Abstract:

Modern supply chains, characterized by geographic disparity, high complexity, dynamism and uncertainty, are forcing firms to evaluate how they can benefit from emerging technologies. A shift from a traditional procurement model into a Procurement 4.0 ecosystem, enabled by the combination of industry 4.0 technologies, is revolutionizing the way companies operate the procurement process. Specifically, rapid advancements in digitalization contributed to many benefits within the procurement function and along the supply chain, such as cost reduction, integration and flexibility of the processes. However, a limited number of researches have been conducted on the use of enabling technologies such as Internet of Things, Big data and analytics, AI, etc. in relation to procurement. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the current adoption of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies in the procurement context within Croatian companies. The evaluation provides insights on current status, potentials of these emerging technologies in activities pertaining to procurement, benefits of digital transformation of the procurement processes, and adoption challenges. A quantitative analysis with online survey was used to collect the primary data from 62 croatian companies. The results contribute to understanding the importance of the adoption of industry 4.0 technologies in the procurement process, and show the current situation of digital transformation in the procurement sector in Croatian companies, that remains underexplored. In that manner, the paper facilitates practicing managers toward enabling technologies concepts, their importance in digital transformation of the procurement process, and challenges linked with its adoption to remain competitive in the global context.