The government procurement industry represents a spend of nearly $13 trillion globally every year. This spend involves buying goods and services to run day-to-day operations, including basic items such as computers, office equipment, medical items, legal services, gas and electricity for everyday needs to more complex construction and infrastructure projects.
From the outside, procurement appears to be a relatively static department focused on one core goal: Acquiring the right goods at the right price.
But behind the scenes, procurement teams have been silently evolving. They’ve been growing their capabilities, creating value in new ways and driving growth while ensuring business continuity.
Procurement has changed dramatically in the past 25 years, but it is not often that we take a step back to evaluate just how much has changed. A flashback to 1996 would reveal the average procurement professional sitting at a desk stacked high with paper and a bulky, dial-up desktop computer to help with some select tasks. This is in stark contrast to today’s world, where real-time insights are at your fingertips thanks to the digitalization of procurement and the dawn of business networks.
