Procurement in the MENA region is evolving rapidly. What was once predominantly reactive and transactional is now increasingly recognised as a strategic, enterprise-level capability. Where MENA needs to catch up opposed to other markets are procurement leaders moving through the ranks to Chief Procurement Office (CPO) levels. Large organisations position CPOs at key decision making discussions.
In terms of technology, according to benchmark research from The Hackett Group, organisations that adopt digital procurement technologies – including e-procurement, spend analytics and supplier risk platforms – can see productivity improvements of 20–30% and cost-to-procure reductions of 15-25%, underscoring how digital investment shifts procurement from cost focus to value creation.
In MENA, this digital shift is layered over broader strategic priorities: ESG integration, local content development and governance standardisation are all accelerating procurement’s influence on business outcomes. Organisations are consolidating procurement functions, centralising spend reporting and implementing core ERP systems complemented by best-of-breed tools for analytics, contract-lifecycle management and supplier collaboration. This approach helps unlock real insight – from spend visibility to supplier performance – and enables procurement to deliver measurable business impact.
Importantly, digital tools alone don’t drive value – people do. Even as technologies automate repetitive tasks and strengthen compliance, the human elements – through business partnering (BP) in now a non-negotiable capability – embedding BP itself within business units, understanding commercial objectives early and influencing demand, design, supplier selection and innovation. This requires credible category expertise, proactive stakeholder engagement and the ability to translate operational insights into strategic recommendations. Research from GEP and CIPS reinforces that organisations prioritising supplier collaboration and cross-functional alignment outperform their peers in innovation outcomes, cost efficiency and resilience.
As more companies in the Middle East adopt digital procurement platforms, the focus is shifting from tactical order-processing to strategic influence – positioning procurement as a key driver of scalability, operational resilience and sustainable value creation.
Saudi Vision 2030: Procurement at the heart of diversification
With roughly five years remaining until the core 2030 targets, Saudi Arabia has made tangible strides in diversifying its economy. Massive investments in infrastructure, tourism, logistics, and technology – often delivered via giga-projects – are now matched by procurement policies that emphasise local content, ESG, transparency and supplier development. Whilst cost and compliance would have been the foundational stage, building robust supply chain ecosystems that support national strategic goals should now be at the forefront.
For procurement leaders, this means increased responsibility – to nurture local suppliers, meet localisation targets, uphold compliance, and manage complex ecosystems at scale. The demand for procurement expertise in Saudi Arabia is rising fast, presenting significant opportunities for professionals and organisations alike.
Procurement’s critical role in mega-events and regional transformation
Megaprojects and global events – from climate forums like COP to World Expos, major infrastructure rollouts, and regional investments – have placed procurement as a central architect of transformation and also enabler of delivery. In the Middle East, procurement is increasingly being used as a lever to deliver sustainability, local economic impact and supply-chain resilience.
Rather than being a back-office afterthought, procurement now plays a more front-line role. Integrated at budget stage, depended on for supplier selection, competent in analysing and negotiating costs, designer of contractual KPIs and managing post contract award performance. All of this and expected to embed sustainability and into sourcing contracts; selecting low-carbon or locally manufactured materials for construction and managing complex supplier ecosystems in the region. We do this with quality, resilience and accountability across programmes. Procurement is thus evolving into a powerful policy-execution instrument as well as a business enabler.
Natasha Schulz, Director Procurement Excellence & ESG at Dubai Holding
Natasha has spent her entire career building procurement functions from the ground up – in hospitality, healthcare, real estate and private equity – always with transformation at the core.
From her move from South Africa to Dubai eight years ago as Director Procurement for a global hospitality brand with a mandate to deliver governance, system implementation and group-wide deals from Malaysia to Mexico, to helping scale quality healthcare across 30+ hospitals in emerging markets as part of an private equity backed impact investing fund , to now spearheading procurement excellence within a large shared services organisation, serving six primary verticals and 500+ business units at Dubai Holding, Natasha’s mission has remained consistent: build robust, compliant, value-adding procurement functions infused with technology, sustainability, and strategic agility.
Technology and GenAI: The new frontier in Middle East procurement
We are already seeing generative AI (GenAI), automation, data analytics, and low-code tools reshape procurement. According to a 2025 study by The Hackett Group, 64% of procurement leaders expect AI to transform their roles within the next five years, while early adopters are reporting up to 10% gains in productivity, quality and cost savings – in some cases even more.
Another recent report from GEP finds that 69% of organisations say procurement’s influence is increasing, as teams invest in automation, AI, and sustainable sourcing strategies – with more than half aiming to increase automation.
