Procurement has come a long way from systems of record for purchase order creation and invoice payment to systems of differentiation facilitating sourcing, supplier evaluation and contract management activities.

The strategic sourcing application suite market offers a diversity of general-purpose, regional and industry-tailored suites for spend analysis, e-sourcing, contract management and supply base management. Gartner identifies 29 vendors to help IT and procurement leaders navigate this fragmented market.

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Among other criteria, the report evaluates 29 vendors which are classified as Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries or Niche players based on their Ability to Execute – ability and success in capitalizing on their vision as evidenced by size, reputation, growth and customer retention and Completeness of Vision – vendor’s understanding of how market forces can be exploited to create opportunities for growth.

Some of the trends highlighted by Gartner in the report are;

• Leveraging the right technology
• The total procurement technology market is at $2.7 billion; the strategic sourcing suite space accounts for approximately half the total market

• Seeing an increased interest in strategic sourcing application suites from emerging markets

• On the client side, Gartner is seeing a continued, increased interest in suites as opposed to point solutions, as well as increased interest and acceptance of cloud delivery models

• Attractive market demand and interest in suites has fueled a wave of acquisitions in the market
• Innovation in procurement technology continues, driven by the Nexus of Forces of mobility, analytics, social and big data

To get detailed insights into the procurement market and learn more about the Gartner’s evaluation criteria for Strategic Sourcing Solution Suites you can download a complimentary copy for the “2013 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report for Strategic Sourcing Application Suites”.