In this episode of the Procuretech Podcast, host James Meads is joined by Ward Karson, Chief Operating Officer of Raindrop – an enterprise spend management suite based in California.

They discuss the current trend for consolidation in the procurement tech space, what this means for the future, and how Raindrop plans to make some big waves.
Disrupting with Accessible Solutions – Ward Karson from Raindrop
In light of the recent shock acquisition of Coupa, more mergers and acquisitions are likely on the way. Against this backdrop, how is Raindrop looking to disrupt and challenge the big players in the full-suite game?

0:02:49

History and background on Raindrop.
Raindrop has been around for four years, and Ward has over 30 years of experience as a procurement practitioner. Raindrop's aim is to create an enterprise Procure-to-Pay (P2P) solution to compete with legacy tech.

0:04:19

Acquisitions and their impact on procurement tech. .
In the past few weeks we've seen the acquisitions of Coupa, UBS, Credit Suisse, and the Silicon Valley Bank. This is a very interesting time, where organizations that are struggling may get acquired and consumed. As a result, expect the entire P2P space to be changing in the coming years.

0:06:10

Discussing the disparity between CRM and SRM uptake.
Even small startups have CRM systems, and this is testament to the changes happening in the industry. So why don't companies use supplier relationship management systems, despite the fact that it would make sense for them to do so?

0:07:35

Addressing  the growing SRM market and potential ERP acquisitions.

0:10:57

Predictions on the future of ERP.
Ward draws on his experience working for Oracle and predicts that more traditional ERP providers are going to go out and acquire solutions, as opposed to developing them.

0:14:59

The true value of user-friendly solutions.

Ease of use is incredibly important in any procurement tech solution. Not just from the perspective of accessibility. The real value is that it increases stakeholder adoption.

0:16:41

Exploring the pros and cons of legacy tech.

Legacy tech in the P2P space doesn't exactly have a reputation for user-friendliness or accessibility. This is where there's space to disrupt.

0:22:11

Risk appetite and modular solutions.
Modular solutions allow for fast strategic pivots and agile business practices. Monolithic legacy tech solutions can be so costly to implement that they present a serious risk to ROI.

0:23:48

The benefits of digitally native solutions.
As Millennials rise to senior positions in the industry, it's unsurprising to hear that immediacy is becoming ever more valuable. Digitally native solutions represent the speed and ease that the market now demands.

0:24:49

Ward's advice for IT procurement managers: What to look for in a future-proof, modern procurement tech solution.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast!

Thanks to Ward for sharing his insights with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there.

If you want to learn more about Ward, Raindrop, or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.
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