1. Digital action plan Part two: What should I do?

2. Contents Introduction 3 Considerations What can I automate?
Using a prioritisation matrix
How to get from A to B
Visualise the roadmap
Case study: DSM’s purpose-driven strategy
Case study: Vodafone’s cognitive capability map 4 5 7 8 9 10 11
Procurement Leaders’ view 13
Define your outcome to drive value
Where are the largest gaps? 14 15

3. Introduction
This section provides insights into activities functions should look to automate, as well as help procurement executives identify priorities and develop a digital roadmap.
Considerations. Assess ‘why, where, what, who, and how’ to help determine the basis of the function’s digital action plan
What can I automate? Benchmark pain points, as well as understand what can be automated and the technologies available
Using a prioritisation matrix. Map projects by ease of implementation and projected impact to identify high-, medium- and low-priority projects
How to get from A to B. Coordinate and synchronise project interdependencies to assist with resource allocation, prioritisation and tracking
Visualising the roadmap. Present the roadmap in a clear, visual way, depicting focus areas and milestones.
Where to start? DSM illustrates the importance of framing the function’s purpose before deploying a solution
Automate, augment, or upskill. Vodafone’s blueprint for the category managers of the future

4. Considerations

5. What can I automate?
Apply automation to high-volume, repetitive, data-intensive tasks that require multiple interfaces. These include: tasks associated with human errors; file creation; and multisystem integration.
Define how category managers will use their additional capacity prior to automating tactical processes – not during or after. Be clear on how this new type of work impacts the business; clearly communicate changes, benefits, and consider any talent implications.

6. What can I automate?

7. Using a prioritisation matrix
Use a prioritisation matrix to place map projects by ease of implementation and likely impact to determine whether they are high-, medium- or low-priority to identify potential pilot projects. Consider the following questions:
IMPACT
What benefit would the solution deliver?
How quickly would the business realise value?
Would the value be long-term and sustainable?
IMPLEMENTATION
How expensive would it be to develop the solution?
How complex or time-consuming would it be?
MEDIUM PRIORITY
HIGH PRIORITY
HIGH
Project A
Project G
Project D
Project B
IMPACT
Project F
Project C
Project E
LOW
LOW PRIORITY
LOW
IMPLEMENTATION EASE
HIGH
Prioritised
Others

8. How to get from A to B MAPPING DEPENDENCIES
Use a project dependency map to ensure project interdependencies are coordinated and synchronised. This will assist with resource allocation, prioritisation and tracking.
To ensure success, projects must be aligned to business outcomes.
Lead with the solution.
List project tasks.
Define internal and external dependencies.
Outline dependency types.
Nominate champions.
Update schedule.
DEPENDENCY MAP FOR A DATA VISIBILITY PROJECT
PROJECT OBJECTIVE: Develop a clear and comparable data set
Visibility over spend
Consolidate systems
Spend analysis platform
Master data management
Data team
Data warehouse
KPI dashboards

9. Visualise the roadmap
Present the roadmap in a clear, visual way, depicting focus areas and milestones

10. Case study: DSM’s purpose-driven strategy
Functions should frame their purpose before deploying solutions
THE SITUATION
DSM had a range of procurement systems but lacked a coherent digital strategy.
THE SOLUTION
A ‘moonshot’ and a hackathon laid the foundations for a digital strategy to improve operational transparency, functional efficiency and connectivity with key suppliers.
THE OUTCOME
Asking first why digitalisation was necessary, rather than what technology it would like to deploy, gave DSM a base from which to design a need-based digital roadmap.
Pitching digitalisation in these terms helped build trust in the function’s digital initiatives and secure stakeholder support.
PURPOSE
SOLUTION
Transparency
Experience
Efficiency
Connectivity
Data dashboard
Chatbot
Automated S2P
Cloud-managed inventory

11. Case study: Vodafone’s cognitive capability map
THE SITUATION
An internal analysis revealed category managers were spending too much time on routine, low-value tasks and not enough on higher-value activities.
THE SOLUTION
Vodafone designed the “cognitive lens” – a framework to understand the degree of mental effort required to complete various tasks, as well as how category managers’ can focus their time and energy on the most important jobs.
Following a survey, in which Vodafone’s category managers rated their tasks according to the levels of complexity and collaboration they demanded, the company was able to see which jobs could be automated and/or augmented using technology.
CURRENT USE OF CATEGORY MANAGERS’ TIME (%)
PLANNED USE OF CATEGORY MANAGERS’ TIME (%)

12. Case study: Vodafone’s cognitive capability map
THE OUTCOME
This exercise has provided Vodafone with a blueprint for its category managers of the future, outlining major focus areas and skills requirements.
The cognitive lens framework also serves as a skeleton digital road map, highlighting where different types of technology can be employed to release Vodafone’s category managers’ capacity to focus on the most valuable work.
Automation
Augmentation
High
Complex solitary
e.g. analytical reporting
Cognitive automation
Complex collaborative
e.g. category strategy development
Decision support models
Complex solution
Routine solitary
e.g. data upload/download
RPA
Simple collaborative
e.g. invoice requests
Virtual assistants
Simple solution
Low
Low
Collaboration
High

13. Procurement Leaders’ view
This section provides insights into aligning the procurement function’s definition of ROI to that of the business and plugging digitalisation gaps.
Define your outcome to drive value. Lead with procurement or business outcomes, not technologies. Focus on measurable outcomes.
Identify the largest digitalisation gaps. Procurement professionals have identified core purchasing areas, such as PO and contract management, as quick wins.

14. Define your outcome to drive value
Frame the business-wide benefits that extend beyond the impact for procurement. Functions that solely focus on their own return on investment (ROI) and overlook the business ROI will struggle to obtain buy-in from stakeholders. 
The business case for a proposed blockchain solution, for example, should emphasise how the technology could help minimise organisational risk or accelerate go-to-market processes – rather than how it could improve procurement visibility.
Solely aligning digital initiatives to cost savings will limit the function’s ability to deliver long-term value for the business. Aligning a digital business case to wider organisational outcomes will be much more effective in terms of securing stakeholder buy-in and investment from the business.
Business outcomes
Make decisions in real time
Codevelop IP with new digitally enabled supply chain
Revolutionise procurement processes to keep up with the demands of digital business
Harness the exponential growth of data from a digitally enabled ecosystem
Procurement ROI
Business ROI

15. Where are the largest gaps?
DIGITAL SOLUTIONS AND THE GAPS
Procurement professionals perceive areas of core procurement activities such as PO and contract management to be automation priorities (see chart, right).
Automation within these areas is primarily supported by systems coverage, often as part of a core procurement suite.
Areas that require soft skills – such as stakeholder discussions or supplier relationship development – are less well suited to rules-based automation and are harder to systemise or support with software bots.
PROCUREMENT ACTIVITY THAT HAS BEEN AUTOMATED (%)
Source: Technology and procurement: A vision of the future, Procurement Leaders, 2016