Ramp up digital procurement with Basware, an IDC Leader

Basware has been positioned in the Leaders category of the 2021 IDC Procure-to-Pay MarketScape. Find out what the rise of the digital enterprise means for global firms, the difference digital procurement makes in P2P, and how Basware achieved a leading position in the report.

Get ready - Double-digit growth in digital transformation

The IDC MarketScape Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Applications Vendor Assessment is a study which takes a look at the top 11 cloud P2P vendors on the market. Vendors were asked about their innovation roadmaps, procurement prowess, and who they regularly find themselves competing with in deals.

These specific categories were posed in order to better help buyers develop their own digital endeavors. And according to IDC, these initiatives are set to lead the strategies for companies worldwide. “IDC believes there will be a double-digit growth of 15.5% CAGR through 2023 in digital transformation to at least $6.8 trillion of direct digital transformation investment by organisations.” This new digital enterprise that IDC predicts is quickly on the rise “uses modern modular software and its properties of automation, connectivity, flexible services, and visibility to drive competitive advantage.” This aligns well to what I’ve seen in the market over the last decade; the most advanced and progressive buying organisations are using multiple solutions that solves the actual business problems and strive to integrate them as necessary. The challenge is to find the balance between how the benefits of the specific capabilities of more specialist different solutions to deploy versus the simplicity of an integrated suite (assuming that the suites actually are integrated…)

This push to digitise more of the P2P process will lead to a few key characteristics of the “new digital enterprise” and therefore the buyers who lead these adoption projects, according to the IDC:

• CIOs will prioritise innovation. For IT and CIOs who may have questioned their roles within the company given this new wave of digital enterprise processing, in reality this initiative actually increases the strategic role of their teams, empowering them as the key drivers of innovation in the firm.

• COVID-19 increased the need for digital. The pandemic quickly required procurement teams to change their operations to remote-capable and digital-ready. Businesses need vendors that enable them to do their jobs, “no matter their preferred device or location.”

• Millennial workers becoming buyers for the business: A generation known for its remote-capable mind set and love for consumer like software experiences, millennials are stepping onto the scene and becoming a greater percentage of corporate management teams. As decision-makers, they want mobile-ready vendors with collaborative, digital interfaces.

• Procurement users have greater influence: More and more, end-users have gained a greater say in software selection. What was traditionally a C-suite or manager-controlled decision, end-users are becoming stakeholders due to the hands-on nature of their roles and their desire to bring increased value, insight, and improved performance to the procurement function.

“The Digital Procurement Difference”

Digitising procurement processes is the natural next step in organisations’ digital transformation journeys. According to IDC, “The focus is shifted from semiautomated and integrated workflows to digital procurement programs that encompass cognitive risk and quality management, iterative innovation, intelligent cost optimisation, intelligent contracts, and intelligent procurement and supply planning.” What this means is that procurement is better equipped to contribute to increasing the efficiency and productivity of the overall organisation (procurement included).  

In IDC’s recent research, they emphasised the importance of spend management, risk analysis, touchless P2P processes, and continuous contract compliance as part of the benefits achieved through digitising procurement. As a part of that, effective and leading e-procurement solutions should be cloud-based, AI and ML capable, data-centric, and provide advanced spend analytics. To be able to achieve this you need a solution that can manage all spend. In my experience, few organisations are actually able to use their P2P solutions for more the spend that you are able to create PO’s for in that particular P2P solution. After all, virtually all your spend comes through invoices but not all spend requires a PO something that emphasises the need for deep and flexible AP and e-invoicing capabilities.

According to IDC, “These intelligent applications are the new assets enterprises want because they enable more employee insights by automating transactions that were previously stalled and even bringing more data into the equation so organisations can make better decisions immediately.”

Basware – an IDC Leader and “pioneer in touchless automation”

Among 11 vendors in the P2P market, IDC has ranked Basware as a leader for a few key strengths:

1. The Basware Network: With over 1.8 million suppliers, 220+ interoperability partners, and the ability to connect with all suppliers regardless of how they send invoices (paper, PDF, EDI, etc.), Basware makes it easy to connect with the suppliers and buyers who they already work with.

2. Basware is on the cusp of machine learning (ML) technologies: With innovations spanning from an approval confidence index, intelligent order aggregations, and intelligent algorithms to suggest the best products to a user, e-procurement practices are simplified, streamlined, and made compliant.

3. Basware enables 100% spend visibility: With total transparency across all your spend – indirect, direct, regardless of origin – organisations can better manage procurable and non-procurable spend, mitigate financial and reputational risk, and increase compliance.

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