Dive Brief:

• Spend Matters released its fourth annual 50 Providers to Know / 50 Providers to Watch list Monday, to coincide with the ISM 2017 conference. 
• A comparison of the two lists, year after year, reveal the degree of success and adoption of technology in the Know category, while pointing out potential new trends or needs in the Watch list.
• A few highlights: EcoVadis, PRGX and Sievo "graduated" into the Know list this year; BirchStreet Systems, IBISWorld, Icertis, Randstad and Denali - A WNS Company skipped the Watch list altogether, and BuyerQuest has remained on the Watch list for four years.

Dive Insight:

Call it the app phenomenon. Much like our personal relationship with the Internet is driven by specific applications on our mobile devices and our desktops, the trend in the digital procurement arena is for very specific software applications that either supplement, or replace, complex ERP systems. Rapidly changing technologies, coupled with an evolution in digital procurement, forces procurement organizations to stay on the cutting edge of available technologies that help them do their jobs.

But that rapid change that may be both a blessing and a curse. Smaller companies, especially those in the tech space, may be more flexible, responsive, and willing to adopt a new procurement technology that aligns with their business, and one without the restrictions that accompany a traditional enterprise wide package. Larger companies, with ingrained legacy systems, might be less flexible to take advantage of the new technologies, especially in the complex procurement space.

The procurement technology landscape is changing rapidly. Keeping current on the providers and technologies that will assist them in managing the end-to-end global supply chain is yet one more responsibility for today’s procurement professional. Who knows … there may be an app for that as well.