Is Procurement Becoming Mobile or Buried With Dinosaur Bones?

If there's anything that prompts unanimous agreement, it's the common attributes of Procurement and dinosaurs. Specifically, the accessibility of procurement software applications on smartphones and Pachycephalosaurus, but no need to get ahead of ourselves. The dinosaurs didn't.

At one point or another, both dinosaurs and procurement have been viewed as misunderstood, in the wrong environment for their time, and/or passively awaiting an asteroid. A recent webinar by SpendMatters entitled Don't Wish on an Asteroid: Death, Dinosaurs, and Procurement provided an overview of tactics to boost operational relevancy and avoid the extinction of purchasing as a value-adding corporate function. This blog will focus on a segment of the webinar: Procurement Without Mobile Accessibility Vs. Procurement With Mobile Accessibility. We've listed the benefits of both approaches in an attempt to remain unbiased. Compare the facts for yourself to determine which has better odds for evolutionary (and technological) glory.

PROCUREMENT WITHOUT MOBILE ACCESSIBILITY

• You can evaluate all aspects of a decision without making hasty "on-the-go" choices. This reduces the likelihood that impulsive, knee-jerk actions will impair your day-to-day operations.
• An application viewed on a computer screen will typically provide more details, as no modifications have been made for mobile UI/UX requirements.
• Work hours have a beginning, but more importantly, they also have an end. The separation between work and personal life tends to be appreciated (unless you're in the rare position of being passionate about your source of income).
• Many industries and jobs don't require mobile accessibility - the investment would be unnecessary. If workplace mobile technology does happen to be a fad, these are the sectors that will survive the asteroid, so to speak.

PROCUREMENT WITH MOBILE ACCESSIBILITY

• Complex tasks can be condensed into one tab. This results in the streamlining of entire transactions and the simplification of tedious, painstaking duties.
• Those with mobile technology can respond to work emergencies before it's too late. Updates can be accessed at your fingertips, meaning you'll never inadvertently make an uninformed decision.
• Mobile technology for work purposes is more than just a fad; it's a trend defining the future of procurement and business in genral. Companies of all sizes are increasingly expecting employees to be accessible via mobile applications.
• Employees with mobile accessibility can gain a professional advantage over their non-mobile co-workers. Most employees are eager to obtain a competitive edge, and this ambition ultimately fuels the company as a whole.

Now you can tally your pros and cons for each section. Do you prefer procurement with mobile accessibility, or without? The choice is yours to make, but we all know what happened to the dinosaurs.

Interested in learning additional procurement tips? Check out these procurement best practices to prepare for the future. And be sure to learn why it’s so important to undertake a digital procurement transformation.