1. Introduction to Agile Procurement Processes

In difficult times and under pressure to grow and be profitable, it is essential for organizations to become more agile. One of the ways to reach this objective is to use external resources, possibly in a variable mode. This allows for shifting capital investments in resources to operational expenses and gaining flexibility. This chapter describes how innovation in procurement can contribute, by helping the organization reach its agility objectives and, at the same time, become itself a more agile function. In order to reach these objectives, it is important for procurement to become leaner and more digitized. The first requirement is to improve processes and eliminate waste as much as possible. This first volume concentrates on how to re-engineer processes in the direction of agility and leanness. The second volume analyzes how procurement can be digitally transformed.