From Watch to Know in 2019: State of Flux Focuses on User Experience in SRM

Each year, some companies on Spend Matters’ 50 Providers to Know list and the list of 50 to Watch honorees here in the Spend Matters Almanac push themselves beyond simply a standout performance.

They earn the recognition that they are not only bringing innovation into procurement organizations but also leading the charge to change the way we do business for the better. These are the providers who shifted from Watch to Know in 2019, like State of Flux.

To learn more about these providers, we reached out to a few such cases in our 2019 50/50 lists, asking how they’ve changed over the years and what differentiates them from the competition. Today’s Q&A features State of Flux Chairman Alan Day.

Spend Matters: In case our readers aren’t fully familiar, can you give us a one-sentence summary of what your company does?

Alan Day: State of Flux provides procurement and supplier management solutions combining consultancy, technology and training services, and helps companies create, implement and manage efficient, automated, consistent and sustainable supplier relationships.

How has your company changed since it was first named a Provider to Watch? What is the biggest lesson you have learned?

Since we were named a Provider to Watch, we have opened new offices in Chicago and Sydney, Auckland and Melbourne.

We’ve significantly upgraded the platform to enhance the user experience, including the user interface and reporting capabilities. The Supplier Hub has been adopted by a number of procurement teams from large organizations across a variety of industries.

What are your two or three best features or services that make you a Provider to Know?

We help our clients with our unique integrated approach combining consultancy, technology and training services. The State of Flux Supplier Hub was developed based on over 10 years of research on SRM best practice across global organizations. We are continuously refining and expanding the capabilities of the platform with State of Flux’s yearly global SRM research, covering Europe, U.S. and the APAC regions and ongoing client feedback. The Hub has strong capabilities in performance management, relationship management and reporting.

How are you thinking about your competitive landscape? How are you differentiating yourself from other Providers to Know in the industry and upstarts on the Watch list?

Our competitive advantage originates from the heart of State of Flux’s world-leading expertise on supplier management best practices based on over 10 years of global supplier management research and helping a number of 100 FTSE and Fortune 500 companies transform their procurement function. The platform’s vision and technology roadmap is shaped around State of Flux’s thought leadership is these areas.

Where do you see the procurement sector going in the next several years, and how is your company helping organizations through that?

We are seeing the procurement sector evolving around increasingly complex business relationships, outsourcing of critical business operations and supplier-driven competitive advantage. Business intelligence at the fingertips of procurement professionals is key for making efficient decisions. State of Flux Supplier Hub’s vision is to make this easy for all.