4 Key Takeaways from the Americas Procurement Congress

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4 Key Takeaways from the Americas Procurement Congress

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Americas Procurement Conference in Boston, where I heard from many of the leading minds in Procurement. For me, this was the first event I have attended in-person since the start of the pandemic, and it was a great reminder of the value of sharing learnings and experience with the broader procurement community. Here are my four key takeaways from listening to presentations and discussions with attendees for those who could not attend.

1. There is an enduring need for better supplier and supply chain transparency and systems that strengthen collaboration, manage risk, and build operational resilience

2. Organizations need intelligent procurement tools that also integrate with other business systems to streamline and improve the efficiency of the procurement process

3. Procurement leaders must take ownership for identifying and addressing Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions and exerting constructive pressure into their supply base

4. Procurements should be designed to enable diverse businesses the chance to compete and drive economic growth in local communities

As an ex-CPO, I experienced first-hand the challenges of managing an increasingly complex global supplier network under rapidly changing business conditions and ever more stringent regulations. The key to managing this complexity is having the right cloud-based tools that enable real-time collaboration with suppliers, provide visibility into the whole supply base and timely information on supplier risk and compliance.

When intelligent tools are placed in the hands of users throughout the organization, they can be used to make informed buying decisions and accelerate the organization's strategic goals. Without automation and intelligent tools, the ability to manage rising supply chain costs, risks and increasing complexity is unachievable at scale.

As a community of procurement and supply chain professionals, we have a pivotal role in delivering Environmental, Social and Governance goals by only working with suppliers that adhere to our organization's social, environmental and security standards. A companies social and environmental footprint is not limited to its internal operations. For many organizations, indirect Scope 3 emissions in their supply chain account for most of their total emissions. Therefore, it is essential that procurement leaders not only assess their upstream carbon footprint but take ownership of driving change in their supply base.

There are also proven commercial benefits to being environmentally and socially conscious in procurement. An inclusive and diverse procurement strategy can make your supply chain more resilient and agile while also delivering broader economic benefits for diverse communities.

If we are going to meet our net-zero emissions targets, increase spend with our diverse communities, and meet new legislative requirements like US Federal Section 889, the entire supply chain must be examined. Organizations will need integrated systems and connections to rich data sources to track performance against ESG goals and get actionable insights into the opportunities of redirecting spend towards sustainable and diverse suppliers.

At RobobAI, we help organizations meet their corporate and social commitments by providing insights into how and where they're spending money and delivering real-time actionable intelligence into the social and ethical risks and spend opportunities in their supply chain.

Connect with us to learn more about the potential risks and ethical implications of the decisions you're making and see how our intelligent KYS 360 platform can transform your entire supplier network.