The migration of supply chain processes to cloud computing is a strategy more and more adopted by businesses. Such movement has become even more evident with the expansion of remote working in recent years. The benefits of the cloud for supply chain are almost countless – you’ll find the most important in this article – and they have helped businesses to answer quickly to market changes.To have a glimpse of the growth to come, cloud-based supply chain management solutions will excedd $11 billion by 2023, according to estimates by P&S Research, a market intelligence consultancy firm.

Keep on reading!

Why should you use cloud computing for the supply chain?

Increasing competitiveness and productivity is the key reason businesses are moving their procurement operations to the cloud.

With a cloud solution, buyers have access to information from different places and devices – which helps to put any company ahead of its competitors. Another very relevant factor is process automation.

But in addition to business-related aspects, there’s another factor: the use of cloud computing for supply chain helps to curb global warming. After all, the optimization of IT infrastructures can reduce around 1 billion tons of CO2 by 2024, according to a study by International Data Corporation (IDC).

In other words, it’s one additional way to strengthen ESG actions in the supply area, and attract investors interested in sustainable business.

Benefits of cloud computing for the supply chain

1. Increased agility

A competitive company must be agile.

Having a cloud solution for corporate procurement processes will allow making important decisions, based on information and analytics – and, consequently, in a more agile way.

Therefore, it’s extremely important to recognize that digital transformation can be a great ally in this case.

2. Better integration and collaboration

Shared and collaborative work is vital to make the procurement area more productive and strategic.

The ease of sharing information and integrating people, teams and businesses is one of the key benefits of cloud computing for supply chains.

3. Higher scalability

The “scalability” term is related to a company’s ability to meet increasing demands, but without losing quality.

The use of the cloud in B2B procurement management assures higher scalability (that is, a more scalable infrastructure), because resources can be easily adapted to different scenarios.

A scalable supply chain integrates people, processes and technology – which is crucial to gain agility and competitiveness in an increasingly dynamic market.

4. Higher information visibility

Increased visibility is significant when opting for a cloud computing solution, as data is updated in real time.

This factor has also a positive impact on information transparency – which favors compliance, collaboration of all parties involved in the supply chain and managing risks in B2B procurement management.

Additionally, having quick access to data and KPIs is vital for more assertive decision making processes and insights.

5. Automated procurement processes and no unnecessary costs

With the use of a cloud solution, such as Mercado Eletrônico’s e-Procurement, you can digitize processes and eliminate the costs generated by manual and decentralized processes.

The automation of the procurement cycle frees teams to work in a smart way, with short- and long-term strategies – which, besides decreasing unnecessary expenses, increases the competitive strength of businesses.

Here on our blog, we have a post about how e-Procurement automates procurement management.

6. Fewer financial risks

In addition to a significant increase in the productivity of businesses, cloud solutions help to avoid financial losses in B2B procurement processes.

In fact, with the use of a SaaS or PaaS tool, the speed and availability of services impact the savings of organizations in a positive way.

7. More sustainable businesses

By using cloud solutions, you can increase resource savings; printing and paper become very rare, for instance.

There is also higher energy efficiency, as organizations don’t need to invest in a complex IT infrastructure.

Together, all these actions contribute to decrease greenhouse gas levels and their negative impacts on climate and the environment.

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