Elevate Every Decision with Intelligent Procurement

From insights to action, the path to extraordinary value starts here.
Elevate every
decision with
intelligent
procurement
Fast-track to future-ready performance

Copyright © 2021 Accenture. All rights reserved. 2
90%
of Chief Procurement
Officers (CPOs) say that
their organizations are
under extreme pressure
to be more innovative.
procurement leaders needed to be more innovative
identifying and contracting with approved, sustainable
and reliable suppliers.
Disruptions in supply chains
during the pandemic meant…
Intelligent Operations | Procurement View

To drive innovation, procurement leaders
need to…
Collaborate
with business stakeholders
across departments to
understand their needs and
plan together
Thread
sustainability into all
procurement activities
Access
data-driven insights to
predict future trends

Procurement leaders realize
that increasing operations
maturity will elevate
procurement’s role in the
enterprise and the value it
delivers.
Future-ready
operations deliver
value beyond cost
savings

Our research and experience reveals there are four levels of
maturity:
of procurement leaders report a high
level of maturity as their current state;
we call them future-ready.
2%
Operations on the move
of procurement leaders say they
have evolved to predictive
operations.
61%
Each level is grounded in and enabled by progressively more
sophisticated technology, talent, processes and data insights.
Predictive
Stable
Future-ready
Efficient

1.7x
higher efficiency
levels for future-ready
organizations.1
Advantages of being
future-ready
1 Future-ready organizations exhibited 6.4 pp higher profitability and 13.1 percent greater efficiency, on average
Source: Accenture Research and Oxford Economics Intelligent Operations Survey, 2020
Other future-ready benefits:
improved talent mix, reskilling, customer
experiences and ecosystem relationships
2.8x
boost in corporate
profitability for
future-ready
organizations.1
More profitable
More efficient

Procurement leaders
rate their organizations
slightly above average
for two of the eight
characteristics in wide
use or use at scale.
Eight characteristics that measure operational
maturity
72%
70%
70%
69%
69%
65%
63%
57%
60%
68%
67%
65%
74%
75%
71%
74%
Agile workforce
Data
Business-technology collaboration
Analytics
Stakeholder experience
Automation
Leading practices
AI
Currently in wide use or use at scale (Procurement Leaders)
Currently in wide use or use at scale (All Respondents)

The agile workforce concept has
evolved in the last year as a
result of the pandemic and
the push to remote work.
Procurement leaders also tap
into contingent labor and gig
economy workforce models to
scale resource use with demand.
Agile workforce
is a bright spot

Three ways to become future-ready:
03
02
01
Know how
to leapfrog
maturity levels
Know the
key steps
Know the
ultimate goal

Know the
ultimate
goal
Think big with strategy
at the forefront
01

01 Know the ultimate goal
Emphasizing strategy is
critical for both CPOs and
enterprises
CPOs’ North Star is to achieve value beyond cost savings—it is
holistic value that impacts all stakeholders across the enterprise,
suppliers, customers and even society.
Smash the silos
43%
of procurement leaders expect business and
technology functions to collaborate fully by 2023;
just 7% are doing this today.

Intelligent Operations | Procurement View Copyright © 2021 Accenture. All rights reserved. 12
01 Know the ultimate goal
A major consumer goods business needed to take a
strategic approach to transforming procurement on a
global scale. By moving to a digital, intelligent operating
model that integrated data, digital technologies and
procurement talent, the company was able to better focus
on customer needs and enhance its ability to respond at the
right time with efficient manufacturing, at scale.
Ultimately, the company:
$1B
in rapid sourcing
saved
99%
increased buyer satisfaction
scores to over

Know the
key steps
Automate at scale to augment
human talent
02

02 Know the key steps
There has
been a 5X
increase in
automation
over the past
three years.
Automation makes it possible for CPOs to build a very
specialized human and machine workforce.
CPOs who expand automation beyond simple,
transactional tasks will see its true value.
For example, intelligent agents can perform research at
the category level, scanning contracts and other
reports using natural language processing to pull data
together in digestible reports for humans.
Automate at scale to
augment human talent

Data is at the heart of procurement –
providing insights that are key for:
67%
of procurement leaders say that
the company’s operating model is
designed based on data rather than
on executive experience and intuition.
• understanding consumption patterns
• ensuring that suppliers are following
sustainable and ethical business practices
• setting best-in-class contract terms and pricing

72%
of procurement leaders say
that their organization has
applied cloud at scale.
E-procurement solutions have been cloud-based for
years, meaning core procurement tasks have been
cloud-enabled for a long time.
CPOs are well positioned to use their experience to
lead the enterprise in its move to cloud.
Scale cloud investments

