Business Process and Digital Transformation (Part-2)

We continue the series of “Business Process and Digital Transformation.” In the previously published Part 1 Business Process and Digital Transformation, we used a fictional company named “John Doe and Sons” to explain how digital transformation (DT) affects business processes.

In Part 1, we showed how DT adoption allowed more opportunities for suppliers, reduced procurement overhead, and added a strong layer of transparency.

Recap: Purchasing Business Process from Part 1

Process Flow:

How Digital Transformation Impacts RFQ Issuance

In this article, we focus on how DT transforms the purchasing department’s Request for Quotation (RFQ) process.

The procurement module (software system) can fully automate RFQ creation based on predefined rules and workflows. For example:

• The system can monitor company assets, track maintenance cycles, depreciation, and usage.
• Based on these insights, it automatically issues an RFQ without human interaction.
• A workflow ensures manager approval before publishing RFQs to suppliers.
• It can also consider the company’s cash flow and market conditions to determine the best time to issue RFQs—ensuring the most competitive offers.

The New Purchasing Landscape

With DT adoption, the purchasing process for something as simple as chairs changes dramatically:

• The purchasing department has less influence on when, how, and from where items are procured.
• Human interaction is minimized and controlled, while transparency increases.
• The system recommends the most suitable purchase timing by monitoring both assets and the market.

Business Benefits for “John Doe and Sons”

By adopting DT and the new system, John Doe and Sons achieved:

• Reduced procurement workforce efforts and repetitive tasks.
• Workforce redeployment toward core business operations and profit-generating tasks.
• Optimized asset utilization and expense reduction.
• Increased workforce efficiency.
• Structured workflows enabling managers and decision-makers to gain insights and forecasts on usage, expenses, and asset utilization.

These insights support improved marketing plans and annual budget strategies, strengthening overall business performance.

Learn More

For more context, see Part 1: Business Process and Digital Transformation