Procurement's Year in Stories: November 2024
What Impact Could Donald Trump Have on Supply Chains?
On 6 November, Donald Trump was re-elected as President of the United States, being given a mandate from the American people.
Eight years after his surprise election win, January marks Trump's return for a second term with a range of promises made on the campaign trail.
Many procurement and supply chain leaders were wondering what effect he will have on the sector when he officially takes office in January.
Alex Saric, CMO at Ivalua, a leading provider of cloud-based, AI-powered Spend Management software, believes a greater escalation of tariffs is on the way from the 47th president of the US, when asked what a second Trump term will mean for supply chains.
"Under a second Trump term, we would likely see a greater escalation of tariffs and 'Buy American' provisions as part of a broader industrial policy agenda," he says.
"At the same time, existing ESG regulations could face rollbacks, though major corporations may continue ESG practices voluntarily to meet consumer and investor expectations or maintain compliance with international standards.
"Organisations should prepare for the possibility of nearshoring or onshoring operations, factoring in evolving 'made in USA' thresholds and the potential exclusion of certain nations, most notably China.
"Ultimately, supply chain resilience will hinge on the ability to nimbly adapt strategies in response to shifting tariffs, trade agreements and market conditions."
Dan Abramson, FourKites SVP of Growth Markets and NAM Board Member, echoed concerns about the impact Trump's tariffs could have on industries.
"Trump's proposed tariffs could bring about a complex transformation for the manufacturing industry, and the timing couldn't be more challenging: companies rushing to beat new tariffs will compete for already-strained logistics capacity just as East Coast ports face possible labour disruptions in January 2025," he adds.
How Coupa is Delivering a Procurement Home Run for the Giants
Coupa, known as the "margin multiplier," announced how it has added the San Francisco Giants to its roster of sports teams it is assisting with their digital transformation.
The Giants, along with other major sports franchises in the Bay Area, the San Francisco 49ers (National Football League) and Golden State Warriors (National Basketball Association), have turned to Coupa to champion their procurement efforts.
Coupa will expand its partnership with the San Francisco Giants to digitally transform and optimise business processes across finance and procurement. Coupa will unify the Giants' procurement and finance lifecycle, replacing three disparate systems with its industry-leading, unified platform for total spend management.
Coupa will connect and automate processes across purchasing, supplier management, invoicing, expenses and payments. With Coupa's support, the Giants will reap the benefits that come from complete visibility and control over all spend in a single system and improve business efficiencies.
"We are thrilled to complete our sports 'trifecta' in the Bay Area by expanding our partnership with the Giants who join the 49ers and Warriors as highly valued Coupa customers," says John Frank, Coupa's Chief Customer Officer.
Coupa delivers quantifiable business value through effective team collaboration, process automation and predictive community-generated AI insights that lead to more profitable decision-making.
"With Coupa, we are now able to completely orchestrate our spend processes with one end-to-end platform from purchase to payment," adds Lisa Pantages, Chief Financial Officer at the San Francisco Giants and Financial Women of San Francisco's 2024 Financial Woman of the Year.
"Our procurement and finance teams can seamlessly collaborate with each other and our suppliers on one easy-to-use, unified platform. As a result, we'll make smarter, more profitable business decisions and drive efficiency-led growth across the business - hitting our digital spend transformation out of the park."
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