(Chapter 1) Adventures of Ivan the CPO — 10 Technology Tools Every Procurement Team Needs In 2018

A steaming coffee-mug juxtaposed against the dark, windy and rain–drenched skyline could not have been a better reflection of present emotions, thought Ivan, as he gazed on the Manhattan skyline from his brand new 15th-floor office.

Strangely, his first day as a CPO reminded him of his first job, when he had just joined college and needed some extra income.

And it was not just that both the days were dark, rain-soaked days in April.

For on both days, he was at a critical crossroad of his career, surrounded by people he had never met before and was greeted in his new job with a host of challenges which needs to be overcome.

And on both occasions the only thing he had going for him was his unconquerable attitude — “Nothing‘s gonna rain on my parade” repeated Ivan as he picked up the list included in his initial brief:

• High maverick spend patterns experienced in all categories
• Difficulty in managing stakeholder expectation for daily purchase requests which need to be sourced
• Inability to leverage technology for all volume of spend
• No visibility into stock items
• Services bought as ad hoc without informing procurement
• Lack of workforce to manage paper/ pdf invoices
• Cash in hand not utilized properly
• No sync between negotiated contracts and buying patterns…

And the list went on…

What the list forgot to mention was what Ivan noticed on day 1, a general feeling of “Why do we need this” among the newly recruited procurement team.

It seems in a policy of “out with the old, in with the new “the company has adopted, they have hired a group of young, excited team but imposed decadent processes and technology on them.

Fortunately, the company had just purchased a Procure-to-Pay software suite by Zycus to help Ivan.

In the comings week’s Ivan would need to figure out how to get the maximum value from the solution and justify his selection as a CPO.

What’s next happening in Ivan’s new job? Did he make any new friends? Or, he got too busy with work? Let’s find this out in Chapter 2.