New Year Insights for the procurement solutions and services marketplace 2024: Supplyframe

For several years now, Spend Matters has been collecting and publishing a series of articles about procurement, supply and services trends for the year ahead from expert tech and service providers in the market.

This year we’re highlighting the customer demands, market movements and advances in procurement tech that are exciting the world of solution providers, how they expect them to shape the S2P landscape next year and how they plan to respond to them.

Our series runs from mid-December to mid-January, then our senior analysts will wrap up with their own take on the key themes that emerge.

In no order of preference, other than by the date they arrived in our inbox, today let’s hear from Richard Barnett, CMO and SaaS leader of Supplyframe

Artificial intelligence within procurement will continue to evolve

Artificial intelligence has played a transformative role in supply chain visibility and management this year, and we’ve only hit the tipping point. From planning a product, design and simulation, to optimizing a specific process across the supply chain, customer expectations for AI integration continue to evolve as new applications for supply chain automation are discovered. Specifically within procurement, applied AI can drive cost-effective, data-driven market intelligence that equips supply chain leaders with critical information when faced with supply chain disruption. Increasing geopolitical tensions, for example, can create massive pressure for global manufacturers looking to diversify their supply chains. With the help of applied AI across heterogenous digital sources of insight will allow companies to better strategize in advance of these events, ultimately allowing them maximize ROI and maintain a robust line of production.

Three of the main pillars impacting the evolution of AI in procurement are:

• Process Automation through machine learning, data validation and intelligent applications.
• New forms of outside-in intelligence that complements engineering, procurement and supply chain operational data.
• New forms of contextual decision making and tradeoff analysis across cost, risk, quality and sustainability goals using large language models and predictive analytics.

There will be a critical need for companies to tap into AI applications across market intelligence, design for cost and supply chain, risk management and agile direct materials sourcing. Ultimately, connectivity between applied AI infused intelligence applications and legacy IT systems will continue to play a key role in allowing us to level up across the entire electronics value chain in 2024. Whether it be from the design stage to manufacturing, AI-infused digital threads of part, product and commodity intelligence can improve insight to decision cycles times, improve new product lifecycle profitability and enable greater resilience to take global manufacturers to the next level of digital transformation.

Many thanks to Supplyframe, and you can read our in-depth analysis of its solution here.

Read our senior analyst’s take on the key themes from the series here.

If you need to find the right procurement technology provider or service for your business needs next year, try Spend Matters TechMatch for a free rapid shortlist.

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As always, reach out to discover how Spend Matters can help with your new year commitments and wishes.