The IUNGO supply chain collaboration platform identified several Procurement trends which in 2024 will help prevent market fluctuations: from AI to predictive analytics, from sustainability to visibility, these are the 6 trends identified with the help of Micaela Valent, former Purchasing Manager, now IUNGO Head of Solutions.
The Red Sea Crisis and other geopolitical tensions, technological progress, a cautious attitude from consumers and new sustainability commitments are creating a new economic era of volatility, regionalized supply chains and AI domination.
A study by McKinsey (1) on Procurement, seen as a crucial vehicle for generating value for the global Supply Chain market, also reveals that it is the sector hardest hit by current challenges. These have caused a lack of expertise and talent, increasingly conscious purchases and more controlled interconnection at local level.
“Constant dialogue with experts in the sector and analysis of possible future market scenarios through events such as the IUNGOFORUM, practical and direct knowledge of the dynamics around purchasing and user experience allow us to share the sector’s best practices and suggest them to the relevant specialists” – says Micaela Valent, former Purchasing Manager, now Head of Solutions at IUNGO, the supply chain collaboration in cloud platform established in 2001 as a spin-off of the Engineering Faculty at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
But what new things can we expect to see in the sector in 2024? IUNGO has identified 6 trends which will feature in Procurement over the coming months:
- Artificial Intelligence: even through data analysis in purchasing processes, AI speeds up decisions, cuts risks and contributes to more agile and better-informed supply chain management. It can improve efficiency with demand forecasting, stock optimization, supplier selection, procurement process automation and real-time monitoring of the supply chain.
- Predictive analytics: combined analysis of historical and real-time data, this uses sophisticated algorithms to obtain accurate demand forecasts, to optimize inventory and stock management to avoid risks. Predictive analytics allow buyers to make informed decisions, improving operating efficiency and reducing waste.
- Sustainability and ethics: the integration of sustainable practices and ethics into purchasing may favour the selection of responsible suppliers, reduce environmental and social impact, improve a company’s reputation and guarantee regulatory compliance. Consideration of ethical and sustainable criteria in purchasing decisions helps to build long-term relationships, promoting a firm’s social responsibility, worker safety and mitigating the risks associated with unethical or unsustainable practices.
- Visibility: visibility in the supply chain allows buyers to anticipate market fluctuations. This visibility improves planning, stock management and the response to any interruptions. Greater transparency means that buyers can promptly identify problems, optimize processes and make informed decisions, making a more resilient supply chain feasible.
- Training: above all if it relates to technological innovation, training guarantees the acquisition of advanced skills in the use of digital tools and data analysis. That approach boosts the ability to adapt to digital challenges, improving overall purchasing performance in the supply chain.
- Practicality: practicality, partly favoured by an in-depth knowledge of work theory and tools, translates into simplified processes, agile decisions and efficient implementation. It also facilitates transaction management with prompt responses to changes in demand and supply.
Thanks to the team’s direct experience in the purchasing sector and its customers’ involvement in software design stages, IUNGO has developed an in-cloud platform for the purchasing sector which it frequently updates, incorporating the relevant technological innovations.
“IUNGO understands the day-to-day challenges of the purchasing sector because its team is made up of people with direct first-hand experience in that field. It is experience that guides company planning. But not just that: there is a second factor, linked to experience, which, in our view, drives the push for technological transformation of the sector: proactive listening. We can interpret feedback with a language common to all and provide up-to-date consulting services even based on other people’s experience. For this too, in the coming months, IUNGO plans to develop an e-learning platform.” – Micaela Valent.
IUNGO
Founded in 2001 as a spin-off of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia from an idea of Andrea Tinti, CEO & Founder born in 1972, IUNGO has designed a platform for optimizing supply chain collaboration and related business processes thanks to an innovative cloud technology adopted by MODULA, DATALOGIC, LUXOTTICA, among others. After being listed by Gartner as a Leader of a New Market Trend and included in the FT 1000 – Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies 2020 ranking, IUNGO won the Cribis Prime Company 2020 and 2021 awards. IUNGO is headquartered in Modena and Milan.
DISCLOSERS
Daniela Monteverdi: daniela.monteverdi@disclosers.it – +39 349 319 2268
Micaela Longo: micaela.longo@disclosers.it – +39 339 580 0192
Chiara Guerra: chiara.guerra@disclosers.it – +39 340 909 8075