With ever-changing technology, business practices and consumer demands, the procurement industry is picking momentum at a faster pace. The continuous push to minimize costs and risks requires procurement departments to redefine their procurement strategies. The following are the top trends set to transform the procurement industry in the future:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain are the two disruptive technologies driving procurement today. Predictive technology in AI enables procurement professionals to predict future trends, allowing them to manage supply chain effectively.

On the other hand, Blockchain can help simplify business processes by recording every transaction and adding it to the pre-existing blocks to form an information chain. Blockchain can track every step of the sourcing process, making it easy for you to keep an eye on the supply chain. Choosing the procurement software that leverages AI and blockchain to manage procurement activities adds an edge to businesses in the long run.

Understand the Purchasing Patterns with Big Data

Right from sourcing to managing supplier risk, Big Data analytics plays a key role in every phase. Cognitive procurement can anticipate disruptions and turn data into actionable insights to improve ROI. The inception of Natural Language Processing (NLP) will not only help automate supply chain processes, but can also spot purchases and performs contract analysis. Procurement solutions today are taking advantage of machine learning algorithms to understand purchasing patterns, so you can procure products accordingly.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Cloud-based technologies will improve the efficiency and productivity of the supply chain management by providing you real-time access to the budget reports while eliminating human errors. IoT can help you keep pace with growing customer demands by enabling you to make smarter purchasing decisions.

Supply chain professionals must understand the benefits that enterprises get out of these growing trends and outline best procurement practices that work for their company.