Why the Future of Procurement is Composable

Your procurement function needs a technology makeover.

But you need a solution that is designed not only to meet current requirements but can also adapt quickly to meet future requirements.

Can legacy systems live up to these expectations?

Long deployment times and static features make legacy procurement systems unsuitable for evolving requirements.

Fast-changing customer needs as well as market conditions make it vital to have a procurement stack that is flexible and easy to deploy.

Today, procurement needs composable applications that can harness the power of application programming interfaces (APIs) to blend modular components and create tailored solutions for changing requirements.

As a result, scalability and innovation improve as does the time to realize value.

In fact, composable solutions are set to disrupt the market and drive the next major wave in procurement.

The global composable applications market is estimated to reach USD 13.1 billion by 2029, suggests research.

Greater focus on digital transformation, increasing number of applications, and need for speed in deploying technology solutions are expected to drive market growth.

Let’s begin by understanding the composable approach in application development.

What are Composable Applications?

Composable applications present a business-centric design approach to developing software with independent, interchangeable building blocks or modules.

Built around APIs and microservices, composable applications help reuse interchangeable, functional pieces of code from existing applications. In this process, they can build and modify existing applications or create more complex, larger apps with more features and functions.

With modular, innovative and adjustable solutions, composable applications can repurpose individual functional processes or application pieces. They can help build more robust applications with improved functionality.

How Composable Applications Can Benefit Procurement

Composable procurement makes it feasible to combine replaceable, modular software parts via integration layers. This helps to develop unique solutions that can be customized according to specific requirements of a business.

The procurement team can choose and put together the right combination of modules to meet specific goals or address pain points. This ability to add new components or swap out as requirements change provides the kind of agility needed to thrive in a dynamic business environment.

Composable solutions are easy to deploy, modify, and improve in place of time-consuming implementations. Additionally, by treating functions as reconfigurable building pieces, they can adapt continuously to capitalize on new developments.

Instead of building an app from scratch, composable applications can update existing app components. This allows the team to accelerate development and launch features and updates quickly by building and testing smaller, independent components.

Additionally, there is little chance of error as individual components are tested thoroughly. These applications also minimize operational costs by reducing the dependence on external third-party vendors for custom app development. The team can upgrade individual components without affecting the overall tech stack.

API-connected modules can drive innovation by mixing and combining capabilities, allowing the team to rapidly test out fresh ideas. These modules also boost user adoption and experience with modular user interfaces designed for specific user groups or tasks.

Finally, composable procurement can act as a catalyst for change and build organizational flexibility by providing reusable solutions that can be quickly optimized and deployed to meet customer and supplier expectations.