Big Data Analytics in Procurement | Big Data Procurement Solutions

Big data? Big deal.

Procurement organizations generate and store massive amounts of data, which is often widely dispersed across different systems, operations and geographies. But how can procurement professionals take control of all this data? How can it be used to gain insights that will enable better planning and effectiveness?

Before there was big data, there was just … data. Procurement organizations compiled mainly internal, structured data from transactions, operations and partners through laborious processes that often took weeks to complete.

Today, sources for data have expanded to include a much more disparate set of both internal and external, structured and unstructured data obtained from automated processes executed within hours or, in many cases, in real time.

Having data is a good thing…

…but analytical capabilities truly change the game, enabling procurement to unlock the real value of large amounts of structured and unstructured data to get to the next level of impact on enterprise-wide performance.

Driving Decisive Insights

Analytics helps tie together internal data sources such as spend data, contract data and data related to supplier relationship management, with external data sources, such as supplier databases — providing information any time and anywhere about supplier markets.

For procurement, big data represents a completely new approach. In the not-so-distant past, procurement was only able to reactively satisfy the demand triggered by requisitions. Big data allows it to become proactive by forecasting demand based on identified patterns, thus widening its traditional scope of action.

Another benefit is a more detailed understanding of supplier performance, which can be used to evaluate and make determinations when designating suppliers for key products.

GEP helps enterprises leverage cutting-edge analytical technologies to drive decisive insights from structured as well as unstructured data. Our teams work with you to build the necessary infrastructure — people, processes and technology — to enable and support your big data strategy.

Applying Analytics to Procurement

GEP can provide ongoing as well as ad hoc procurement analytics in the following areas:

Self-Service Analytics and Reporting – Enables procurement to develop reports and perform analysis on spend, supplier base, compliance, and other spend-related data.
Predictive Analytics – Provides the most likely outcomes based on actual conditions. Procurement can forecast spend, based on anticipated changes in the business and pricing based on external factors.
Scorecards – Easy-to-read, real-time graphical snapshot of performance outputs of procurement, based on a set of effectiveness and efficiency metrics. This enables instantaneous, informed decision-making.
Risk Analysis – Identifies business risks to the supplier base, including pricing risk, compliance risk, geographical risk, disaster risk and others. Also helps define preventive measures and detect countermeasures to successfully deal with risk scenarios.
Data Mining – Analyzes copious amounts of data to identify trends that offer meaningful insights. Procurement can better understand spending, supplier performance and external pricing trends.
Slice-and-Dice Analysis – Analytical tool that presents data according to different criteria. Procurement can examine spend information by supplier, geography and category.

Where It Matters

Big data and analytics can bring about a new frontier with the promise of transformative changes in procurement. Enterprises can leverage GEP’s expertise to get actionable insight for improved business results. Our unique combination of big data feeds, predictive analytics and reporting frameworks helps deliver greater data assurance, ultimately helping reduce costs thanks to greater visibility and control.