MRO PROCUREMENT TECHNOLOGY

Digital systems can help procurement professionals get better visibility of their MRO procurement process and control who they buy from. But any technology implementation needs to have the necessary support.

Technology plays an important role in helping procurement professionals gain the insight they need into spend, which in turn can help them make more strategic decisions about how they buy.

According to the 2025 Indirect Procurement Report, produced by RS and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), better spend visibility is the main driver behind using a digital procurement service, with 75 per cent highlighting this. This has increased significantly from 31 per cent in 2023, suggesting pressure to gain control over spend is growing.

Having an effective system in place is all the more important when dealing with large numbers of suppliers, with the average number now standing at 92, up by 18 per cent on the previous year.

“The more suppliers are involved, the harder it is to track where the money goes, and it’s even harder when you don’t have a proper system or control over who is spending what and with whom,”

says Agata Evans, Senior Procurement Manager for MRO at Aston Martin.

“Ultimately it becomes more difficult to manage your spend. Investing in a proper system can make a big difference because these tools pull everything together and give you full visibility, as well as making sure that everybody procures through compliant vendors.”

A digital procurement system can also help buyers access better management information, which is put forward by 69 per cent as a reason to invest. An example here is knowing the full cost of placing an order, which includes the cost of processing transactions as well as the headline price. Only 41 per cent feel confident they currently have this information.

“One reason why a lot of teams don’t know this, or find it difficult to track, is because many organisations still have a very manual process, and each part of the process is often owned by different departments,” points out Evans.

“You have to find a way to track this cost so you can make more efficient decisions and then eliminate any unnecessary expenses. But you also need to know those values if you want to build the case for investment in assistance or standardisation. Then when you invest in the system, you will have that visibility and be able to track it, even if the process is broken between different departments.”

The lure of efficiency
The biggest motivation when it comes to investing in new technology more generally is to improve operational efficiency, with 42 per cent, which has increased from 32 per cent in 2023. Minimising internal complexity is a factor for 28 per cent while retiring legacy systems is a catalyst for 19 per cent.

Jane Lynch, Professor of Procurement at Cardiff Business School and Director of the Centre of Public Value Procurement, warns that investing in technology alone is often not enough, and urges organisations to ensure the wider support and training processes are in place.

“Digitising processes is expensive and may require an upskilling of the workforce,” she points out. “If you’re not just buying off-the-shelf packages, you will need the right engineers to come and maintain that software and train people to use it. Too many leaders have tried to rush this adoption process, and that can waste even more money.”

Thought also needs to be given to whether it’s better to lease or buy software, as digital tools and platforms are innovating and updating frequently which means a short-term lowest cost investment may have a limited shelf-life.

The end of purchasing cards?
In a sign of greater digitisation, the use of eProcurement systems is now well established as a means of making MRO purchases. This is used by 47 per cent of organisations, and its use has increased from 38 per cent a year ago, as more organisations realise the benefits of using such technology. This has largely been at the expense of purchasing cards, which are now only the main tool for 16 per cent of organisations, down from 25 per cent in 2023.

“In the past, people tended to use a purchasing card, because they would need equipment immediately and it was convenient,” says Evans. “But that was causing this problem around visibility. People now understand the need for a procurement system so they can improve efficiency and buy smarter.”

The use of eProcurement systems also offers greater control over who companies buy from, she adds. “If people buy through a purchasing card, those suppliers may not be approved vendors and won’t have been through any due diligence,” she points out.

“That means you can’t track where goods are coming from and you’re risking the reputation of the company.” This is particularly important in the area of environmental, social & governance credentials, where organisations have to demonstrate they are buying from reputable suppliers.

Another issue to consider when it comes to making purchases is that organisations have suitable cybersecurity measures in place, and those in procurement follow agreed processes. The proportion of organisations with a cybersecurity strategy in place has risen from 21 per cent in 2023 to 38 per cent, suggesting this is an issue that more businesses are taking seriously.

“Procurement is a good target for cyber-attacks because we deal with a vast amount of suppliers and hold a lot of data, and we have a lot of systems to manage,” says Evans. “This suggests businesses are waking up to the fact that procurement is a risk from a cyber-attack perspective.”

To download the 2025 Indirect Procurement Report,click here.