Successfully Communicating in a Digital Procurement Transformation Project

Communication — this single word can determine the success or failure of your procurement information system (IS) project.

Why Is Communication So Important?

Communication is a pillar of change management. It helps provide meaning to the transformation and ensures its sustainability.

What’s the Value?

Without communication, there can be no effective digital transformation in procurement. Both in the short and long term, communication is essential for supporting change. By communicating throughout the lifecycle of your procurement IS project (before, during, and after implementation), you increase stakeholder engagement and project adoption.

Effective communication isn’t just about addressing stakeholders; it also involves interacting and listening to them. Here’s a checklist to help you communicate effectively with stakeholders.

Communication Checklist

• Give Meaning: Explain the reasons for the transformation and the added value of procurement digitalization.
  Example: Send a note from the Procurement Director about the digital transformation project in the internal newsletter.
• Ensure Visibility: Keep stakeholders informed about the project’s progress.
  Example: Send internal communications (emails, notifications, etc.) at each project milestone and countdown to the procurement IS deployment.
• Listen: Adopt an open posture, collect stakeholder feedback, and take it into account.
  Example: Organize workshops with diverse user samples.
• Reassure: Clarify misunderstandings and emphasize the project’s added value.
  Example: Share an informational video to support the procurement IS deployment.
• Engage: Maintain an interactive relationship with stakeholders, even after the procurement IS is implemented.
  Example: Measure user satisfaction through surveys sent via push notifications on the procurement IS.

Key Communication Questions

How to Communicate Before the Project Launch?

• Reasons for the change
• Nature of the change
• Impact of the change on stakeholders

How to Communicate During the Project?

• Project team progress updates
• Directional information
• User feedback

How to Communicate Post-Implementation?

• Introduction to digital and change management culture
• Communication for ongoing changes
• Collect feedback from different stakeholders

Case Study: Customized Digital Communication Integrated with a Procurement IS for a Leading Construction Company

A major construction company in France and Europe recognized that its sector was undergoing modernization driven by digital processes and tools. In response, the company decided to initiate a group-wide digital transformation project internationally (including multi-regional operations in France and international offices). One key component was the implementation of a procurement information system (IS).

To foster adoption and ensure the project’s success, the company’s Director of Procurement Performance partnered with Lemon Learning to provide tailored user support. One of the primary goals was to improve communication with end users, which was previously conducted mostly via ineffective email campaigns.

Lemon Learning’s Methodology

Lemon Learning guided the company step by step in integrating personalized communication directly into the procurement IS to maintain continuous user engagement:

• Targeted User Segmentation:
  • Based on location, role, or the user’s company branch
  • Differentiating between office-based and on-site users
• Personalized Communication Integration:
  • Deploying Lemon Learning’s push functionality to continuously interact with users directly from the procurement IS
  • Educational segmentation to deliver the right message to the right user at the right time

Results

Today, the company engages and trains over 15,000 users across 90 countries in 35 languages. Thanks to training sessions provided to the company’s internal teams, they are now fully autonomous in designing and updating content. Since this initial collaboration, six additional projects have been launched within the company.

Communicate Directly from Your Procurement IS

Effective communication means delivering the right information to the right audience at the right time and place.

In the digital era, change management can no longer be considered separately from digital tools. Communication must be integrated into the procurement system to directly engage with end users within their software environment. Digital adoption solutions like Lemon Learning now enable companies to communicate with their users directly from the procurement IS.

Communicating from Your Procurement IS with Lemon Learning

• Provide additional information about your procurement IS using tooltips
• Notify users about various events (new features, catalog updates, process changes) through push notifications
• Integrate user satisfaction surveys directly into the procurement IS using push notifications

Benefits

• More effective communication (personalized and just-in-time)
• Increased user engagement
• Improved ROI for procurement digitalization projects

Expert Insight

“Communication must be planned before deployment and should continue post-deployment to keep the project and user community alive. Communication methods must be adapted to the context and audience. Using media familiar to users is beneficial, and being able to reach them remotely encourages the use of digital communication. The key to success is ensuring that users receive the information and, most importantly, being convincing and sincere!”

— Sandrine Deblais, Change Management Lead at Klee Group

Key Takeaway

Supporting the digital transformation of procurement is not a one-time process. As long as your procurement IS is in use, your users need ongoing support. Therefore, change management must be seen not just as a method but as a mindset that permeates the company culture through two essential drivers:

• Change Culture: Raising awareness among employees about change, which is essential in an ever-evolving world
• Digital Culture: Raising awareness about digital transformation and tools to increase engagement in digital transformation projects

In summary: Today, communication must be directly integrated into the procurement IS.