At last month’s SAP Spend Connect Live event, I had the privilege of speaking about five crucial bets spend management professionals should place on themselves to ensure success and agility for their organizations, especially against a backdrop of economic and political uncertainty. As my colleague Jeff Collier, chief revenue officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP, recently highlighted in his article, these insights resonated strongly with attendees and are more relevant than ever as we approach 2025.
With more change on the horizon, it is vital to keep these bets in mind to prepare for potential challenges head-on. Over the past year, we’ve witnessed how spend management professionals who stay confident and bet big achieve remarkable results. In fact, according to the 2024 Economist Impact report, C-suite confidence in the procurement function has increased by 14% in just one year, with 84% of executives now agreeing that procurement is essential for organizational strategy.
As we gear up for 2025 and beyond, let’s explore these five bets that will solidify spend management’s role as an indispensable part of an organization.
Bet #1: Strategic Collaboration
The first bet that spend management professionals should place is on strategic collaboration. As procurement becomes increasingly integrated with other critical business functions, it is up to procurement professionals to lead these collaborative efforts. Your colleagues are looking to you to take the initiative and ensure that procurement is involved in strategic initiatives that keep your organization agile in the face of uncertainty.
Whether you are partnering with HR to manage the external workforce or implementing a category management strategy in partnership with supply chain, SAP is here to support you. Our solutions are designed with collaboration at the forefront, working to minimize miscommunication and simplify business processes so you can focus on what truly matters.
Bet #2: Effortless Compliance
The mere mention of compliance can evoke stress and worry in anyone who has ever worked in spend management. Ensuring every detail is accounted for can be nerve-racking, especially when considering local regulations and sustainability goals. At SAP, we believe that compliance should not just be simple; it should be truly effortless.
For example, SAP integration with Concur Travel and Concur Expense can enable employees to select in-policy vendors from the start. SAP Ariba Invoice Management with SAP Business Network helps you understand and comply with evolving tax regulations. From complex tax requirements to travel policies, SAP can help you eliminate these points of concern before they cause issues.
Bet #3: Seamless Integration
While intraorganizational strategic collaboration is key for an efficient operating model, your software must also be seamlessly integrated to make the most of our connected solutions. Fragmented processes and tools won’t get you where you need to go, which is why SAP is committed to a suite-first strategy that aims to reduce the number of systems used to manage spend.
Whether you are an all-SAP customer or use third-party technology, we can offer a seamless experience regardless of where you are in your SAP journey. From SAP Spend Control Tower, your single source of truth for all spend data, to SAP Ariba solutions for source-to-pay that can streamline all your procurement processes, our out-of-the-box solutions help deliver powerful business outcomes across the entire spend management process.
Bet #4: Increased Productivity
The next bet to place is on increased productivity. In recent years, we have seen firsthand how productivity gaps can be detrimental to an organization. Add in unexpected geopolitical and economic events, and you have a recipe for disaster. As the procurement landscape evolves, it is imperative to upskill your workforce to meet evolving demands.
SAP’s newest innovations, like SAP Business AI, can help automate mundane tasks, freeing up bandwidth for making strategic decisions that really count. And increased productivity is not just reserved for key decision-makers – it benefits every employee at every level.
Bet #5: Informed Decision-Making
Finally, spend management professionals should bet big on informed decision-making. More than ever, it is essential to make choices quickly and confidently, knowing that your decisions are supported by data. That’s where SAP comes in – solutions like SAP Business Network Discovery and the intelligent audit service can deliver the best recommendations for you, helping to take the guesswork out of decisions amid timeline pressure.
With data-informed reports and suggestions, you can be confident that your choices are backed by best-in-class insights. SAP helps reduce complexity and can deliver only the insights needed to make the best choices for your business.
New Ways to Streamline Critical Business Processes
To learn more about the innovations shared at SAP Spend Connect Live in 2024, I encourage you to read this article by my colleague Manoj Swaminathan, president and chief product officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP.
I say it every year, but there is something truly special about spending time with our incredible customers, hearing transformation stories and tales of success across so many organizations. The SAP community’s resilience, drive, and commitment to excellence inspire me greatly.
When it comes to the right tools, best integrations, and data-driven insights, SAP is your go-to partner. Our solutions, informed by your feedback, are here to help you win big. As you close out this year and head into a new one, remember that SAP is here for you. When you rely on SAP, you secure the future success of not just your business function, but your entire organization.
Etosha Thurman is chief marketing officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP.