EP Insights & Action

COMMENT INDICATER
The changing face
of procurement
Mike Day, Co-founder and CEO of IndiCater,
looks back at the development of e-procurement.
The e-procurement arena today offers exciting new choices
and opportunities, but are we taking full advantage?
Over three years ago, I wrote
an article for EP about
e-procurement, sharing my view
that its impact would quickly be
felt across all operational levels within the
food service sector. With so much current
discussion surrounding the changing role
of procurement and its professionals, I have
taken the opportunity to revisit my article
and see if my predictions were accurate.
A few years ago, larger food service
organisations began using e-procurement
as a platform for modern efficiency. In the
technology arena, my company, IndiCater,
has experienced first-hand the continual
shift away from paper-based procurement
solutions towards embedded software
systems. Applying e-procurement processes
across a business continues to ensure that
centrally negotiated prices are rigorously
applied, procurement teams lock down
product consistency, whilst guaranteeing
that invoices and delivery notes are received
and processed in a timely manner. As a
by-product, the suppliers’ role of manual
invoice processing, tele sales/faxed order
transmissions has taken a back seat, with
e-procurement driving the automation of
each step within the buying chain.
As predicted, e-procurement has not
been a flash in the pan, far from it. From
the suppliers’ perspective, customers now
have an increasing variety of e-procurement
choices available to them. Larger wholesalers
and suppliers are offering their own
e-procurement systems, presenting end
users with a platform from which to place
orders and process invoices. Wholesalers like
Brakes have taken this a step further, teaming
up with food service technology specialists to
provide a fully integrated range of services to
reach beyond the confines of the customer’s
shopping basket. Working hand-in-hand
with Brakes’ own e-procurement platform,
IndiCater’s online stock, recipe, menu,
nutrition and allergy management tools
can now be seamlessly linked together,
providing a one-stop-shop for supporting
Brakes’ customers during every step of the
procurement process.
From a customer’s perspective, the
evolution of changes that have taken place
in the e-procurement arena offer exciting
new choices. E-procurement was originally
seen as complex and expensive to set up,
unpopular with both suppliers and customers
who lacked the necessary technology.
Today the demands of an operational
landscape require together management
controls. Operators both large and small are
increasingly engaged with e-procurement,
replacing out-dated manual processes.
They are doing this using a variety of routes
– from setting up their own platforms,
engaging procurement consultants, or via
suppliers themselves. At IndiCater, 60%
of our software enquiries are focused on
e-procurement and its associated tools.
The software is simple to use; suppliers can
upload and update catalogues at a click,
whilst customers can accurately manage and
control stock. Over the last three years, we
have seen the number of suppliers working
with IndiCater treble to over 750. This has
been driven by an increasing number of
customers putting pressure on their suppliers,
remaining competitive and up to date, and a
realisation by suppliers and customers alike
that e-procurement is not, in fact, a ‘dark art’.
As technology has evolved, so has the
procurement specialist’s job role. Historically
they have negotiated with suppliers, captured
catalogue and pricing data, matched
chefs’ needs to products and pricing, and
communicated pricing information to the
finance team. Some elements of the role have
now been effectively replaced by software,
whilst others have been enhanced. Shifts in
the role have meant that there is more time
available to focus on product sourcing and
negotiating, alongside access to exceptionally
detailed buying data. Specialists have
also had to broaden their knowledge of
procurement technology.
Looking back, I was correct in my
assumption that e-procurement would
change the operating landscape for the
long term. However, where e-procurement
was until recently seen as a pioneering
but complex technology, it is now well
established, easy to set up and increasingly
used by suppliers and customers alike.
34 | Insights & Action | October 2017