into many companies who are interested in implementing an EDI tool or are already using EDI and “don’t have supplier pain”. Although there are valid reasons to adopt an EDI solution, before you take the plunge there are a few things you ought to know. EDI, at its core, is data transformation between trading partners. When you start digging deeper into the capabilities there are no built-in analytics, collaboration, or scoring of buyers or suppliers and ultimately no strategic value to drive supplier performance to meet your business requirements. One of the number one issues with EDI is the total cost of ownership. EDI is expensive to implement for both the customer and supplier. The tool itself is normally expensive but maintaining it can be costly to customize and use countless man hours for upkeep. If there is a change in the ERP system, typically a change is needed in the EDI tool as well. Changes in documents, i.e. invoices (EDI 810) and purchase orders (EDI 850) or purchase order Acknowledgements (EDI 855) can break EDI transmissions causing downtime and expense to all parties. Another challenge can be supplier adoption. The main reason you invest in a tool like EDI is closer buyer and supplier relationships and visibility. When you ask a supplier to adopt a heavy tool like EDI and possibly make them pay for the opportunity to do so, you can create friction as opposed to bringing them closer together. Also, few organizations have successfully implemented EDI with 100% of their supplier chain. Which means your organization will have to manage two procurement processes. A special one for your EDI suppliers, and a separate one for your non-EDI suppliers, i.e. ‘supplier collaboration’ via manual email communication. Regarding communication, EDI system transmissions are limited to an authorized set of documents, rules and transactions. Other communications have to be handled by traditional siloes systems like emails, spreadsheets, and phone calls. If you need to pull in, push out, or expedite a purchase order, then you’ll need email, not EDI. Plus, when EDI processes break, all order processing completely STOPS and requires IT involvement to resolve, which can be costly and time consuming. The last thing to keep in mind when considering an EDI tool is even a 1-cent part by a nonEDI supplier can completely stop production. Your supply chain is only as strong as your weakest link (or weakest vendor), so suppliers not using EDI can cripple production. Even though you may be using or considering EDI, your supply chain deserves 100% coverage with a process that is driving your suppliers to operate at the highest level as it relates to your changing demand.

|September 2018|

About the Author Tom Kieley, is a CEO and Co-founder of SourceDay. As a veteran business owner, Tom knows how to recruit top talent and build a lean team to manage growth. He is also good at conveying company vision and goals to employees, partners and anyone else interested in PO management. But it’s the execution of that vision that makes him such an asset for SourceDay. Tom wears many hats, but his priority is maintaining key relationships and providing oversight across SourceDay. His decade plus of experience in product management and operations, hardware and software sales, and supply chain management fosters his creative ideas around how best to achieve the goals that lead to company success.

Omnichannel Agent and Customer Engagement Solutions Simplify and personalize the customer experience, empower agents and achieve business success with one workspace for all channel interactions, application integrations, and CX reporting.

Bureau van Dijk The World’s Most Powerful Comparable Data Resource on Private Companies

o run a successful business, you need to understand your customers. If you could see the details of their spending, turnover, management changes, and more, you’d have a business advantage.

The company has over 160 information providers, including regulatory and other sources. Clients can sort the data using Bureau van Dijk’s customizable software.

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Founded in 1991, Bureau van Dijk is committed to delivering the richest, most reliable private company information on the market, says its CMO, Louise Green.

We capture and treat private company information for better decision making and increased eﬃciency.

A Sureﬁre Industry Leader Procurement Trends and Challenges Bureau van Dijk’s Orbis is the world’s most powerful, comparable data resource on private companies, with information on around 300 million companies across all countries. Standardized data is presented in customizable dashboards, to ensure that suppliers can interpret it quickly and work more efﬁciently.

So, one of the biggest challenges in the industry is to not fall foul of the regulations whilst trying to negotiate a good deal. To overcome this challenge, an organization should understand who their suppliers are, as they can’t manage risk until they know who they’re buying from. They should also have enablers, like technology and data, in place to support their procurement processes.

‘ ‘

The ﬁrst choice for precise, standardized information on private companies and corporate structures is Bureau van Dijk, a Moody’s Analytics company. The company specializes in private data, and the tools to search and analyze it.

ultimately responsible for the behavior of its suppliers.

Procurement used to be a cost-focused function, with the main aim of getting a good deal from your suppliers. Now, procurement is also focused on risk management. Supply chain management regulations and the Modern Slavery Act are a good indication of how procurement is changing. An organization is now

Data and Analytics Software for Procurement Specialists Bureau van Dijk products most often used by procurement specialists across the globe are: Orbis: the world’s most powerful comparable data resource on private companies. Rather than just providing information Bureau van Dijk standardizes it so that it can be globally compared and understood. Orbis provides an enormous depth of information which customers can search and ﬁlter to ﬁnd what they are looking for.

|September 2018|

Procurement Catalyst: is a tool designed to help customers manage their supplier risk. The solution has some astonishing features like group spend analytics, which shows you when you are buying from multiple companies in the same group, and supplier dependency, which shows your spend as a percentage of each supplier’s turnover. By using Procurement Catalyst you can see the distribution of your supplier base by location, size or ﬁnancials. This makes it easier to check that you have a balanced set of suppliers. It also helps you to spot any supplier risks. You can also keep up with adverse news, changes in ownership, ﬁnancial weakness and changes in management, and screen suppliers against sanction lists.

