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In an attempt to scale savings and increase process efficiencies growth minded CFOs and Finance Leaders opt for Automating their financial processes with a vision of eradicating manual processes and streamlining their invoicing and purchasing functions. Automation, with the myriad benefits that it offers does have a feel-good factor attached to it. However, many organizations struggle to roll-out the solution. This is where the concept of change management comes into play, the purpose of which is to implement strategies that help effect, control, and adapt to change as per the definition stated in Tech Target.

Automation deployment and change management best practices are essential for organizations aiming to revolutionize their procurement processes. Successfully integrating automation requires a well-structured approach to ensure seamless adoption and long-term efficiency. Equally critical is effective change management, which helps mitigate resistance and fosters collaboration among teams. This blog explores actionable strategies for implementing procurement automation while addressing the human and operational challenges of change. From setting clear goals to training stakeholders, these best practices empower organizations to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and achieve measurable ROI. Dive in to discover how to make your automation journey smooth, impactful, and future-ready.

Navigating Through an Era of Rapid Transformation in Procurement

As we plunge deeper into 2024, it’s clear that procurement is not just about cost-saving but is increasingly becoming a strategic part of the business that drives substantial value across the supply chain. A recent analysis by McKinsey highlights a shift towards greater value creation with a focus on sustainability and resilience, emphasizing that companies now expect procurement to support broader business strategies beyond just cost efficiency.

Furthermore, with the emergence of new technologies, procurement strategies are undergoing significant changes. According to Gartner, by 2027, half of all procurement contract management tasks will be AI-enabled, a substantial increase from previous years, indicating a critical shift towards more automated and intelligent systems. This transformation is key for procurement leaders seeking to leverage cutting-edge technologies to enhance decision-making and operational efficiencies.

Zycus Named a LEADER In The Forrester Wave™

Zycus continues to stand out as a leader in Cognitive Procurement, offering a robust SaaS platform that is utilized by numerous large enterprises across the globe to boost both efficiency and effectiveness in procurement functions.

Download whitepaper: Driving Procure-to-Pay User Adoption Through Change Management Focus

Leveraging AI in Procurement

The application of Generative AI in procurement processes marks a significant advancement in how data is utilized to enhance strategic sourcing and supply chain management. Zycus is at the forefront of incorporating these innovations, integrating generative AI capabilities into their solutions to facilitate more predictive analytics and smarter, automated decision-making systems. This aligns with the current trend where `Generative AI for procurement` is moving into a new phase, addressing more complex, judgment-intensive functions like stakeholder requirements mapping and advanced market intelligence.

Adapting to the Dynamic Market Landscape

There is a proactive push within the sector to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions. Key trends in 2024 have highlighted the importance of agility and foresight in procurement strategies, with AI-driven tools at the core of this paradigm shift. By utilizing advanced analytics and AI, procurement teams can better predict market trends, adjust strategies in real-time, and maintain a competitive edge in high-velocity environments.

What can organizations do to make their digital transformation projects a success – Change management best practices

1. Prioritize your process automation efforts

When the organization has decided to automate, a common mistake is to automate all the processes simultaneously. To avoid this, organizations can choose to adopt a bi-modal approach to deployment.

In this approach mode 1 can include the core and critical functions that need stability and mode 2 can consist of functions that add value to the core functions. This approach will allow decision makers to build customized strategies and timelines using timeline templates for each of the functions that fall under these modes.

2. Involve all stakeholders

Collaboration is key here. It is essential to involve Finance, Procurement and IT while selecting a solution to automate the entire purchasing to payables process so as to ensure best stakeholder experience throughout.

3. Define clear automation goals, metrics and ROI

In case of automating your invoicing and purchasing functions it is essential to first list down your expectations from the initiative and work towards choosing a solutions that caters to those expectations. Another element that excites the upper management most is the ROI gained and the increased process efficiency from Automation. While ROI from sourcing automation projects might be a little harder to determine due to the inherent intangibility of the results, it is relatively easier to measure ROI for Procurement and Accounts Payable Automation by keeping track of percentage reduce in maverick spend, increased savings and reduction in cycle time. That being said it is ideal for organizations to expect ROI from Financial Process Automation only after 6-8 months of implementation.

When it comes to process improvement timelines, it is essential that organizations consider their automation maturity level before setting process improvement timelines. Given below are a few process improvement timelines according to the automation maturity stage the organizations fall under:

Source: Paystream Advisors (The C-Suite’s Guide to Successful Accounts Payable Transformation)

4. Focus on Data And Analytics

To become valued and strategic advisors of the organization as well as facilitators in the decision making it is essential that both Finance and Procurement leverage automation to tap into the abundance of data the tools make available to the user.

5. Pre-empt the potential transformation scenarios

There’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to automation projects pertaining to the timeline, the cost incurred, the ROI etc. To assuage a few of them, it is better to outline potential scenarios that decision-makers might encounter, like resistance from stakeholders, the staff, the IT department, Upper Management, etc.

Zycus Case Study

A notable example is the experience of a Leading US Retail Giant. This company struggled with non-standardized procurement processes, manual processes that caused delays, and a lack of visibility and control. By deploying Zycus’s Source-to-Contract suite, which consolidated sourcing, contracting, and supplier management into a centralized repository, and automated procurement processes, they realized a 40% reduction in contract cycle time, 35% reduction in request cycle time, and significantly improved efficiency and reduced manual errors.

Read the full success story

Conclusion

In conclusion, the role of AI and advanced data analytics in procurement is becoming more pronounced as we navigate through an era focused on resilience, strategic value, and technological integration. Zycus is continually evolving, aligning its cutting-edge solutions with the latest advancements and trends to support the strategic goals of businesses worldwide.

Through strategic automation deployment and cutting-edge change management practices, Zycus continues to empower organizations to overcome procurement challenges and achieve substantial operational improvements.
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