For supply management organizations, technology is a disturbance, trend and priority.
According to the Hackett group 2025 key supply priorities Survey, technology has a transformational impact on operations, investment and processes.
This year’s survey, as has happened in recent years, has made programs beyond priorities and trends, said Chris Sawchuk in the “supply program in 2025 and key priorities”, A webinar held last week by the Institute for Offer Management® (Ism®).
“Something we started several years ago was trying to better understand the adoption of technology – and the types of technology – and where to invest as we look forward to,” said Sawchuk, director and director Head of the Practice of the World Council of Councils of Miami, informed and based in Miami and Council.
The Hackett group also wanted:
- Find out where organizations concern the adoption or implementation of technology
- Keep an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of generative AI in supply management environments
- Understanding the purchasing operating model – including technology, human capital, information and available data, processes, organizational structure and governance
- Understanding the roles of centers of excellence (if applicable) in an organization, how they are composed and how organizations expect them to change in the future.
Trends and priorities
The study has shown the trends that organizations provide will have the greatest transformational impact. “Not surprising,” said Sawchuk, “is the first area around digital technologies. Just behind it is artificial intelligence.”
What is also interesting, he said is that priority 3 is skills and talents, while the fourth concerns data-and (1) ideas and information extracted from data and ( 2) Look for a more intelligent capacity less dependent on the process.
“Two of the main catalysts to succeed with AI,” said Sawchuk, “are data and people: talent, skills, skills that we have in the organization that will have to engage, operate and interact with this technology Move forward. However, the skills that people need to kiss AI change, he said.
In addition to the four areas which, according to companies, will have a transformational impact on their organization, it is important to examine the areas considered as a least transformational impact, said Sawchuk. Among these areas: cybersecurity.
Another perspective
The study, as it has done in the past, asked respondents the main priorities of their organizations. The top of the list for the second consecutive year was to improve the reduction in expenses. In 2022 and 2023, however, absolute priority was the continuity of the offer, which ranked n ° 2 this year.
“We always have concerns in various geographies in the world and even in specific categories or markets,” said Sawchuk. “It is therefore always high. Inflation is one of these areas which, in our view, stimulate the improvement of the reduction in expense costs to our organizations. »»
Other factors: companies face a lot of pressures to improve their margins, he said, and certain industries will be more challenged to increase income.
In one of the biggest priority changes this year, transforming the operating model for management and supply of the offer has gone from n ° 5 to n ° 3, Sawchuk said: “Before that, It was rarely in the top 10. “
Why has it become a key priority? The short response is that this is due in part to the emergence of new and advanced technologies: generative AI, predictive AI and agency AI.
Consequently, organizations come back to understand how these technologies will disturb the operation of supply chains and organizations, said Sawchuk. This calls for the revival and transformation of the operating model: in other words, “understand how we are going to mix our human capital technologies, talents and skills with emerging technologies – and aggressively emerging in our environments” , he said.
To complete the first 10 priorities, in order, are:
- Increase in combat inflationary prices
- Digital transformation and modern landscape
- Act as a strategic advisor of the company
- Integrate environmental sustainability
- Gain more analysis and other ideas
- Improve relations with suppliers
- Strengthen visibility and capacity and capacities of third -party management.
Sawchuk will present a session called “CPO key priorities study at the ISM World 2025 annual conference, which will be held from June 1 to Orlando, Florida. For more information, visit the Conference page on the ISM website.