WNS doubles down on procurement and analytics expertise

With volatility now the name of the post-pandemic game, enterprises are looking to procurement and analytics to play a wider role beyond driving bottom-line company goals such as cost reduction, efficiency, and improved processes. Leading enterprises are looking to procurement to build resilient ecosystems and to analytics to support how they go about it.

WNS responded by acquiring two companies: The Smart Cube, a platform-driven research and analytics leader focusing on procurement and the supply chain, and OptiBuy, a leading procurement consultancy and implementation solutions provider.

The Smart Cube delivers self-serve procurement intelligence

London-headquartered The Smart Cube was founded in 2003; it provides digitally enabled market intelligence and analytics solutions. Its four core coverage areas are procurement and supply chain; commercial sales and marketing; digital and analytics; and strategy and investment research. In addition, the company’s Amplifi PRO platform helps enterprises with real-time decision making through self-serve procurement market intelligence.

WNS has historically been good at both analytics and data management. This acquisition adds to WNS’ front-end advisory capabilities and opens new avenues of growth via The Smart Cube’s existing European clientele.

WNS emerged as a Horizon 3 market leader in HFS Research’s recently published sourcing and procurement study. WNS is combining delivery of its finance and accounting, supply chain, and procurement capabilities and, in the process, collapsing functional silos, creating synergies, and driving value across the entire organization. Our report identified the need for WNS to extend its footprint and further bolster large procurement transformation deals.

OptiBuy enhances procurement advisory capabilities

The OptiBuy acquisition aims to enhance WNS’ advisory capabilities in the procurement space and make further headway into the North American market. The aim is to create customized and differentiated end-to-end digital procurement and supply chain solutions. OptiBuy was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Poland. It helps enterprises leverage the capabilities of leading third-party procurement and supply chain platforms and provides consulting, optimization, outsourcing, and training services to its clients. Europe and the Middle East are the current focuses for company growth.

Technically capable staff are in short supply; acquisitions bolster WNS’ numbers,

Another recent study by HFS Research, exploring the future of procurement, highlights that cross-functional data proficient procurement talent is not easily available (see Exhibit 1). WNS gets to add to its talent pool with these acquisitions.

Exhibit 1: 56% of procurement enterprises face a considerable talent crisis

Sample: 300 procurement executives across Global 2000 enterprises
Source: HFS Research in partnership with Infosys BPM, 2022

WNS believes that both acquired firms bring experienced leadership teams and research-focused talent alongside strong digital and procurement capabilities.

They also bring their client rosters, and WNS customers can expect to benefit from the injection of both capability and capacity.

The Bottom Line: Wider geographical spread, an enhanced talent pool, and more capabilities mean WNS clients should look forward to more help building their procurement ecosystems.

Enterprise leaders need to watch for how quickly WNS can bind the acquired firms’ capabilities into its value system and deliver gains. If it can integrate quickly, clients should be ready to expect more support from WNS in building out their procurement ecosystems in a wider range of geographies.