Written by : STUART HODGE

DR . MARCELL VOLLMER ’ S job is to be at the forefront of the transformation for businesses looking to embrace the latest digital technology and cloud-based solutions . He ’ s been doing some research into the some of biggest concerns for companies in the industry moving forward , and is passionate about ensuring that procurement remains just as relevant in the future as it does today .

Vollmer ’ s research was focused on seeing how prepared companies feel they are for the digital transformation which is taking shape in the market place . The survey found that there is indeed work to be done , with less than a quarter of companies in the United States feeling that they were ready , and the number in Europe ( although the research focused mainly on Germany ) sitting at not much more than 10 %.

But one thing , more than any other , is at the forefront of concerns for companies involved in procurement and supply chain , and that is how to ensure that talent can be brought in and kept within the industry .

Vollmer says : “ We wanted to ask ‘ what are the key priorities and the challenges for procurement companies to focus on ?’

“ Across Europe and North America , asking for the number one challenge for the future , we mainly got the same response across most people we asked ; that is the ability to attract , develop and retain talent across the procurement function . In terms of respondents , 55 % replied back

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