Focal Point Keynote: PSC LIVE London Global Summit
Delivering a keynote presentation at Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London Global Summit, Matthew Buckingham, Vice President of Business Development and Alliances at Focal Point, explored the concept of procurement 4.0.
His talk highlighted the evolution of procurement and the innovative strategies shaping its future.
The evolution of procurement to strategic growth
Matthew opens his keynote by highlighting how “the whole way that procurement has been done over the last hundred years has changed” and “it’s a great place to be.”
He reflects on its journey over the past century, recounting how procurement’s primary objective in the late 20th century was cost-saving, epitomised by practices such as the Toyota-inspired "just-in-time" systems.
He notes how the turn of the millennium marked a shift as businesses grappled with external risks like Y2K, the dotcom bubble burst and financial crises.
This era demanded a dual focus: saving money while managing risks.
Excel spreadsheets became a universal tool, alongside emerging Procure-to-Pay (P2P) systems like Ariba.
Procurement 3.0 and emerging complexities
Later, Matthew explores 'Procurement 3.0' - a phase, he explains, which makes it “even more complicated.”
While cost-saving and risk mitigation remained central, broader societal demands, such as ESG compliance, ethical consumption and carbon reporting, gained prominence.
Companies like Patagonia “had a really good initiative” and Matthew cites them as exemplars of ethical sourcing, embodying procurement’s evolving role in global responsibility.
Despite advances in P2P and ERP technologies, Matthew emphasises persistent challenges, especially around system integration.
He observes that while many organisations have adopted “best-of-breed” solutions for specific procurement needs, the lack of seamless connectivity between tools often hampers efficiency and effectiveness.
What procurement 4.0 offers
Inspired by the Industry 4.0 framework, procurement 4.0 integrates advanced technologies to facilitate automation, predictive analytics and improved decision-making.
“Data is the absolute driving force behind procurement 4.0,” Matthew remarks, explaining how the approach moves beyond historical analytics to anticipate future trends and potential risks.
He outlines three core pillars of the procurement 4.0 framework:
1. Automation
2. AI-powered insights
3. Human intelligence integration
As Matthew put it: “AI is really important and it's an important pillar of procurement for sure. And that is what's going to help you to understand your data better [...] it should be helping you in procurement to deal better with your suppliers.”
Matthew concludes by highlighting the opportunity for procurement professionals to drive both top-line growth and bottom-line savings, effectively positioning procurement as a value generator rather than a cost centre.
He explains how “procurement 4.0 is about making sure that you have all your data in the right place, that you're able to analyse that data, look at that data and predict from that data. That data helps your teams in procurement to do their job better, which then enables you to create value for the company.”
Looking ahead to procurement 5.0
Matthew speculated that the next phase (procurement 5.0) would likely see advancements in predictive technologies and cleaner, more accurate data to enable even greater automation and discovery capabilities.
While he jokes about whether he’d still be around to witness this evolution, his response reinforces the notion that procurement’s transformation is far from over.
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