Deloitte: Gen AI and Talent Drive Procurement Success

Procurement finds itself at a "genuine inflection point," with traditional objectives becoming harder to achieve amid a host of global pressures.

That's according to Deloitte's Global Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Survey for 2025, which brings together the thoughts of more than 250 procurement leaders across some 40 countries. 

The report's authors – Jennifer Brown, Ryan Flynn, Clay Moran and Pierre Mitchell – explores how procurement functions are navigating intensifying internal and external complexity, alongside the disruptive potential of generative AI add agentic AI. Organisations are either deemed to be 'Digital Masters' or 'Followers' based on the extent of their tech and talent investments. 

Deloitte's researchers evaluate the proportion of procurement budgets allocated to technology, the deployment of Gen AI and the resulting performance outcomes in areas such as cost savings, risk management and stakeholder satisfaction.

Human-led digital transformation

Deloitte's research emphasises that procurement is no longer merely transactional. Instead, it must deliver strategic value in an increasingly uncertain world. 

Digital Masters are found to be making more substantial and focused investments in technology and workforce agility, freeing up capacity from routine tasks and reallocating it to higher-value activities like broad analytics, third-party risk and tariff management.

However, digital transformation in procurement is human-centred, not solely technological, with a pressing need to focus on how people work with technology. 

The survey reveals that organisations allocating roughly 20% of their budget to procurement technology – almost double the level reported in 2023 – are increasingly substituting human labour with digital capabilities in low-value tasks. The high performers then redeploy human effort towards strategic value creation.

It's an approach that reinforces the need for technology to augment human skills rather than replace them, ensuring digital empowerment complements domain expertise, judgment and collaboration.

Gen AI in procurement

Gen AI is undoubtedly a central enabler of next-generation procurement, with Digital Masters allocating significant investments to this domain and reaping the rewards.

The survey discovers that Digital Masters achieved an average 2.8x return on their Gen AI investments, compared to 1.6x for Followers.

Gen AI has already begun transforming core procurement processes, from automating RFX and contract summaries to intelligent category workbenches that leverage spend and market data.

Value is derived chiefly from enhanced analytics and decision-making, outpacing benefits from productivity gains or cost savings.

However, challenges remain, with just a fifth of respondents professing a strong understanding of Gen AI. The majority (71%) admit to having limited to moderate knowledge.

Building digital-ready teams

Digital transformation hinges on teams as much as tools. Deloitte contends that digital literacy must be cultivated at both individual and collective levels, ensuring that procurement professionals can combine human talent with emerging digital workflows and adapt to rapid technological change. 

One major downside is that attracting and retaining talent remains a challenge, with 45% of respondents reporting increased difficulty recruiting and 30% facing retention issues.

Digital Masters respond by investing substantially more in talent development, with training programmes focused on sourcing, category management, negotiation and data and analytics. This bridges critical skills gaps, particularly in digital fluency, and strengthens organisational agility.

The payoff for these investments is clear. Digital Masters outperformed Followers across all key procurement KPIs:

• 96% achieved or exceeded cost-saving targets (vs 80%)
• 94% met or exceeded cost avoidance goals (vs 75%)
• 84% succeeded in both stakeholder satisfaction and supplier performance (vs 59% each)
• Innovation enablement was achieved by 56% (vs 24%)

The results demonstrate that a combination of skilled, digitally-literate teams and targeted technology investment directly influences procurement performance and enterprise value.

Risk management

Procurement’s traditional role in safeguarding supply chains has grown in importance amid rising complexity.

Survey respondents identified the following risk mitigation strategies as most effective:

• Sourcing alternative supply options (74%)
• Enhancing supply chain visibility (64%)
• Deepening collaboration and information sharing with suppliers (61%) 

Digital Masters leverage technology-enabled risk management capabilities, such as analytics and data orchestration, to anticipate disruptions and bolster resilience.

As procurement’s remit broadens, risk mitigation becomes critical to protecting investment returns and supporting strategic imperatives.

Procurement at a tipping point

Ultimately, Deloitte's latest Global CPO Survey reveals procurement at a tipping point. Organisations embracing digital transformation, with an emphasis on people, Gen AI and agile talent models, are outperforming their peers by significant margins.

Procurement professionals must: invest in both digital tools and the skills to wield them; deploy Gen AI intelligently; emphasise digital literacy and agility; and measure impact across cost, stakeholder influence, innovation and risk resilience.

Those who do will not just support their organisations, but instead become agents of change.

Introducing BizClik's Procurement Survey 2025

Procurement leaders are focusing on cost discipline and risk management, while also balancing a growing appetite for enterprise sustainability and increasing rates of AI adoption. 

This and more is highlighted in BizClik’s first-ever Procurement Survey, in-depth research carried out in collaboration with more than 600 of the world’s most prominent procurement executives. 

The survey, commissioned to understand the function’s challenges, successes and strategies for delivering on organisational objectives, provides expert insight and thought-leadership. 

It considers five key themes dominating the procurement landscape:

• Rapidly evolving procurement strategies in the face of growing complexity
• Digital transformation and the adoption of e-procurement solutions
• The growing impact of AI across procurement and beyond
• How geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges are presenting unique challenges
• The future outlook for procurement

To explore The Procurement Survey 2025, click here.