Louise Green

In summary, Bureau van Dijk can help you to better use your corporate spending power, assess and monitor ﬁnancial health, source and benchmark alternative suppliers and manage reputational risk.

CMO

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Adding Value to Supplier Data Bureau van Dijk brings supplier data to life through customizable dashboards that deliver robust market intelligence, as well as spend and risk reports. Procurement Catalyst is a powerful business information tool that gives you a more transparent view of your suppliers – both existing and potential.

Data is at the core of Bureau van Dijk’s mission, and providing its customers with the best quality of data is its most important objective.

Financial strength metrics are provided with the theory behind the recommendation. Predictive indicators and projected ﬁnancials also help procurement specialists to assess a company’s ﬁnancial strength. Best Quality Data In the coming years, Bureau van Dijk will continue to focus on building the best possible global database for companies, which they can use to achieve more success than ever before.

” |September 2018|

Industry Perspective

How Implementation of

Procurement Impacts the

Supply Chain Excellence

rocurement is an important concept as it is the process of finding, agreeing terms and acquiring goods and services or works from an external source, mostly via competitive bidding process. The process in procurement is used to make sure that the buyer receives goods, services or works at the best possible price, without sacrificing in quality, quantity, time and location. Procurement activities are often divided into two different categories, direct and indirect procurement. Direct Procurement refers to the purchase of goods and services that become part of what your organization sells to its external customers. Whereas, Indirect Procurement concerns with purchase of goods and services that does not become part of what your organization sells to its external customers. In today’s economic environment, doing what you have always been doing—even if you are best at it— is no longer up to snuff. Under pressure supply chain managers must redesign the operations rather than just improve them to contain costs and produce results, despite challenging circumstances. This proves that adopting philosophies, methods, and processes elevate an organization on “top-of-the-line.” If any organization is implementing some of these below mentioned practices, they can see a strong impact on supply chain excellence. Need for Governing Supply Chain Council – A governing council is established so that objectives and strategies of supply chain organizations directly correlates with the corporate strategy. The council is also beneficial in removing barriers to success that exist inside the organization. Since the supply chain organization is now aware about the barriers, they have the opportunity to perform upto their potential. Technology Should Work for You – Many companies choose software that they hope will make them more efficient, and then they structure their workflows and processes around that chosen technology. Instead, they should first review the processes that need improvement, and only then select the technology that best satisfies those process needs. Big organizations recognize the importance of an efficient purchase-topay process and have adopted strategies and mechanisms to get the greatest benefits from technology. An alliance with Key Suppliers – Big companies work along with suppliers even after a deal has been signed. In many organizations these days, it is called “supplier relationship management.” But that only implies one-way communication (telling the supplier how to do it). For

|September 2018|

more effective relationship between buyers and sellers twoway communication is required. Collaborative Strategic Sourcing - Strategic sourcing is the core of booming supply chain management, although a collaborative strategic sourcing drive delivers better outcomes. Few organizations also include customers in decision making process. This approach not only ensures accessibility of supplies, but also results in reducing aggregate cost, streamlined procedures, and increased understanding to customers’ evolving needs. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over Price – Setting up a “Total Cost of Ownership” outlook is an objective that the supply management organization needs to embrace and sustain throughout the entire enterprise. It won’t be simple, however, to convince your company’s executive leadership to truly prioritize value over price. Contracts Under the Supply Chain Network - More companies are moving responsibility regarding contract management to the supply chain organization instead of leaving it in buying, legal, ﬁnance, or operations. One advantage of this move is that it ensures the contracts are gathered and kept up in a central store. The migration of the contract management network to the supply chain organization also

permits the supply chain leader to more viably use the company’s spend, especially in the area of services where there is a huge chance for cost-reduction and risk moderation. Enhance Company-Owned Inventory - The worldwide economic downturn implies that many CFOs have kept inventory on their radar screens, and their ﬁnancial teams are continuously searching for new ideas to enhance the bottom line and reduce working capital. Supply chain organizations should therefore continuously review the inventory quantities and endeavor to keep them at an ideal level. Lack of planning and forecasting are direct causes of inventories that are out of stock with the business's needs. Hence, best-in-class organizations also are placing more emphasis on demand planning and forecasting as other means of ensuring ideal inventory stocks. Set up Appropriate Levels of Control and Reducing Risk — Supply chain management policies and procedures ought to follow a suitable sequence and structure, and it is essential to review them constantly and update them from time to time. However, going too far in building policies and procedures is a possibility. This is why best companies regularly audit their policies and controls to conﬁrm that they are not creating congestions. Some organizations are inducing sound techniques that include: (1) Analyzing all the risk elements; (2) Figure out the chances of the risk incident occurring; (3) Estimating the dollar impact on the sourcing decision if the risk incident certainly takes place; and (4) determine the order for dealing with risks for monitoring and prevention. Taking Social Responsibility Seriously - While making any purchases, social responsibilities are also considered by buyers and consumers. Social responsibility is deigned in such a manner so that it is of measurable corporate policies and procedures that results in favor of better workplace. When it comes to risk evaluation and purchasing of goods, social responsibility plays a vital role in best in class supply management. A company that has a meaningful social responsibility program protects offensive comments from workers and/or consumers.

