CEO Insight: Introducing The Procurement Survey 2025

It’s a pleasure to introduce The Procurement Survey 2025 to our audience of global executives. I consider this the definitive guide to the complexities, challenges and incredible opportunities that lay in front of procurement teams and their leaders everywhere. 

To create this survey, we’ve worked with 642 of the world’s leading procurement executives to better understand their challenges, successes and strategies for empowering and elevating their teams. 

Our goal was to collate insight on the key areas impacting procurement and supply chain teams: strategy, digital technology, the impact of AI, geopolitical and macroeconomic issues, and the future outlook for procurement and CPOs.

The results are essential reading for everyone working in procurement. 

BizClik empowering global procurement

I speak with leaders at the world’s largest companies on a daily basis – our mission is to support, guide and elevate them and their teams. 

We take our responsibility very seriously, but we also take real pleasure in sharing hard-earned lessons and successes, many of which you’ll find in this survey, as well as across our industry-leading portfolio of brands. 

At BizClik we have a long history of collaborating with procurement and supply chain functions. Through our Procurement Magazine and Supply Chain Digital titles, we’ve supported C-level leaders through many of the most challenging times by providing the kind of high-level insight and market-leading expertise that’s crucial for navigating enterprise complexity. 

Right now, those working in these sectors stand at a critical juncture. Leaders face pressure to drive greater strategic value amidst geopolitical pressures, employee shortages and the rise of AI. 

What you’ll find in our survey is that, yes, times are challenging. But there’s an overwhelming sense that everyone in procurement is embracing those challenges and transforming the way they work in a way that’s truly inspiring. 

Technology, leadership and disruption

Standout insights for me include the huge rise in digital procurement technologies and the resounding appetite for adopting transformational AI – a technology that’s at the heart of nearly every conversation we’re having right now. 

We find a rapid rise in procurement technology implementation, particularly around e-procurement platforms, spend analytics and supplier risk management technologies. 

Coincidentally, all of these align with the current uncertain landscape for leaders who need visibility, control and resilience. 

Of course, meaningful transformation can only be delivered if procurement teams and their organisations fix the broken foundations that we find present in many businesses. 

Our research reveals that legacy systems and integration challenges are still the biggest barriers to change, for example, with 62% of those surveyed agreeing.

This needs to evolve if the pace of AI adoption continues. Our survey shows that procurement leaders overwhelmingly view AI as a key driver of strategic efficiencies over the next three years. 

Most believe it will have the biggest impact in spend classification and analytics (62%) and supplier risk management (51%). Other key value drivers for AI include automated negotiations and sourcing (48%), contract management and compliance (43%) and predictive planning (37%).

I’m also encouraged by how leaders are responding to increasing pressure from all angles.

We’ve long heard from CPOs about the ambition to evolve from a back-office function to a strategic organisation that sits at the heart of the business, and our results show that the shift is happening at pace. 

For example, 39% of our respondents believe that the CPO will become more strategic with a greater influence on corporate decision making over the next five years. More than a quarter of those surveyed also point to the role evolving to become more technology driven and focused on themes like risk and sustainability.

Embracing the future

Other key trends brought to light by our research include AI transforming procurement workflows and a stronger alignment between the function and enterprise teams like finance, IT and operations. 

The need to nurture new and emerging skills to be able to deliver on transformation is also growing.

There’s still lots of work to be done. And here, the insight of our partners, Coupa and Zip, are invaluable in setting out key next steps. We’ve worked with both companies for some years and their role in driving change across procurement mustn’t be understated, particularly when it comes to being at the forefront of innovations like AI. 

I’ve no doubt there’s an exciting future ahead for procurement, and I look forward to me and my team playing a crucial role in influencing the ongoing success of everyone we work with. 

To explore essential procurement insight and thought-leadership, read The Procurement Survey 2025 here.

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