Last year, the world was caught up in the ‘Catch them all’ frenzy. Wondering what it refers to? The Pokémon Go craze that brought everyone to their feet! Pokémon Go, released in 2016, is an augmented reality (AR) game based on a popular cartoon series ‘Pokémon’ by Nintendo. Read on to know more about how an augmented reality game has important lessons in store for procurement!
Pokémon is the one of the most popular cartoon series that was launched in the year 2016 as an AR game where players go out in the real world to catch virtual creatures called Pokémon’s while looking at their phones. (Did you know that Pokémon stands for pocket monsters?). This game brought the virtual and real world together thereby attracting humans and obliterating boundaries between people and their smartphones.
It is not only the players who have been fascinated with the AR concept, but also companies who have become aware of the potential this technology holds to revamp their procurement and sales function. Adoption of this technology would enable the management and procurement leaders to take quick strategic business decisions thereby eliminating delays in approval.
Driving Change the Pokémon Go Way
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘change is inevitable,’ and most probably we’re tired of it too. Just like when computers were introduced, people had a tough time shifting to the new technology. However, eventually, they did adapt to it, right? Similarly, it’s high time procurement leaders realized that the traditional or manual procurement processes are outdated and no longer in sync with the current business goals, creating a need to adopt certain change management practices thereby. Organizations need to switch to a more robust and user-friendly process and system to gain an edge and be the market disruptor.
Negotiate Your Way to Catch Them All
The main aim of the game is to ‘catch them all’. While playing the game, there are several factors that impact the probability of the player trying to capture the monsters such as the force, time and type of poke ball used. Similarly, in procurement, the probability of securing the right supplier at the best price possible depends on the negotiation strategies and convincing skills of the chief procurement officers (CPOs). One question to ask yourself, “Are we negotiating in the right way to seal the best offers possible?”
Keep Moving Around
In Pokémon Go, players have to move around to catch the monsters for obvious reasons. Similarly, while procuring suppliers, the CPOs must move around and search for the suppliers that offer you the best prices. Even after sealing the best deal, CPOs must bear in mind to maintain a relationship with at least the most important suppliers to keep them close and in frequent contact so as to ‘catch’ potential problems, if any.
This new age AR game leaves procurement with three areas to ponder over i.e. to develop negotiation skills, to have a change management plan and a strong supplier relationship management strategy in place to yield better results.
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