Intake management and orchestration solutions are the latest additions to the procurement toolbox. Intake management ensures a smooth workflow of requests across departments and technologies, supporting payments, sourcing, supplier onboarding, contracts, and more. It provides a single point of entry and increased visibility into the request process.
Orchestration, on the other hand, offers visibility into end-to-end business processes across applications without replacing them. It focuses on automating the coordination and management of disparate systems, services, or workflows.
The Impact on Procurement Operations
The need for these tools has grown as legacy tools often hinder procurement operations, leading to complex, manual processes. Intake and orchestration tools offer user-friendly workflow solutions that are intuitive and familiar, much like the tools used in daily life.
Despite the benefits, practitioners are still seeking understanding and assistance due to the newness and rapid evolution of the market. The shift towards strategic procurement and the use of modern technology like intake and orchestration simplifies complexity.
The Future of Procurement Technology
The opportunity to combine intake with other tools and features, particularly those that aggregate data and information, is becoming more apparent. The vision for the future includes integrating AI into these systems, acting as a virtual assistant to make processes even more intuitive and less prone to error.
Practitioners and organizations are advised to understand how tools like intake and orchestration fit within their current ecosystem and to choose solutions that meet their specific needs. Education is crucial as the unique visibility and exposure of procurement have increased, particularly during the Covid pandemic and in response to macroeconomic challenges.
In conclusion, intake and orchestration tools are not just the future of procurement—they are the present. As procurement continues to evolve, these tools will play a crucial role in shaping its trajectory.
