New Portt research reveals five key barriers to successful transformation for ANZ procurement

A new report on future-focused procurement has outlined the five key barriers faced by ANZ procurement teams, based on feedback from 300 visionary procurement leaders from across the region.

Commissioned by Portt, the Forging Ahead in ANZ report reveals that time pressure is the top barrier to achieving strategic excellence, followed by skills capability of the team, executive alignment, organisational structure and access to data.

This new report was conducted in April and May of this year by TRA, an independent research agency, to present the voice of procurement professionals in Australia and New Zealand.

Research was conducted across various industries in both the public and private sectors, including construction (8%), public administration and safety (7%), education and training (12%), professional services (10%) and others.

Portt’s vice president of spend and governance Chris Holmes said: “The report shows that ANZ’s procurement leaders increasingly recognise the transformative power of technology in elevating their approach from servicing to strategic, improving the procurement experience and enabling an outcomes-first mindset in their business partnerships.”

Meanwhile, Portt’s global director of growth for spend and governance Mark Reddy added: “Our groundbreaking procurement report found that ANZ organisations are ready to transition to a procurement customer experience mindset. This represents a significant shift in how they approach supplier relationships and procurement processes since it places business partnerships at the heart of procurement activities to help strengthen business outcomes.”

The report found that procurement teams are in a unique position to help businesses navigate volatility and uncertainty, not just by strengthening the bottom line and driving efficiency, but by delivering a sustainable advantage.

Of all respondents, 43% said strengthening business outcomes was the top action of an optimal business partner, followed by improving efficiency (42%), reducing risk (33%), driving growth (30%), unlocking value (29%) and ensuring compliance (19%).

Meanwhile, 3 in 4 procurement professionals are ready to meet the evolving expectations of the business with 12% stating they are very confident and 63% quite confident.

As procurement evolves and matures, most are still operating at a servicing capability (65%), while a transformative vision for the future requires tipping the balance towards strategic capability.

When it comes to technology, the report also outlines the ways in which it can help procurement professionals overcome the five barriers to achieving strategic excellence by using technology as an efficiency driver and critical advantage lever.

It says: “Technology streamlines processes, reduces effort, and consolidates and clarifies information. All procurement professionals are aligned here. But for those operating at a strategic capability, technology unlocks further opportunity for transparency, thinking and visibility of efforts. This isn’t just about saving time – it’s about operating at an elevated enabling role.”

“Technology enables a proactive, strategic approach to procurement beyond providing a service. This research confirms our belief that relationships and strategy must be the priority in procurement rather than the basic compliance and processes that procurement teams have traditionally focused on,” concludes Holmes.