In a time when global supply chains are riddled with disruption, regulatory pressures, and inefficiencies, Thelma Uzozie’s pioneering research offers a timely, transformative solution for procurement professionals. Her collaborative publication on “Transforming Procurement Practices with Automation: A Review of Blockchain and RPA Integration for Enhanced Supplier Risk Management,” provides a compelling roadmap for how automation, powered by blockchain and robotic process automation (RPA), can help organizations move beyond outdated, error-prone systems to build smarter, more resilient supply chains.
From the COVID-19 pandemic to geopolitical shocks and supplier fraud, procurement functions across industries are being tested like never before. Traditional procurement systems, still reliant on manual paperwork, inconsistent supplier data, and legacy software, have proven insufficient to manage today’s complexity. Uzozie’s research responds to this global challenge by presenting a technology-driven procurement model rooted in transparency, automation, and real-time decision-making.
At the heart of Uzozie’s work is a bold proposal: replace fragmented, paper-based processes with a secure, decentralized ecosystem where procurement decisions are automated through smart contracts, and supplier performance is continuously monitored by digital bots. Her research doesn’t just highlight innovation, it connects the dots between risk, regulation, and operational resilience, offering both theoretical insight and practical implications.
Thelma Uzozie
Unlike traditional models that react to supplier issues after the damage is done, Uzozie’s framework proactively embeds compliance rules, risk alerts, and fraud detection directly into procurement workflows. Blockchain technology, with its tamper-proof ledger and decentralized structure, forms the foundation of this system, ensuring transparency and trust between buyers and suppliers. At the same time, RPA tools automate time-consuming tasks like purchase order processing, supplier verification, and invoice approvals, significantly reducing human error and administrative overhead.
One of the most impactful ideas in her work is the automation of supplier risk assessment. Using blockchain for immutable data storage and RPA for real-time monitoring, organizations can instantly flag non-compliance, financial instability, or contract breaches, long before they disrupt supply chains. By integrating these tools into procurement decision-making, Uzozie offers a model where businesses can not only respond to risk but also anticipate and prevent it.
The research further explores how smart contracts, self-executing agreements coded on the blockchain, can eliminate manual approval processes and enforce supplier obligations without the need for intermediaries. This innovation allows procurement actions such as payments, deliveries, or audits to be triggered automatically once pre-agreed conditions are met. As a result, organizations save time, improve accuracy, and boost compliance.
Drawing from recent case studies, Uzozie highlights how early adopters are already seeing results. Companies using blockchain to track supplier credentials, and RPA bots to ensure contract compliance, are experiencing reductions in fraud, procurement delays, and regulatory fines. While her paper is rooted in academic rigor, the insights are strikingly relevant for real-world application across manufacturing, government contracting, construction, and healthcare procurement.
What sets Thelma Uzozie’s contribution apart is not just her deep academic analysis, but her ability to synthesize technical innovation with operational need. As a skilled procurement professional and academic researcher with demonstrated expertise in contract administration, supplier governance, and procurement transformation across multiple sectors, she brings both scholarly depth and industry practicality to her writing. Her understanding of platforms like SAP, ARIBA, DocuSign, and Icertis is reflected in the specificity of her automation models, showing exactly how integration could work in existing procurement environments.
In emerging markets like Nigeria and across West Africa, where procurement inefficiency and corruption remain significant challenges, Uzozie’s research provides a clear path forward. Governments and large institutions can adopt blockchain to improve public procurement transparency, reduce leakages, and enhance citizen trust. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in motion, her model also supports regional supply chain cooperation and standardization.
Meanwhile, procurement managers in Europe and the U.S. will find strong alignment with existing digital transformation agendas. From the EU’s push for greener, smarter supply chains to the U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) reforms, the call for automation and accountability is growing louder. Uzozie’s framework answers this call, offering a blueprint that can be scaled and tailored across sectors and borders.
As regulatory bodies around the world tighten their grip on procurement practices, demanding traceability, ESG compliance, and anti-fraud measures, Uzozie’s work positions automation not as a luxury, but as a strategic necessity. Her emphasis on decentralization, immutability, and workflow efficiency supports both public and private organizations in meeting these standards while improving bottom-line performance.
For procurement leaders, policymakers, and digital transformation teams, Thelma Uzozie’s research delivers both a warning and an opportunity: the future of procurement belongs to those who automate intelligently, build trust through transparency, and adopt technologies that do not just reduce cost, but reduce risk. In doing so, they will not only survive the volatility of global supply chains but lead the next wave of procurement innovation.