|September 2018|

Expert's Advice

Procurement Automation

or many businesses, Procurement Automation (PA) provides a significant, sustainable and near term profit opportunity. As top line revenue growth becomes increasingly challenging to achieve, forward thinking business leaders are looking to deliver more value from their supply-side transactions. However, many businesses operate onpremise systems that may solve a specific functional requirement but are difficult to integrate into the wider business. This is driving the demand for procurement automation technology. According to Valueneer’s Global Procurement and SCM Study, 80% of company purchases by volume are made by employees, not by procurement professionals. These transactions are manual and too small to be managed by the procurement team and too diverse to be sourced through a single vendor catalogue. A $1bn revenue company, for example, will make over 35,000 purchases per year, without procurement involvement. That’s $140m of unmanaged expenditure. And a lot of sourcing events, suppliers, approvals, orders, deliveries and invoices to manage. Legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is simply too complex and cumbersome for this type of spend, so employees use online search, phone calls and email to source products and

services from suppliers, resulting in poorly specified requirements, use of unqualified or unsuitable suppliers, limited price negotiation and wastage. These inefficiencies are costing up to 30% of total expenditure – or put another way, could deliver ±10% increase in EBITDA. Procurement Automation The key to unlocking this potential is to consider the source-to-pay (S2P) process in its entirety. With a powerful and connected cloud based S2P capability – organizations connect sourcing, contract management, inventory, ordering, approvals, receipts and invoicing in a single, unified process. Companies therefore benefit from increased efficiencies and reduced costs. They connect budget holders, specifiers, buyers, approvers, suppliers, fulfillment, logistics and finance in an intuitive and collaborative workflow. Procurement professionals can set rules and define workflow in order to centrally control localised transactions. Information flows between integrated on-premise and cloud based systems in real time, so better decisions can be made quicker. Consumers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, logistics, manufacturers and raw materials providers can increasingly rely on data flowing up and down the value chain. With the right cloud based S2P technology in place controlling a streamlined end-to-end process,

management has real time visibility of every transaction, locally, nationally and even globally. Armed with such powerful information, repetitive tasks can be automated and more value can be delivered to the business. For example, a sudden spike in demand in one part of the business can instantly alert finance to expect increased supplier payments weeks ahead of time or employee orders can be aggregated and routed to take advantage of prenegotiated volume pricing. With a single, highly automated process and flexible access to expert resources, data will become more accurate, more immediate, more granular and more accessible. Automating transactional processes for sourcing, supplier management, catalogue, procurement, receipting and invoicing, will inevitably enable data to flow up and down the process resulting in improved data quality. According to an Everest research study, automating procurement can reduce cost by 35% to 65% for onshore delivery operations and 10% to 30% for offshore delivery operations. Procurement Automation can be extended into the supply chain. By looking deep into tier 1 and 2 suppliers and streamlining processes, most buying organisations gain significant benefits. Data is increasingly ubiquitous and shared across the collaborative team in real time. By sharing demand and performance data,

|September 2018|

About the Author James Samuels. Co-founder and Chief Executive Oﬃcer of Claritum Spend Management. Claritum help companies in streamlining the purchasing of tail spend and indirect categories. James has twenty years EMEA marketing experience in the automotive and technology sectors for clients such as VAG, Peugeot, Intel and HP.

integrating into key supplier’s order processing software or automating supplier delivery, invoicing and payment cycles releases more value for buyer and supplier. Farmers in Asia can invest in equipment to grow more crops if they can rely on real time consumer transactions from retailer in Europe for example. An adverse change in a supplier risk rating automatically alerts sourcing, supplier management and accounts. Delays in shipping or delivery shortfalls will notify goods receipting and trigger adjustments to invoices, as well as updating the supplier. And all in real time. With a more streamlined end-to-end process, expertise is released from manual transactions to deliver even more value to the business. They no longer need to be involved in advising on tactical sourcing or supplier management, but can focus on interpreting the actionable data generated by the technology to deliver real intelligence. Combining procurement automation with Artiﬁcial Intelligence (AI) can go way beyond simply automating

|September 2018|

predictable tasks and apply business rules to make objective decisions. Artificial Intelligence (AI) As organizations automate more of their procurement processes, they not only free up resources to work smarter, they also have access to an increased breadth and depth of data. Smart procurement leaders are increasingly adopting AI in order to interpret large data sets, define rules and monitor supply chain performance and continually optimize the end-toend process. For example, AI can help normalize data from multiple sources or identify commonly ordered products from across a dispersed organization. It can flag supplier risks early enough for the risk to be mitigated. With a continual approach to learning, the right AI can make more informed decisions, such as maximizing savings opportunities by aggregating volumes or taking advantage of changes in currencies or commodity prices.

sources such as changes in legislation; changes to supplier risk ratings or localized weather forecasts for ocean going shipments. Advanced AI has the ability to evaluate and prioritize multiple data sources to make informed decisions, monitor performance across the supply chain and procurement cycle - and to learn from those decisions in real time. With such a powerful capability, smart organizations will be quicker to realize opportunities, eliminate supply risk, make greater and more sustainable cost savings and generally out-perform their competitors. So by combining Procurement Automation with Artiﬁcial Intelligence, business leaders can revolutionize their procurement, enhance supplier performance, reduce risk and maximize proﬁts. The future of procurement automation is bright. And this is just the start.

