ProcurementIQ's Embry Davis at Coupa Inspire 2025

Embry Davis, Director of Business Development at ProcurementIQ, spends each day focused on one aim: connecting procurement leaders at Fortune 1000 firms with data-driven insights that inform smarter buying decisions.

Speaking to Procurement Magazine at Coupa Inspire 2025 in Las Vegas, Embry discussed how ProcurementIQ fits into the procurement landscape, how it partners with Coupa and why market intelligence must be grounded in direct engagement with procurement executives. 

Procurement-focused research

At the heart of Embry's approach is a simple, research-led principle: know who you're speaking to and understand what they need.

Embry describes his work as research planning and strategy. His method involves examining businesses in detail, identifying the right contacts—particularly chief procurement officers and department leads—and opening up conversations about their current aims and challenges.

"I'm trying to understand their goals, their missions and what objectives they have for their procurement departments," he explains.

That insight forms the basis for outreach—introducing how ProcurementIQ’s tools might help organisations anticipate costs, benchmark suppliers or improve their sourcing strategies.

ProcurementIQ, part of Australian-based IBISWorld, draws from more than five decades of sector research. The company emerged 14 years ago from within IBISWorld in response to growing demand for procurement-specific content. As Embry puts it, traditional research simply wasn't meeting the needs of buyers.

He recalls: "They said, 'industry research is good for understanding an industry, but we are buyers – we want something more specific and geared for us.'"

The value of networking

Embry views Coupa Inspire not just as another date on the events calendar, but as an opportunity to reconnect. In fact, having attended the conference for three consecutive years, he considers it a kind of "homecoming". 

"It's almost like that high school or college homecoming, where you get to see your friends and old co-workers who you haven't seen in years," he says.

He highlights the value of informal exchanges—conversations in corridors, hotel lobbies and post-session gatherings—that give procurement professionals a chance to share updates, swap insights and revisit partnerships.

These interactions, in Embry's view, can be just as valuable as scheduled sessions and panels. They’re also moments to understand how procurement challenges are shifting and what kind of data professionals are seeking out to address them.

Intelligence built for uncertainty

As cost pressures, supply chain disruptions and tariff unpredictability continue to shape the procurement world, Embry sees a clear pattern in how businesses respond: they seek out more data, not less.

"Anytime there's uncertainty, that's a great time for our business because we have an outlook on the market," he continues. 

That demand has shaped ProcurementIQ’s product roadmap. Embry reveals the company is rolling out new tools and launching into new markets to meet the evolving priorities of its customer base. These shifts are backed by internal analyst teams that keep the firm's research content fresh and aligned with the current climate.

The company’s reach—tied to IBISWorld’s standing as a major global information provider—gives it a vantage point few others have. With access to both global trends and region-specific data, ProcurementIQ positions itself as a resource that helps procurement professionals prepare, rather than react.

For Embry Davis, the work isn’t only about data—it’s also about people. He sees value in building genuine connections with buyers, learning from their challenges and helping tailor insights to real-world scenarios. That mix, he says, is what makes procurement intelligence matter.