A leading financial institution faced increasing cost pressure, growing
uncertainty, and the need for strict compliance with a challenging
regulatory environment. An explosion in digital banking capabilities
created new risks, making accounts payable a target for would-be
fraudsters.
The financial institution needed to move away from manual processes
to an intelligent procurement operating model that blends human
expertise with machine efficiency and uses automation and applied
intelligence to streamline repeatable processes. As a result, the
company has:
80% 58%
reduced the cost
per invoice by
increased the total
touchless e-invoices to

Know how
to leapfrog
maturity levels
Build ecosystem relationships
03

37%
of procurement leaders say that
ecosystem relationships have
improved over the past three
years, noting that the pandemic
reinforced the need to keep such
partnerships top of mind.
Procurement can leapfrog maturity levels by taking advantage
of the networks CPOs interact with every day:
Embrace partnerships to
act faster
03 Know how to leapfrog maturity levels
Supplier ecosystem Provider network

03 Know how to leapfrog maturity levels
After spinning off from a chemicals giant, an entrepreneurial
chemical company needed to transform an underperforming
inherited procurement function. The procurement team plotted
a path to world class procurement which was founded on
customer-centricity, simpler processes and a clearer focus on
what the business users really needed.
By moving to an intelligent procurement operating model that
integrates data, technologies, talent, and analytics, the company
increased the level of data accuracy and on-time payment, while
boosting the proportion of touchless electronic invoices.
Working with the rest of the business, procurement enabled
simpler, faster and smarter buying experiences and provided
more accurate Total Cost of Ownership analytics. The result?
Procurement can better support business needs and business
growth with…
$350M
spend under management

As CPOs embrace their
growing strategic role, they
can lead by example and help
the business in its journey to
future-ready.
The choice
to change

Learn more at: Accenture.com/FutureReadyProcurement
Think Scale
Enhance Foster Build
big and go beyond
cost savings.
Financial value is
only one part of
the value equation
that CPOs can
deliver to the
business.
automation and
analytics, AI and
integrated solutions
with leading
practices.
Tapping into leading
technologies is how
procurement will get
the full value out of
data and be a true
strategic partner to
the business.
intuition with the
highest-quality,
diverse data.
Procurement
leaders can
unlock business
value by
harnessing
external data.
a specialized human
+ machine
workforce.
The magic happens
when technology
and human
ingenuity meet to
transform how
procurement works.
complementary
third-party
ecosystem
relationships.
Partners can
help procurement
break through its
technology gap
and focus on
core strengths.
Now is the time to make your move to intelligent operations. Here’s how:

Appendix
Four levels of operations maturity:
Predictive
Concentrate mostly
on core process
improvements and on
improving quality and
compliance controls.
Stable
Future-ready
Efficient
More productive, they
incorporate tested
methods, such as Lean
Six Sigma and process
standardization and
deploy automation
technologies.
Focus on how automation
can support and augment
human ingenuity. They
deploy technologies and
leading practices with
that goal in mind.
See increased efficiency
and profitability, improved
stakeholder experiences and
better business outcomes.
They are more agile and
resilient than others.

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reader’s specific circumstances, and may not reflect the most current developments. Accenture disclaims, to the
fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information
in this presentation and for any acts or omissions made based on such information. Accenture does not provide
legal, regulatory, audit, or tax advice. Readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel
or other licensed professionals.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional
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Combining unmatched experience and
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Visit us at www.accenture.com
About Accenture Research
Accenture Research shapes trends and
creates data-driven insights about the
most pressing issues global organizations
face. Combining the power of innovative
research techniques with a deep
understanding of our clients’ industries,
our team of 300 researchers and analysts
spans 20 countries and publishes
hundreds of reports, articles and points of
view every year. Our thought-provoking
research—supported by proprietary data
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organizations such as MIT and Harvard—
guides our innovations and allows us to
transform theories and fresh ideas into
real-world solutions for our clients. Visit
us at www.accenture.com/research
About Oxford Economics
Oxford Economics is a leader in global
forecasting and quantitative analysis.
Our worldwide client base comprises
more than 1,500 international
corporations, financial institutions,
government organizations, and
universities. Headquartered in Oxford,
with offices around the world, we employ
400 staff, including 250 economists and
analysts.
Our best-in-class global economic and
industry models and analytical tools give
us an unmatched ability to forecast
external market trends and assess their
economic, social and business impact.
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All rights reserved.
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