In MENA, this technological wave is gaining momentum. While many companies remain focused on stabilising core ERPs and improving data governance, interest is rapidly shifting toward AI – especially bolt-on tools for spend analytics, supplier risk, e-procurement, and contract lifecycle management. Once clean data and proper governance are in place, these tools provide a powerful foundation for insight-driven procurement.
However, the real value comes not from automation alone – but from combining technology with governance, data quality, and human capital. This is where procurement can become truly strategic: freeing up human capacity from repetitive tasks so that teams can focus on supplier relationships, sustainability and beyond cost, we should talk about procurement’s contribution to revenue generation. During my experience within private equity, the narrative during board discussions was not how much did procurement save, it was how much did procurement help to grow our margin.
Talent and capability – building the procurement workforce of tomorrow
A rapidly changing procurement landscape demands a new breed of professionals – not only technically proficient in sourcing, analytics, compliance, and contract management, but also strategic, collaborative, and purpose-driven. In MENA today, while there is an abundance of entrants into procurement roles, the true challenge is the acute shortage of deep, industry-ready skills. The region faces a widening gap between staffing volume and genuine capability – especially in strategic thinking, category mastery, digital fluency, and long-term value creation.
This skills deficit is coupled by the region’s unprecedented pace of business growth and rising organisational expectations. As sectors like hospitality, real estate, and mega-projects expand, procurement leaders must compete for talent who can withstand high demand, deliver transformation, and contribute beyond transactional work. Attracting and retaining such talent has now become one of the most critical barriers to procurement maturity in the region.
Recent regional reports highlight rising demand for roles such as Digital Procurement Specialists, Spend-Analytics Leads, E-Procurement Officers, and Procurement Transformation Leads. Procurement Excellence continues to emerge as a core horizontal capability, driven by technology, data, governance, and sustainability requirements.
The organisations getting ahead are those investing heavily in capability building: structured training programmes, professional certifications (e.g., MCIPS/FCIPS), mentoring, rotations, leadership development, and targeted upskilling – particularly in category management, analytics, ESG, and supplier relationship management. Procurement is undoubtedly a business enabler, and those who institutionalise continuous learning will build resilience, agility, and future-readiness across their workforce.
Key challenges: Data quality, integration, ESG, and change management
Even as the region embraces modernisation, procurement teams in MENA continue to face structural challenges. Among the biggest are:
- Data fragmentation and legacy systems that prevent effective spend analytics or supplier insights, thereby stalling AI and automation ROI.
- Gaps in supplier capability, especially for local suppliers trying to meet standards for ESG, compliance, and scalability — which complicates regional sourcing strategies.
- Change management and internal adoption challenges: ERP rollouts, new systems and process changes fail unless accompanied by clear governance, stakeholder engagement and training.
- Measuring ESG performance: while sustainability is an explicit priority, many organisations still struggle to define standard metrics or to collect consistent supplier data for carbon, waste, social impact, or circular-economy tracking.
The future of procurement in MENA: Purpose, partnership, performance
Looking ahead three to seven years, I am optimistic and energised. Procurement in the Middle East is on the cusp of a paradigm shift: from simply buying goods and services to shaping outcomes.
- Scale and scope expansion: With national‐level investments, giga-projects, infrastructure growth and inward foreign direct investments, procurement’s role will grow in size and complexity.
- Technology-enabled smarter procurement: As clean data and governance become standard, GenAI, analytics and automation will move beyond pilot stages – enabling real-time decision-making, predictive analytics, risk forecasting, and category innovation.
- ESG and sustainability at core: Green procurement, local content, circular-economy sourcing, and supplier social-value programmes will become baseline expectations, not optional. Procurement functions will anchor sustainability across sourcing and organisations.
- Talent and capability building: Procurement professionals will need cross-functional skills – data/analytics, ESG sourcing, stakeholder collaboration, category strategy. Organisations investing in upskilling, mentoring, and continuous improvement will outperform.
- Procurement as a strategic partner: More than ever, procurement will be recognized as central to growth, resilience, risk mitigation and social impact – not just a support function.
My North Star: Continuous improvement, innovation and people-centered procurement
At the heart of my procurement philosophy lies a simple but powerful belief: procurement requires continuous improvement, empowered teams, and purposeful innovation. I always say to my teams that “we are the daily 1% improvers”. Compounded over the year, we can easily look back personally and professionally and say we grew, developed and made an impact.
When procurement operates as One Team – guided by ownership, accountability, transparency and shared knowledge – it becomes more than a cost-centre. It becomes the engine enabling, growth, sustainable futures and profitability,
For business and leaders in MENA: invest in clean data, choose technology wisely, build talent deliberately, and embed sustainability at the core.