This sort of data becomes even more valuable when enriched with data

Tech Implementation

Challenges in Implementing

ERP Solutions

R 30

|September 2018|

ow you gather, manage, and use information will determine whether you win or lose. — Bill Gates.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an application to integrate the different functions of an organization in a centralized approach in order to gather and manage information, maintain stability, and enhance efficiency. ERP came into existence in the 90s when enterprises were using specific tools for specific tasks of a manufacturing process including material requirement planning, manufacturing resource planning and computer integrated manufacturing. ERP handled those entire tasks single handedly and all other core functional areas of the enterprise came along. The primary focus of ERP was to automate the back office functions of enterprises. With time, all other functions were added in the task list including, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and ecommerce.

Keeping the above details in mind, one must assume that every company that is using ERP must be generating large revenues and achieving all the targets. But the fact is that only 20% of the enterprises beneﬁt from ERP systems. 60% of the implementation projects fail and 90% of the ERP systems fail to deliver the estimated ROI. Many companies also report disappointment with ERP solutions. However, this story requires a further explanation as in most cases; ERP solutions deliver unparalleled beneﬁts to enterprises. The answer lies in the process of implementation and the challenges that arise while the same. Following are the challenges that enterprises encounter while implementing the ERP systems: Challenges Ÿ

Compatibility The primary focus behind the implementation is efficiency. If the estimated growth is not visible in the results then the whole project of switching to an ERP system can be considered a failure. This means that the enterprises must double check the requirements before adapting the new system. Moreover, the system must be flexible to be optimized in accordance with the type and structure of the organization. There must be a proper research of the provider including its customer base, competences and other specific features related to the product.

Change The most common mistake made by the organizations is considering the implementation, as just an update of software. It needs to be taken as the transformation of management. The process affects all the functions and it is a challenge for all the functions to respond as per the requirement to the change. There should be a proper communication to the departments regarding the new job roles and responsibilities.

Skill It needs highly skilled workforce to successfully complete a project as large as this. However, it is doubtful for the enterprises to expect and maintain the

The global market value of ERP software market was $82.3 billion in 2016 and it is projected to reach around $84.7 billion by2021. In a recent study, it was shown that the new ERP systems enabled companies to attain 24% of growth in on-time deliveries due to increase in efﬁciency. 81% of the organizations have either completed the process of implementation, or are in the process. 16% of the organizations implemented the ERP system with the motive switching into an updated system. Below are the beneﬁts of having an ERP system: Ÿ

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Helps the enterprise to survive and give an edge over other enterprises from the cut throat competition of the market. Enhances the ﬂow and use of data in order to retrieve the optimum result from the same. Increases the productivity of the organization as a whole by not wasting any resources. Offers better security through the cutting edge features offered in the modern systems. Enables the enterprise to prepare for the upcoming obstacles by offering better risk management. Improves the quality of services offered to customers by managing their data in real time.

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same standard of work from each individual of the lot. Organizations need to invest good amount of resources while the hiring for the top level management of such process. In some cases, fresh leaders have performed immensely in these projects while in others; the experience has spoken for itself. This means a training process should be organized for the existing workforce before the process. Not to mention the training for the software after the implementation. Ÿ

Time Large projects are often known for consuming more time than expected as they are complex, dynamic and can go off the track by small errors. Delay in the completion of the projects is one of the most expensive consequences for enterprises. The cost of delay affects the estimated budget by huge margins, which means losing the purpose of implementing the system in the ﬁrst place. This happens due to lack of planning. Even though it is difﬁcult to completely avoid the uncertainty, a better plan saves a ton of resources.

Governance Many enterprises lack supervision in large projects. Moreover, in order to be effective, projects also requires long term vision and keen observation on the complexity of the project. Usually such planning is not possible with the help of a few managers. There should be a governing body to supervise the project and must evaluate the growth on a daily basis.

Costing It is impossible to estimate the cost of a project with accuracy. Big projects, especially when there is an implementation or upgrade of software, cost huge amount of money. And it is difﬁcult to predict the future expenses in advance without the help of an extensive and systematic solution. Enterprises need to consult experts in this area as it would cost much less than the uncertainty.

Looking at the trends, ERP has a bright future. With its collaboration with technologies like Internet of Things and Cloud Services, the system will become more efﬁcient and productive. But it comes with challenges. And the enterprises must take care of these challenges in order to retrieve the purpose it offers to fulﬁll.

