Acquisition Data Practice in the Era of Interconnected Digital Transformation

Abstract

Acquisition business processes and strategies are fundamentally interconnected in nature. In an era of digital transformation, conventional data practice does not sufficiently meet the challenges of contemporary acquisition processes, policy, and implementation. In this paper, we describe a novel data practice approach for acquisition based on three fundamental concepts: practice, problem identification and solving, and organizational strategy. This approach expands on conventional practice to embrace the interconnected nature of acquisition, while adapting to and leveraging the dynamics of the big data landscape. It provides direction toward comprehensive data practice for acquisition and allows an organization to (1) comprehensively address issues across the entire supply-and-demand value chain, (2) identify localized acquisition action items and processes toward global intra- and interorganizational strategies, and (3) engage and communicate broadly on how acquisition impacts both upstream and downstream activities, resources, and personnel. The work described here also paves the way for future studies examining best practices in acquisition processes, policy, and implementation.