Like last year, Supply Value researched purchasing trends and priorities of purchasing departments. Purchasing trends are important for the further professionalisation of purchasing departments. This research offers organizations the opportunity to bring the (procurement) strategy in line with the trends of the coming year. Responding to expectations is necessary to stay ahead of the competition and to continue to buy efficiently.

The most important purchasing trends for 2014 are flexibility, contract management and cost savings. Purchasing professionals have also become more optimistic: 59% of buyers are optimistic to very optimistic about 2014. This is an increase of 15% compared to last year.

The purchasing trends of 2014

The need for flexibility is caused by the internal organization and the environment. The environment of the coming year requires, among other things because of the increasing demand, more flexibility. Responding to this can be excellent by moving away from rigid planning procedures and moving on to 'rolling forecasting', by constantly keeping a finger on the pulse an organization is not faced with surprises. But also to make the organization 'Agile', this perspective assumes a flexible organization by putting customer demand first. In addition, critically evaluating the supplier condition is an important step in making your organization flexible.

Number 2 procurement trends 2014 is attention for contract management. Effective contract management ensures that your organization gets what it needs. It makes agreements clear, measurable and verifiable and ensures that agreements made are observed. The focus on this trend is greatest in government and semi-governmental organizations and in organizations with more than 250 employees.

Attention for cost savings was still the most important purchasing trend for 2013. This is also an important point of attention in 2014, but has dropped to third place. The better economic expectations are the main cause of this. Cost savings appear to be an important focus for operational buyers. You can make cost savings in different ways. Supply Value has many good experiences with cost-saving methods such as Best Value Procurement (BVP), System-oriented Contract Management (SCB) and LEAN management. In addition, e-procurement, cooperation with suppliers and orders offer this opportunity.

Priorities of buyers

The results show that a number of themes have priority over other themes for the professionalisation of purchasing departments. More than 50% of all organizations indicate that contract management is a priority, but also digitization of purchasing processes and performance contracts with suppliers.

Do you want to read the entire research report?

Download here free of charge the research report. This contains an overview of all 25 purchasing trends, purchasing priorities and recommendations.