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EXCELLA GLOBAL An Exceptional Procurement Solution Provider for Interior Design Industry

uilding a project is one of the biggest investments an individual can make. The largest components of the overall budget for any construction project are almost always the interior and exterior design. The smart project builder is aware of this and will enjoy a superior ﬁnished product while saving both time and money. Professional architects and contractors keep in touch with the latest trends in their respective industries, and they use that knowledge to create stunning designs. However, keeping track of every new trend in a highly progressive market, like interior and exterior designing, is virtually impossible for them as well. A comprehensive solution to assist these professionals will not only simplify the design process but also result in better designs in shorter timeframes. This is where Excella Global comes in. Excella Global is a one-stop global sourcing and procurement solution provider for interior and exterior decoration products. The company’s services are aimed at interior designers, architects and project owners in projects as diverse as hospitality, real

estate, corporate space, institutions, and private residences. Excella Global optimizes time and cost investments by helping clients procure the best products for their needs from verified vendors at the best prices. Simplifying the Purchasing Process Excella Global has spent over a decade giving interior designers and architects a versatile platform to improve their speed and efficiency without compromising quality. The company excels at identifying the needs of clients and helps them to purchase quality products at the best prices. Its end-to-end services from sourcing to execution give customers access to furniture, lights, building materials, art, and artefacts. Over the years, the company has developed a massive sourcing database of many thousands of products and an intuitive interface which helps clients make the right choice for their needs quickly. The journey of Excella Global began from China. Initially, it struggled to find the best way to match customers’ requests and specifications with the right product and right vendor. However, it quickly gained a strong

command over the diverse market, and has now widened its procurement network to include India, Indonesia, and Italy. A Proactive Entrepreneur Mr. Vivek Agrawal is the CEO of Excella Global and he contributes as a strategy designer to the company. Vivek is never short of ideas to inject innovation into a client’s project. He is a young, passionate, and proactive entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in diverse ﬁelds, which includes furniture, marble, tiles, lighting, chemicals, and fabrics. It is his unrivalled vision and leadership that has made the company a leader in the industry. Vivek is usually involved at the planning stage of projects and maintains a consistent presence throughout the project implementation cycle. He has the invaluable ability to translate a client’s goal into actionable strategy, and excels at articulating concepts and educating clients so they can make empowered and informed business decisions. His experience gives him a knack for understanding trends from the ground

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up and the foresight to carry those trends smoothly through various projects. He is also involved in ensuring that all of the project work and operational activities adhere to the high standards that he has set for the company and its clients. Vivek is constantly looking to identify newer, more efﬁcient ways and opportunities to improve the company’s services. His diverse experience allows him to make smart decisions from a business strategy perspective for his clients while fostering a creative environment for day-to-day operations for his employees. Timely Communication Excella Global places great emphasis on upfront and timely communication to better serve its customers. It has invested heavily in creating and constantly improving on how it communicates with both clients and vendors. Vivek Agrawal

CEO

Excella Global endows its customers with a system through which the customers can get an extensive sourcing advantage. The company bids a local representation feature that helps clients to choose the right product and for further assurance the customers can track and check each and every order as well.

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This system is known for its speed in processing and this is evident from the hundreds of positive reviews and references by its clients.

We optimise time and cost involvement and help clients procure quality products from veriﬁed vendors.

Eying Global Expansion Excella Global has made a significant contribution to the design and construction sphere in Asian countries like China and India, and is now expanding its sourcing wings across the globe. It is also working on a collaborative international model to connect interior designers and architects with manufacturers. Excella Global soft-launched this revolutionary platform at www.arcedior.com. Explaining its benefits, Vivek asserts, “The platform will empower architects and interior designers with simplified sourcing and procurement, and will give a global reach to large and small vendors alike.”

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The company is considering other similar initiatives and aims to stay attuned with the latest designs to facilitate the global market.

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Workforce of Contemporary World

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s an employee, if you were given a chance to sell your skills on the global stage with a greater sense of autonomy, independence, and flexibility as compare to the traditional 9 to5 job, what would you prefer? As an employer, if you were given a chance to hire a potential candidate on-demand at your terms and conditions as compared to a permanent hire, what would you prefer? This is where Gig economy comes into picture. The days of ‘life-long’ careers within the same company, longterm stability of a signed job contract, guaranteed significance of the skills acquired in the college, and predictable work routines are long gone. In this fast paced global economic era, there is a growing demand for independent talent who are autonomous and willing to sell their skillsets on the global market. There are multiple factors that are giving exponential rise to Gig economy than even before. Below are some of these factors that are fuelling the growth of Gig economy, which is considered as the new and burgeoning trend in the HR space. Financial Freedom According to a survey conducted on 6,247 Gig economy workers, 57% said they chose freelance path to earn more money. On an average, a freelance worker makes $60,000 a year, according to MBO partners. When a person works as a freelancer, he is not tied to incremental salary increases, or limited to how much you can make. Depending upon the industry, sky is the limit. And this is what fascinates most to the freelancers. Do what you really passionate about People work because it gives them the most important resource required to live i.e. Money. But how many people do the work which they really find fascinating; that is the million dollar question, and answer might be a fraction of the total workforce. This is another reason people get attracted towards freelancing, as it gives them an opportunity to do what they really find interesting and have a passion about. Balanced Work Life Gig workers have full control of their workload, they can pick and choose how much they can take on and where and when to work at their own convenience. One LinkedIn survey which was conducted on 10,000 workers revealed that more than 46% value working in such a fashion because it allows them to work on flexible timings. According to Forbes, more than 35% like the work life balance that Gig economy provides to its workers. Full Control over Destiny In a permanent job, employee works for some specific job role and are bound to work in the same domain if they want a greater hike or a better position. Whereas, gig worker have the liberty to change career track whenever they

