Digitization is not a job destroyer
People remain an important factor in corporate purchasing. Half of the purchasing managers from Switzerland, Germany and Austria do not see advancing digitization as a job destroyer. Only just over 5 percent believe that people will be replaced by technologies. This is shown by a new survey of purchasing managers and buyers from the DACH region.
In April and May, the leading online B2B marketplace in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, "Wer liefert was", together with the Kloepfel Group, a service provider for purchasing for SMEs, surveyed 1,413 purchasing managers from the DACH region. Half of those surveyed believe that digitization is leading to a variety of roles, tasks and responsibilities in purchasing at companies. Just under a quarter (24%) still see people as the central factor in purchasing in the future. However, as many as 10 percent believe that the advancing development of technologies will ensure that procurement processes are fully automated and that purchasing in its current form will no longer occur. A full 87 percent believe that advances in digitization will improve purchasing.
Digitization influences all areas of the company
"Digitalization is becoming more and more prevalent in all areas of the company, or is already firmly anchored in some areas. It is also advancing in purchasing, which means that this area is taking on a key role," explains Doreen Schlicht, CMO & Human Resources at Wer liefert was. "However, the human factor remains the driver of development. Therefore, further training in purchasing remains enormously important for purchasing success, both in terms of digitalization know-how and negotiation skills," warns Heidrun Meder, Head of Group Recruiting & Employer Branding Kloepfel Group.
New technologies change the job profile of the buyer
More than half of the purchasing managers surveyed (53%) think that supply chain automation will have the greatest impact on changing the job description of buyers. Coming in second at 14 percent is the use of artificial intelligence. Augmented and virtual reality are perceived by only two percent as noteworthy technologies for purchasing. In contrast, almost no one believes that chatbots will play an important role in purchasing in the future (0.78%). "In times of digital networking, increasing pressure to innovate and an extremely high development speed, buyers have to open up and adapt to new technologies in order to keep up," says Doreen Schlicht. "It is therefore quite positive that the survey participants are increasingly understanding the increasing requirements and growing complexity," says Schlicht.
Source and further information: "Who supplies what"
