Contract Insights

In 2020, leading organizations must reinvent procurement by first evaluating challenges and then by creating a procurement strategy, optimizing procurement processes, embracing technology, and committing to a proactive approach to procurement.

CobbleStone attended the 2019 NY GovBuy on April 30^th and May 1^st as a contract management and eSourcing software exhibitor.  The event was a collaborative experience for NY state government buyers, held in Albany, NY at the Empire State Plaza and Albany Capital Center.  Sessions provided conference attendees with industry news and best practices for procurement, bid management, contract management, and more.  If you didn’t get a chance to attend 2019 NY GovBuy, I outlined some key takeaways from the NY state conference. 

There’s a lot of buzz when it comes to digital innovation in just about any part of an organization. When it comes down to it, what exactly does that entail?

It is very rare when an organization is so on point that others use them as a standard (we’re looking at you, Amazon). The ability to have most, or all, of your business processes fine-tuned and in sync is something that most organizations are often trying to accomplish. These types of changes could take years before they truly take effect. Unfortunately, business happens quick and organizations can’t afford to wait that long. Many areas of the organization including marketing, sales, and service departments have already eradicated outdated ways of operating.

The topic of digital innovation in the procurement process, however, seems to be the one area that tends to get overlooked. Why?

(This blog was originally posted April 7, 2017. Updated April 30, 2018)

Procurement managers have their work cut out for them. Being responsible for making sure their organization gets the right product or service at the best price is a process. Trying to manage both e-procurement and acquisition duties can be quite stressful at times. For the procurement and acquisition process to proceed with minimal hiccups along the way, managers should evaluate whether or not their current methods are working. Should they find something isn't working right, this shouldn't be cause for alarm - finding the problem is the first step to fixing it.