AI
Perhaps the most obvious trend shaking up procurement is the advancement of AI. Over the past few years, generative AI and now in particular, agentic AI, are being leveraged at scale to boost efficiency and improve decision-making. Via AI, procurement teams can make faster, more accurate data-driven decisions that can make a real impact on a company’s bottom line. Agentic AI has taken the conversation a step further with agents able to take on much of the more cumbersome work – allowing procurement leaders to focus on more strategic areas that can deliver greater value.
Managing global crises
If anything has stood out over the past few years, it is the importance of diversifying supply chains and possessing a back-up plan. There has been a plethora of geopolitical tensions over the past few years from the likes of political issues and tariff changes to a global pandemic and several wars. These ‘black swan’ events highlight how fragmented the world has become and showcase why strengthening regional supplier networks could hold the key to sustaining success.
Sustainability
The conversation about sustainable procurement has long shifted from being a ‘nice to have’ to now a key measuring stick for companies. In fact, speaking to CPOstrategy last year, Sam Achampong, Regional Director of CIPS for the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, said the term should be eradicated. “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.” With that in mind, environmental, social and governance (ESG) is becoming increasingly embedded into the procurement process.
Talent
As automation continues to scale and influence daily operations, training and upskilling existing procurement talent is essential. The procurement function is quickly becoming increasingly strategic so upskilling employees to be able to use new technologies, from the likes of AI for data analytics and managing digital procurement platforms, is a key priority. Technology is an enabler but only if humans know how to leverage it correctly.
Supplier relationships
Never before has developing key, strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships with suppliers been so important. Amidst the plethora of recent global challenges presented to procurement leaders, working in closer collaboration with suppliers isn’t just a nice to have – it is essential. In the event of a natural disaster, a strong partnership will allow for more flexibility and better payment terms or faster delivery which is particularly helpful during shortages. Open communication with partners enables greater transparency, trust and alignment which results in risks being mitigated and more informed decisions to be made.