Tech Journal From Budget Constraints to IT Opportunities: How Automated Procurement Can Help

The world is changing fast — again — causing market-defining challenges. Continuing to meet your technology needs in a fast, efficient manner will be critical to achieving your business goals.  

Recent headlines have created a need for caution:

• Interest rates have risen by 4.25 percentage points since early 2022 — increasing the cost of borrowing and investing in your business.¹
• Meanwhile, the supply chain continues to have issues, as 61% of supply chain manager survey respondents indicate their supply chain still isn’t working normally, according to a CNBC survey.² 
• And, despite layoffs at well-known technology companies, the job market is still tight. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted in January that job openings have only dropped .9% from the peak in March 2022 to 10.5 million openings.³

In short, businesses across industries are facing many issues. The question remains: How do you continue meeting today’s and tomorrow’s technology needs amidst economic uncertainty?

If there’s one silver lining to challenges both past and present, it’s that we’ve all become experts at adapting. Organisations must continue to drive the business forward through key investments — particularly when it comes to supporting digital transformation with innovative tools like advanced analytics or eliminating technical debt by replacing legacy technology.

By continuing to support your organisation’s technology needs, you’ll be better positdigital transformation should be an investment priority during a downturn to help face challenges such as supply chain woes and to better predict customer needs.⁴

Still, supporting your business should be done affordably and efficiently in light of the recent challenges — especially when it comes to providing your end users with hardware, software, accessories and other critical IT tools.

Ensuring affordable technology access

Digital tools have long been used to help organisations succeed, and many are still working toward maximising the value technology brings to people and processes.

“As businesses navigate today’s challenges, a balance needs to happen where you’re paying attention to the market’s outlook while ensuring the right resources are in place to succeed,” says Joyce Mullen, president and CEO of Insight. “Having the right IT tools and technical capabilities will be imperative to meeting customer needs and growing the business.” 

Implementing the right technology delivers many helpful outcomes during uncertain times, including an improved client experience, revenue growth, cost optimisation, risk mitigation and operational efficiencies.

But how do you get the right IT tools affordably?

After spending a combined eight years at Amazon, Insight Vice President of Digital Transformation Rob Green says one way to do so is to change the way you buy.

“Driving efficiency in your buying processes by shifting manual, repeatable and scalable processes online can be an easy way to free up capacity and control costs while continuing to access the technology you need to transform the business,” Rob says.

Adopting a technology procurement process that mirrors your standard ecommerce experience — one that streamlines your technology access — can help your teams focus more on running and improving the business while keeping costs affordable, Rob says.

You’ll accelerate your ability to get the technology you need by automating away the labour that involved back-and-forth conversations and lengthy paper trails — helping your organisation save time and money.

After spending a combined eight years at Amazon, Insight Senior Vice President of Global Digital Transformation Rob Green says one way to change how much you spend is to change the way you buy.

What does automated IT procurement look like?

There’s a huge opportunity for many organizations to implement automation into their IT procurement, Rob says. With the right procurement tools and systems in place, you’ll be able to easily scale your technology purchasing, so you can get what you need when you need it, he adds.

When end users have access to a pre-defined catalog that includes robust product details and information — removing old systems that provided too many product listings and housed outdated information — your teams will be able to choose devices that fit their exact needs.

After the purchase, your procurement processes will also benefit from reconciling and reporting capabilities that can integrate with your existing tools to help simplify post-purchase management.  

Additionally, modern procurement systems can support the ability to ship devices to a home or office. This helps with adding new teammates at scale or replacing devices when they stop working during critical times.

You’ll also be able to minimise or even eliminate maverick spending — unapproved IT costs — with self-service. Your employees can use a pre-approved catalog that also supports approvals instead of going out on their own to purchase new devices.

And, alongside cost controls around what types of devices staff can purchase, you’ll be able to maintain a strong security system by requiring devices that support pre-defined, modern security capabilities.

The end result: Your business will be better equipped thanks to simple, automated systems that provide streamlined access. As you navigate upcoming challenges, you’ll no longer have to debate your technology investments or spend critical time making decisions or waiting for the device to arrive.

Instead, your teams and business will be able to move forward quickly and take advantage of situations that enable you to better position yourself for the future — without wasted time or wasted investments in the wrong technology.

Streamline your technology purchasing. An insight.com account offers seamless, self-service capabilities that accelerate and maximise the value of your technology purchases.

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