Exploring New Technologies in Procurement

Rapid advancements in digitalization are reshaping global supply chains and transforming the current modus operandi of the procurement function within companies. Broadly, procurement logistics involves the exchange of a wide variety of data and information relating to suppliers and buyers. As the needs of companies become more complex, many disruptive innovations are adopted to support and advance procurement in terms of predictability, transactional automation and proactivity of supplier relationship management. These emerging technologies encompass big data analytics, robotics, internet of things (IoT), blockchain and smart contracts, etc. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the potentialities of these emerging technologies in activities pertaining to procurement and the main organizational barriers that stand against their wide-scale implementation