A couple of months ago, I was asked by YPO to talk at their upcoming World of Procurement event on 'how to enable change through digital transformation'. Of course I said yes immediately and ever since I've been thinking about how to boil down this huge topic into something pithy and inspirational.
Digital transformation is of course a key enabler to change, and I've spent much of my career in the public sector, buying technology in one form or another. What's now identified as “digital” covers many categories of spend and the huge transformations that can be achieved if digital is procured professionally:
- An online booking system for travel and hotels that gives end users control and choice, but without sacrificing potential savings;
- A cloud-based contact centre where staff can be based anywhere, and resources flexed up and down with demand; and
- A digital ambulance connected to patient records and able to send diagnostics to the A&E whist the patient is en-route to the hospital.
By moving into the private sector, I could be accused of being gamekeeper turned poacher, but seeing the digital procurement experience from the other side of the fence opens up a very different perspective. Digital isn’t always the silver bullet we might desire it to be – technical solutions are often complex, with a multi-tiered supply chain and sometimes hazy customer requirements.
I’ll be bringing my experience of digital enabled change from both sides of the procurement fence to the World of Procurement event. As for pithy and inspirational - you can come along and judge for yourself.