— Montse Empez , CPO , Applus + Empez worked on developing procurement policies to demonstrate which software solutions system would best suit the company ’ s needs . “ A year after I joined the company , I raised the department ’ s needs with the board of directors , and they agreed to launch an RFP . I ’ m proud to say that six years after the first implementation , we now have 13 countries using it . It ’ s not complete , but it ’ s a great start ,” says Empez . “ With the new system , I started getting information that meant we could make smarter decisions and ensure compliance .” Now , Applus + is in the process of migrating its procurement department again , this time to SAP Ariba ’ s service . “ Ariba is a much more robust system than our previous deployment ,” Empez explains . “ It gives us additional advantages with regards to our procure-to-pay process , and it allows us to implement rules with procurement to be more consistently compliant . We are very satisfied with the Ariba deployment and what we can get out of the system .”

Empez maintains that , regardless of the solutions in use , one of the greatest challenges of the digital transformation of procurement is an increased focus on compliance . “ Procurement is coming under more and more scrutiny ,” she says . “ There are increased controls and compliance standards on the procurement process now , especially relating to things like Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR ). Procurement is something that can , if done poorly , really hurt a company ’ s reputation .” Sustainable practice across the procurement department is another avenue through which responsibility increases alongside importance . “ Sustainability in the supply chain

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