Transforming
High Tech
How procurement and supply chain management are driving change
High Tech:
An Industry Facing Unprecedented Disruption
Today’s high-tech world moves at breakneck speed. Consumers constantly demand innovative and personalized products from brands they trust. Supply chains are becoming more complex as a growing network of global suppliers and co-manufacturers faces scarce resources, intricate inventory management requirements, and a tougher regulatory environment around sustainability.
As a result, procurement and supply chain management play an increasingly vital role in driving digital transformation. Explore how next-generation practices powered by intelligent technologies can help companies like yours grow profitably and sustainably.
Of global discrete manufacturers will offer smart connected products, driving the need for digital supply chain capabilities1
Industry ecosystems will see a 40% greater innovation rate of new digital products and services compared with traditional innovation approaches2
Four Key Business Outcomes
Sourcing and Contract:
Key Challenges and Opportunities
Standardize source-to-contract processes across your organization to identify savings opportunities and find new sources of supply – accelerating innovation, improving compliance, and mitigating risks.
Challenges
- Align with consumer demands for sustainable products
- Monitor individual supplier social responsibility and supplier diversity
- Ensure supplier environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and other compliance across the supply chain
Opportunities
- Consolidate all sourcing, contracting and spend in one place
- Make risk due diligence part of the procurement process
- Move to local and sustainable suppliers where possible
Challenges
- Expand the choice of suitable suppliers
- Improve material availability
- Assess and monitor supplier suitability, quality, and risk
Opportunities
- Access global directories to identify potential new suppliers
- Gain visibility and improve collaboration with existing suppliers
- Exchange demand forecasts and supply signals with suppliers over a business network
Challenges
- Meet growing consumer pressure for continuous innovation
- Compress product lifecycles
- Make constant revisions to product designs
Opportunities
- Identify potential new suppliers through global directories
- Improve collaboration and automate transactions with existing suppliers
- Use a business network to exchange demand forecasts and supply signals with suppliers
Plan and Forecast:
Key Challenges and Opportunities
Respond effectively to changes in supply, demand, and market conditions and synchronize decisions across the organization with an integrated approach to planning across the supply chain.
Challenges
- Adjust to growing use of outsourced manufacturing
- Increase use of highly engineered materials and products
- Understand and orchestrate the supply chain flow
Opportunities
- Improve collaboration with existing suppliers
- Send planned orders and demand forecasts to suppliers ahead of time
- Exchange inventory status information with suppliers
Challenges
- Minimize brand owner reputational damage and penalties
- Get better visibility across the supply chain network
- Reclaim responsibility for product planning and execution
Opportunities
- Collaborate more closely with manufacturers and suppliers
- Get greater visibility of the upstream supply chain
- Anticipate and react to potential disruptions before they arise
Challenges
- Manage sell with no buffer inventory to rely on
- Compensate for out-of-date supply and demand signals
- React quickly and effectively to market changes
Opportunities
- Collaborate more closely with manufacturers and suppliers
- Get real-time supply and demand signals
- Anticipate market changes to enable rapid response
Buy and Deliver:
Key Challenges and Opportunities
Reduce procurement costs, drive compliance, and gain greater visibility with visible and connected spending. Manage goods and materials more efficiently across multitier manufacturing and the wider supply chain.
Challenges
- Meet consumer demand for personalized products
- Work with shorter product lifecycles
- Cope with no buffer inventory and small stocks of
finished goods
Opportunities
- Deploy efficient postponement manufacturing
- Implement contract-based purchasing
- Reduce friction in procurement execution through automation
Challenges
- Orchestrate a multitier manufacturing model
- Get better visibility of materials and parts at every level
- React quickly and effectively to issues
Opportunities
- Reduce friction in procurement execution through automation
- Monitor material and product flows across the logistics chain
- Improve delivery metrics through effective track-and-trace capabilities
Invoice and Pay:
Key Challenges and Opportunities
Automate your accounts payables and early payment discount processes to strengthen key supplier relationships, optimize cash flow, and improve profitability.
How High-Tech Customers Are Achieving Value from SAP® Solutions
Learn More About Procurement Software and Solutions for High Tech from SAP
Improvement in inventory turns from intelligent enterprise and supply chain transformation3
Lower revenue loss due to stockouts4
Higher on-time delivery rate5
Faster time to market for new products6