AI-driven procurement
AI is one of the biggest opportunities in procurement today. In recent years, the likes of generative and, more recently, agentic AI is offering procurement teams a significant level of efficiency by automating routine tasks and free up time for more strategic tasks. There are a plethora of benefits to using AI in procurement but one of the most important is smarter decision-making powered by huge volumes of data. As a result of a data-driven approach courtesy of AI, spending patterns can be identified more easily which results in substantial cost savings.
Deepen supplier relationships
Partnerships should not be only transactional these days. Good partnerships should be built on mutual trust and open communication with both parties harnessing value out of any collaboration. Success cannot be achieved alone and developing robust supplier relationships should be prioritised in order to reduce risk, scale efficiency and ultimately deliver greater value to your organisation over a sustained period of time. A deeper partnership allows for the potential of greater innovation and competitive advantage that helps everyone involved move beyond simply cost reduction. Modern day partnership must be a win-win – they cannot be one way.
Navigate orchestration
Orchestration is becoming an increasingly fundamental area for procurement. It automates workflows, unifies fragmented systems and creates a cohesive, end-to-end procurement ecosystem that powers collaboration, efficiency and visibility while simultaneously allowing procurement professionals to focus on more strategic work. The days of procurement operating in silos are gone as all key stakeholders within a company can work together seamlessly. This is particularly helpful for complex organisations where procurement must work across a range of geographies, regulatory landscapes and tech stacks all while ensuring operational efficiency.
Sustainability drive
A focus area which continues to dominate the CPO agenda is sustainability. In an interview with CPOstrategy at the end of 2025, Sam Achampong, Regional Director of CIPS for the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, believes the term sustainable procurement shouldn’t actually be used any longer. “We need to retire the term sustainable procurement – it should just be procurement,” he told us. “If you’re doing procurement in the correct way, it should not be unsustainable.” This statement demonstrates how far sustainability has come in procurement over the past decade or so. It isn’t a choice – it is an actual business requirement.
Risk management strategy
The world is complex and difficult to predict. Black swan events that impact procurement and supply chain are happening increasingly often. This is also where the acceleration of AI tools that can forecast potential disruption is timely. Companies must leverage real-time data and analytics to ensure supplier risk is managed and performance is monitored on a continuous basis. If the COVID-19 pandemic taught organisations anything, it was that a reliance on a single supplier was not a sustainable business model so regional diversification is important. Procurement can’t be slack, leaders must prioritise risk management in 2026 and beyond.