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time to time. This is where gig workers fit into the picture more conveniently than a full time employee. When employers seek a gig worker, they often look for a specific skillset among candidates. Since a gig worker is not a full time employee and hired to complete specific project, chances of getting work done more efficiently, effectively and in timely manner always remains high. Speedy Hiring and Onboarding Process: Conventional onboarding process many times takes weeks or even months. But individuals in the flexible workforce are expected to onboard much more rapidly and even seamlessly integrate their work with the team. Since companies hire gig workers for their expertise in the subject matter and there is a no commitment for a full time employment, workers do get hires from various platforms in a very speedy manner with fast onboarding process. Past and the Future want. If a person wants to make some more money, want to try something new, or want be their own boss, then being a gig worker they can achieve these goals and have more control over what to do next. For a big dreamer who never gets satisfied with a traditional job, entering flexible workforce might be a refreshing change of pace. Not only Employees but Employers also want Flexibility In most part of the contemporary world, employers also now gracefully accept the option of contractual manpower due to variety of advantages that contract worker bring for an organization. Skill based Hiring: Many jobs require a specialist only when there is a dire need of it, not all the 365 days a year. Then, why to spend extra money on a full time employee, is the burning question that arises in the mind of recruiters

While alternative work arrangement has been in the fashion for long but its usage has grown significantly over the past decade. The fraction of contingent employees in the labor force increased from 10% to 16% between 2005 and 2015, with alternative work arrangements accounting for all of the net growth in employment over the past decade. The increased applications of disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence, robotics and automation will shape the future of global workforce and will significantly give rise to so-called gig economy. According to one survey, an estimated 7.6 million Americans will be regularly working as providers in the on-demand economy by 2020, more than doubling the current total of 3.2 million flexible taskforce. Gig economy is still at the nascent stage, according to research firm PwC, gig economy cover mere a 2% of the total recruitment market. But by 2020, gig economy will worth $63 billion globally.

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Nipendo Streamlining Purchase to Pay Processes

obotic Process Automation (RPA) combined with Cloud computing has truly revolutionized the space of Purchase to Pay (P2P) and becoming a critical factor in Enterprise’s competitive advantage creating a true collaboration between buyers and suppliers which is mostly automated. Modern Cloud solution, RPA architecture outperform existing solutions such as Ariba, GXS and Basware that serve as dumb pipes and have failed on their promise to automate Procure to Pay (P2P) processes. As RPA and AI are becoming mainstream enterprises are starting to realize practical ways they can beneﬁt these technologies to replace tedious, error-prone manual work and rote decision making with software bots. Consequently, modern technology Cloud vendors that architecture their solution on RPA recently sense growing demand expanding across different vertical markets. Nipendo is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this immense potential with its Supplier Cloud Platform. Its Cloud-based Robotic Process Automation (RPA) platform streamlines P2P interactions across all spend categories, suppliers and processes. It transforms procurement, order fulﬁllment, accounts payables, invoices and payments to fullyautomated, touch-free and error-free processes. Nipendo have also solved the complexity of one-to-one integration, which is one of the biggest barriers to widespread supplier

collaboration, through multiple canonical and content based integration resulting with distributed network effect where companies connect once to the network and communicates with all network partners.

In addition, Nipendo also offers solutions for Accounts Receivable (AR) Financing, Supplier Management, Supplier On-Boarding and Supplier Master Data Management.

Nipendo Supplier Cloud is used by leading organizations across various industries. Its clients include multinationals such as KLA Tencor, Kodak Alaris, Intel, Checkpoint, Amdocs, Israel Aerospace Industries, Sigma-Aldrich, and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

These capabilities leverage the following advantages:

Delivering Simpliﬁed Solutions Nipendo’s RPA platform replaces over 85% of manual work and rote decision making with automated processes.

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It enables suppliers to use their existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system/mobile app/web app or email to maintain their existing work methods, business processes and tools. Its wide range of solutions includes B2B integration, supply chain process orchestration, Exchange to Exchange (E2E) invoicing, dynamic discounting and supply chain ﬁnance. With these solutions, enterprises can automate supplier collaboration on the main P2P processes such as Request for Proposal, Forecasting, ECO, Purchasing Order (PO), Shipping Notiﬁcations, Advance Ship Notice (ASN), Goods Receipt (GR), Supplier Inventory, Vendor-managed Inventory (VMI), Consignment, all types of Invoices and Payments.

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Business wide P2P process transparency across all spends categories, all types of suppliers, and all geographies Improved supplier performance by sharing performance KPI scores and comparable competitive performance with suppliers High scalability with no need for additional human resources Improved compliance and process governance Eliminating discrepancies and Management by Exception Eliminating manual work and automating all routine decision making

A Challenging Journey Renowned author, Jeffrey Benjamin, once said, “In every challenge lives a greater opportunity.” This quote applies very appropriately for Nipendo. Nipendo started with a dream to solve cumbersome, rigid and manual processes in the procurement, A&F and supply chain space, which was inherently a very elusive goal. When they did succeed in creating a solution, market penetration became the next seemingly insurmountable challenge.

