4th edition
2024
The 4th Annual Oxalys Procurement Survey has seen increased engagement, with nearly 400 procurement professionals from diverse sectors contributing. This growing participation underscores the survey’s significance as a valuable resource for tracking trends and benchmarking procurement performance in South Africa.
This year’s survey delves into the latest challenges faced by procurement teams and highlights the innovative strategies organisations are employing to enhance their strategic impact. With contributions spanning multiple sectors—from financial services to mining and petrochemicals—it offers a comprehensive snapshot of procurement across industries.
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our partners, Smart Procurement and Commerce Edge SA, as well as the advisory specialists who played a pivotal role in designing, distributing, and analysing the survey. A special thank you goes to the organisations and senior leaders who generously shared their insights. The survey remains free for all organisations in South Africa, with the goal of sparking conversations and inspiring strategic growth.
We hope this year’s findings provide valuable insights to support and enhance your procurement practices.
2024 key figures
92% of Professionals confirm that Procurements impact on the economic performance of a business is either significant or game-changing
60% of respondents agree that Digitisation is a driver for Procurement to deliver more strategic value to their organization
54% of Public Sector respondents reported they experience irregular expenditure
Survey highlights
Due to the increase in fuel prices, rising interest rates and the impacts of load-shedding, reducing supply risks remains top of the agenda for procurement departments. Maintaining optimal supplier relations is key to achieving this and it also supports positive negotiations for better pricing.
Oxalys South Africa procurement survey 2022 – Figure 1:
How would you define the top procurement’s priority for 2023 in your organisation?
Many organisations remain steadfast in their approach to leverage their existing ERP solution to cater for their unique procurement processes. The challenge is that ERP systems remain rigid and often requires businesses to align their processes as defined by the system. 15% of the respondents however have identified more flexible and cost-effective solutions that can align and digitize their existing processes, while integrating with their ERP solution, to enable seamless workflows.
Oxalys South Africa procurement survey 2023 – Figure 14:
What are your top priorities for digital procurement in the next 2 years?
Although improvement of security and alignment with internal policies remain a leading strategy for resilience, digitisation has leaped to the forefront of the CPO agenda in less than 12 months and is now the second-ranking strategy in deployment.
Localisation and inclusivity are still at the heart of procurement strategies, driving additional value in their organisations.
Oxalys South Africa procurement survey 2023 – Figure 3:
Which of these strategies are deployed in your organisation to deliver more strategic value from procurement?
What they say about the survey
Oxalys South Africa Procurement Survey 2023
Related content
About the survey
Launched in 2020 during the most unusual time, the annual South Africa Procurement Survey was the first-ever locally conducted survey designed to provide exclusive insights into procurement key priorities and challenges in South Africa.
Each year, this survey attracts over 200 respondents, investigating important topics such as risk management, localization and resilience, while providing a barometer of procurement strategies and practices as they evolve.
We thank all contributors whose individual insights have deepened the understanding of tomorrow’s procurement panorama . We also thank our partners, CIPS and Smart Procurement World, who played a large part in amplifying the echo of this joined initiative.
