According to the Office of National Statistics, 38 billion Britons use the internet every day, and access to the internet using a mobile phone has more than doubled, from 24% to 58%, between 2010 and 2014.
It’s clear that large parts of our lives are ‘lived’ online every day, with banking, shopping, reading the news, interacting with friends and family, watching TV and even dating being among some of the most popular activities.
So why is it that when it comes to our professional lives, there is still some hesitation in making a crossover to the digital world, particularly when it comes to processes which are steeped in tradition, such as buying goods and services that allow us to run our businesses?
A recent survey conducted by Acquire Services found that fewer than half of operators within the care home sector (40%) use online tools to help with their buying and management processes.
But of those who did use them, 100% found them invaluable – so why are so many operators still using pen and paper when it comes to managing their procurement processes?
It might be true that a few years ago, sophisticated web-based systems were for the private sector ‘big boys’ of the business world, but now, such systems are completely inclusive, and available to all sizes and types of businesses – big or small, public sector or private.
Cost needn’t be a factor that rules out operators. While they have a high perceived value, many, including our own suite of e-buying tools and online business information systems, are low-cost options that will transfer benefit to your bottom line immediately.
Let’s look at the benefits. Using e-platforms not only helps businesses buy more effectively through improving business processes but can also help reshape supply chains for the better, improve green credentials, and save time and money – all of which are precious commodities.
Online procurement also centralises transactions so they can be easily tracked and monitored, streamlining the buying process.
Digital systems reduce administration costs relating to ordering, invoicing and credit note processing. It also means errors are decreased, which in turn reduces the cost of putting things right.
It also ensures total financial transparency in real time for the catering unit, head office and the supplier.
And the idea of ‘buying better’ doesn’t just mean getting the best price, although price is obviously vital to get right: it’s all about operators working with a buying partner that truly understands their buying strategy and works on their behalf to connect them with the right suppliers providing an appropriate breadth of product choice to suit their operation.
Most traditional collective buying schemes tend to offer a standard model for purchasing that lumps single commodities into one or two contracts – something that greatly reduces the choice of supplier.
This is where working with an online buying platform is way ahead of traditional methods. Most will offer an extensive variety of suppliers across a large number of categories, ranging from global suppliers to niche independent producers, meaning that caterers have greater choice and greater buying power, all accessible online from a single login.
The benefits also include the availability of in-depth information that online tools can bring to you at the click of a button. Nutrient, allergen, fat, salt and sugar content, and the origin of the product information can all be accessed within integrated systems, which makes abiding by the government’s new allergen laws easy.
Food accreditations such as Red Tractor, RSPCA and Fairtrade are also linked to products, making the selection process much simpler.
The technology we have today can also greatly aid caterers by truly helping them understand their ongoing responsible-buying profile and aiding the development of a CSR strategy that is aligned with business targets.
In fact, our own responsible sourcing framework, ‘Green10’, can provide online metrics for ten specific ‘pillars’, each relating to key aspects of responsible sourcing, purchasing and sustainability. These include: food mileage, local sourcing, environmental profile, seasonality, renewable, culture, animal welfare, well-being, packaging and food waste.
Gone are the days of caterers having to sift through paperwork or pick up the phone to their supplier to ask all of these questions. Online buying is about looking to the future; if you want to attract a new generation of talent to your business, then you need to embrace the world of digital.
The next generation of people in the industry will have grown up using mobile devices, laptops and tablets to complete school work and interact with friends via social media platforms. They will simply expect businesses to have up-to-date technology in place.
A business that is stuck in traditional methods could be seen as old-fashioned to potential new recruits, who may become frustrated with this inefficient way of working and will likely look elsewhere.
Harnessing the power of fully integrated online procurement tools, which bring all of the information together in one place along with the input of hundreds of suppliers, accreditation bodies and distributors, is now a fully realised reality. This level of integration just couldn’t be achieved without digital access.
It’s time that all caterers embraced e-procurement as the digital world is only going to get more intrinsically linked to hospitality management. So let’s make the most of it.