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Convincing businesses to implement disruptive technology only recently created by a startup company was indeed a challenging experiment. However, as the number of client success stories grew, the challenge flipped and Nipendo had to contend with exponential growth in the demand for its services. An Enthusiastic CEO It is an enthusiasm about the ERP space that drives Eyal Rosenberg, a Co-founder and CEO of Nipendo. Eyal has always been keen on improving efficiency, reducing complexity, flexing rigidness, reducing costs, improving scalability, and giving users a competitive advantage. It was this passion that led to the inception of Nipendo. Prior to starting the company, Eyal served as a VP of R&D at BAAN ERP, a pioneering ERP vendor. In 1999, he left BAAN to found his first startup and has since established another three. All these companies are involved in the procurement, A&F and supply chain fields. Eyal Rosenberg Co-founder & CEO

An Essential Contribution In the future, machines will make purchasing decisions by considering what, when, from whom and how much in the tail and indirect spend. Due to this, the certain purchasing categories tend to be disappeared. More expenditure will be completely automated through machine-to-machine interactions. Giant e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Alibaba will replace many current suppliers, even major ones.

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We plan to become the bridge for enterprises to the RPA and the AI era.

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Eyal holds an MBA from Bar-Ilan University and a BA in Finance and Marketing from Tel Aviv University.

Nipendo has set the stage for the upcoming level of automation and will become a key facilitator for companies to rapidly achieve fully-automated P2P processes. Its customers are already enjoying a high level of automation today. A Determined Stride Nipendo was founded with an aim to disrupt the procurement, A&F and supply chain space, and plans to become the bridge for enterprises to the RPA and the AI era in these segments. The company is in the process of helping its customers reach an unprecedented level of automation. It is constantly advancing its technology to lead the market with best-inclass solutions enabled through RPA, AI, machine learning and predictive analytics.

think

A Disruptive Procurement Solution Buying Better Profits

ver the past few years, the value of procurement innovation has become apparent. Current research shows more and more people recognize the efﬁciency of procurement, especially those who deal with trading transactions. The procurement role is essential to any business that purchases, to the extent that buying goods, services or any other items, shows procurement having a direct result on proﬁt.

think is focused on the automation of buying and selling transactions in B2B commerce and has chosen to solve procurement processes, such as workflow approvals, GL Coding, reconciliation and goods receipting, amongst others. It’s rapid deployment and flexible configuration capabilities, combined with a simple transactional model, builds comprehensive value based strategies allowing organisations to revitalise the overall process cycle of their organisation.

Typically, businesses buy products or services from multiple vendors. Procurement professionals handle the details of procuring these purchases at optimal prices. So establishing rational procurement policy and procedures enables mid-sized businesses to coordinate their buying strategy with their long-term goals and objectives.

Easier and Flexible Platform Automating Better Pricing

thinkholdings, is Australia’s leading provider of business procurement Software as a Service (SaaS). By leveraging technology, market knowledge and procurement expertise, think enables organizations to increase proﬁtability by buying better, a strategy especially designed for mid-sized businesses. The company has designed solutions dedicated to improve scalability, purchasing and payment processes of all mid-sized organisations.

Founded in 2010, think identified the Enterprise market was served by existing players and focused its attention on mid-sized organisations. It has intentionally designed an easier, efficient and flexible platform targeting mid-size organisations. The adaptive platform enables clients to effectively manage their catalogs; helping to ensure content is classified and enriched. These facilitations allow a better pricing structure and the modular approach to features and flexible self-configuration tools, makes the process even easier and more efficient. In addition to this, think takes an active role in ensuring the quality and accuracy of seller catalog information

including images, descriptions, supporting documentation, classiﬁcation and search metrics at the very start of the process, right through to invoice automation, reconciliation and payments to end the process. think is truly P2P in this regard as it integrates each of the required steps ensuring greater automation at the highest levels of accuracy. The delivered solutions beneﬁt clients with reduced process costs, better pricing opportunities with sellers and reduced errors compared to any other offering in the market today. Initial Struggles in Balancing the Ambitions think had the classic start up struggles of balancing an ambition of disrupting the B2B commerce market with procurement and payments at the core. Convincing customers to change the way they engage with sellers and sellers to think differently about their go to market strategy, including how to get paid earlier, was a challenging task for think. However, the company emphasis on creating an easier and customisable system has helped think build a system that has attracted local and global clients. The company vision is to be the best in market and not the biggest

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in market. The strategies powered by this vision have a notable impact on client processing cycles with notable industry leaders admiring think for its precision solutions. Coupled with reaching the highest security grade in payments of any organisation in this space (PCI Compliance Level), this vision is a testament to the quality of think’s application. An Instrumental Leader Piloting the Company towards Greater Heights Adam Ryan is the Founder of think. He is the visionary behind think, starting the company in a garage and now seen as a leading innovator in this space. Adam has been involved in technology start-ups for over 20 years and was a part of the founding management team of SEEK, an ASX listed TOP 100 company with a market capitalisation of over $5B USD.

Adam Ryan Founder

Adam is an Advisory Board Member of the Institute of Supply Excellence & Innovation at the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego. He is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors as well as being a founder of the Watkins Bay Fund specialising in start-ups, a passion he continues today.

