Developing design principles for the digitalisation of purchasing and supply management

Abstract

This paper develops an approach to evaluating designs for digitalisation interventions in purchasing and supplymanagement (PSM), and identifies some fundamental design principles for such interventions. A set of advancedtechnologies for digitalisation and a theory-based set of seven value drivers for PSM are identified for theproposed grid to facilitate the design of applications and interventions for digitalising PSM. The grid relates thedigital technologies to the PSM value drivers in a matrix-like manner, allowing the structured consideration ofthe space defined by these two dimensions. The proposed approach to the strategic evolution of digitalisation inPSM is tested and its utility is demonstrated in analyses of practitioner literature and multiple case-study-basedperspectives on PSM digitalisation. Two fundamental design principles relating to the use of the grid, or to thefilling of its space, are set out, thus the research provides new theoretical perspectives on the design of advancedforms of PSM digitalisation. The proposed grid may be used in application design, communicating current andfuture states of PSM digitalisation to stakeholders, and specifically in developing a future-oriented strategy witha digitalization element for the PSM function