The importance of digitalization of procurement in achieving multiple channel retail excellence

Abstract

Digitalization of procurement is a path to e-procurement and includes a set of practices and technologies, which through smart use of data, ICT and automation, raises the efficiency and effectiveness of existing and leads to the development of new procurement processes and activities. The most common notion of digitalization of procurement in retail implies the implementation of certain electronic solutions in various e-procurement phases of the retailer. Procurement and selling are two sides of the same retail coin. From time immemorial, business logic has dictated that everything should be procured rationally and that only what can be sold should be procured. With the modernization of retail come new challenges, which require exceptional coordination between sales and purchasing activities. Therefore, in certain circumstances, the digitization of sales may affect the digitization of procurement, and vice versa. The concept of multiple channel sales has been extensively present, from the moment when retailers started using multiple marketing channels in parallel. In this regard, modern, theoretically narrower understanding of multiple channel business implies the intersection of physical and digital sales channels. The market implications of the COVID-19 pandemic only further accentuated the need to integrate traditional and electronic sales channels, in order to respond to contactless purchasing requests. Achieving a multiple channel strategy is usually multi-iterative, as the retailer goes through the previous multiple channel phases, gradually expanding the range of sales channels and their integration. In this regard, Jocevski et al. (2019) noted that the key predispositions for the transition from a multichannel to an omnichannel strategy are a "seamless" shopping experience, data integration, and effective supply chain management. By its nature, the digitalization of retail procurement, as a business process, touches on all three key aspects of multiple channel integration. It is in this context that it is necessary to look for the previously mentioned link between the digitization of procurement and sales. Therefore, the focus of this paper will be on locating and explaining the specific ways in which procurement digitalization can affect the multiple channel integration of retail business.