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He has been instrumental in transforming the views of banks and payment providers on what can be achieved in the Digital Payments space for B2B commerce, and is a sought after speaker for Fintech, banking, and procurement conferences globally. Converting Opportunities into Reality

We envision making our customers’, suppliers’ and users’ purchase-to-pay lives easier and more eﬃcient, and to deliver an ROI that encompasses savings, resources and time.

In coming times, think will provide procurement solution providers with the ability to incept platforms that are contemporary in their charging model that will become the true disrupters. Companies with an innovative transaction based pricing methodology aligned to creating value for customers ensuring faster and greater return on their investment, will witness more outcomes than the traditional ones. In that sense think is a true disruptor. think continues to pursue opportunities for its B2B commerce platform across its core capabilities, from Content Management Services and buyer and seller platforms for a range of vertical industries, looking to unlocking access to content and process automation along with future innovation.

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The approach of collaborating with industry leaders, leading consulting ﬁrms, security experts, banks and progressive customers has ensured think’s ability to disrupt the e-procurement market with its offering addressing real issues and creating real value.

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Stellar's Vision

Thriving In Technology: An Entrepreneur’s Perspective

very day, we hear news about disruptive technology: Artiﬁcial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT). These solutions have the potential to change the way we work at an unprecedented speed and scale. Technology fundamentally alters the way we make decisions. So how do people factor into this new equation? As Founder and CEO of ConnXus, a supplier management software company based in Ohio, I interact with business technology and various operational teams every day. We’ve seen a fundamental shift in the market landscape and pivoted our business model as a result. There’s a clear gap in the market, and only those listening can step up to the challenge. In this environment, we’ve become lean and nimble. Here are a few key components my team and I have learned in driving business value through technology: Technology Lowers the Barrier to Entry Technology allows business users with non-technical backgrounds to access data and assets. For example, people who use APIs don’t need to understand how back-end systems

function or how programs communicates with each other. They can self-serve according to their data needs. Firms can open backend data and functionality to be reused in new programs without alienating nontechnical users. This strategy eliminates information silos and gatekeepers, increasing operational efﬁciency. IT departments are incentivized to build reusable infrastructure. This culture shift from viewing IT as a technology provider to a strategic business partner is critical. Strategy Maximizes Digital Adoption Technology plays an important role no matter where you go. But new technology brings new responsibility. Digital tools enable relationshipdriven people to succeed in business. Technology is most effective when utilized with strategies closely aligned to your business values and goals. Focusing on a problem and setting the scope of a tool’s function is vital to the tool’s success. As routine and repetitive tasks are becoming more automated, it’s important to deﬁne the areas that human empathy and critical thinking shine through.

Innovation Is Today’s Currency It’s no secret that start-ups are disrupting multi-billion dollar industries. Today’s top ﬁve publiclytraded companies didn’t even exist 25 years ago. These companies all introduced innovative solutions to the market that delivered value in new and unique ways. These days, people are looking for robust, secure, and easy-to-deploy solutions that solve a variety of communication problems. Scalable software solutions that offer centralized access to clean data will become the new standard. The Right Tools are Utilized by the Right People Technology is often seen as the means to an end, an execution tool for strategy. But having the right team can be just as important. The best leadership advice I’ve ever received was “hire people who are smarter than you at what they do, and create an environment where they can do their best work”. I have an awesome, technically competent team that enables me to focus on vision, strategy, leadership and relationships. In the words of John Maxwell, “there is nothing worse

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than an entrepreneur with a big dream and a bad team.” I’m blessed with a dream team of people who understood my vision and shared my passion for the solution that I want to build. Key stakeholders, such as our board of directors, are an extension of our team and our brand. Only people that truly ﬁt the job role and work culture will be able to maximize whatever technology tools are provided to them. Focus on Core Competencies Creates Opportunity

About the Author

It’s easy to get lost in the bells and whistles of the latest technology craze. As a software company, we have to stay vigilant and focused on our technical approach. We have to build fast and fall forward. Our cloud-based platform provides powerful tools and analytics that enable large companies to measure and quantify diversity within their supply chains. By deliberately focusing on our core and exceeding customer expectations over the past several years, many of our customers now see the broader capabilities of our platform as a full supplier management solution that specializes in supplier diversity and sustainability. This greatly expands the size of our market opportunity, and is a direct result of our laser focus on developing the right technology that differentiated us from competitors. Technology Fosters Collaboration & Impact

Rod Robinson is the Founder and CEO of ConnXus, a supplier management software platform. He writes about supplier diversity, supply chain technology, procurement, leadership and entrepreneurship. |September 2018|

At ConnXus, we work with countless businesses ranging from small and diverse family-owned suppliers, to large corporate buyers. Across the board, we consistently ﬁnd that businesses with strategic focus on inclusion and sustainability have substantial bottom line savings, and positively impact their local community. Many of these businesses take advantage of implementing the right technology ﬁt for their needs. In this way, technology frames purpose and helps operational teams do more with less. Purpose-driven technology attracts purposedriven people and work culture. This makes it possible for us to create an unfair advantage. Aligning our purpose to our technology tools enabled ConnXus to attract a growing list of Fortune 500 customers, investors and strategic partners, who have all played key roles in helping us grow. In all these ways, we believe technology is the key to success.