Procurement Survey: Expert Insight Michael Van Keulen, Coupa
At a time when procurement faces a host of challenges, but equally as many opportunities, clarity on the landscape and effective success strategies is critical.
Functions everywhere face unprecedented complexity, geopolitical uncertainty and strained supply chains, as well as how to effectively manage the rapid adoption and deployment of technologies like AI.
To provide clarity in this environment, The Procurement Survey 2025, offers extensive research into the hearts and minds of the world’s most successful leaders in the profession.
In close collaboration with 642 global procurement executives, the survey poses challenging questions and seeks insight on their pinch points, successes and procurement strategies.
The result is essential reading that provides expert insight into themes including technology transformation, the rapidly expanding role of AI, geopolitical risk disruption and the shifting expectations for Chief Procurement Officers on the frontline.
To provide clarity on the results, interpret the survey data and offer practical thought leadership on the road ahead, we collaborated with some of the industry’s most prominent experts and companies, including Coupa’s Michael Van Keulen.
Here, he discusses the changing environment for global procurement leaders and their teams, discusses how to elevate the function – including how Coupa enables this – and offers insight on the skills, strategies and technologies essential to success.
Elevating the procurement function
Michael van Keulen – or MVK to those who know him well – needs little introduction.
As the global spend management company’s Industry Practice Leader Procurement and self-confessed ‘Procurement Evangelist’, he is a senior leader who brings a wealth of experience to the challenges, complexities and opportunities faced by modern procurement.
MVK is a CPO at heart and hugely passionate about the profession.
“I’ve said for many years that the CPO is the CEO of the future, and we’re seeing that happen"
Over the last 20 years he has led global transformations at the likes of Lululemon, VF Corp and – most recently – Coupa.
The latter is the global leader in AI-native total spend management, helping some 3,000 companies to intelligently manage US$8tn worth of spend and more than 10 million buyers and suppliers.
At Coupa, MVK leverages transformation and strategy to empower and elevate procurement.
“As a procurement enthusiast it’s a super exciting time to be part of an innovative tech company at the heart of the industry, seeing new innovations like AI transforming how procurement works, and knowing from my work with procurement teams that there’s a really bright future ahead for the profession,” he says.
Procurement as a strategic enabler
Procurement has evolved significantly over MVK’s career, driven by many of the key trends at the heart of this global survey. “The function has never been more relevant,” he states.
“Global disruption, tariffs, new technologies and more have made us collectively raise the bar, moving away from the tactical and mundane day-to-day work to driving more innovation and strategic value across the entire organisation.
“This survey shows the breadth of the challenges and opportunities facing procurement – strategic decision making, innovation, AI and geopolitical disruption are all dominating procurement’s focus,” MVH continues.
“But there’s a real positive in that. Procurement has always wanted a seat at the table, and these results show that’s happening. Now it’s up to us to build on the momentum that we’ve been given.”
The CPO: driving the future of procurement
MVK points to the evolving role of the CPO as crucial for delivering on this ambition: “The positioning of the CPO – particularly how it’s become so strategic in its nature - really resonates,” he says.
"Procurement has always wanted a seat at the table, and the results of The Procurement Survey 2025 show that’s happening. Now it’s up to us to build on the momentum that we’ve been given"
“I’ve said for many years that the CPO is the CEO of the future, and we’re seeing that happen. It shows how we’ve been able to collectively catapult ourselves within organisations, and I think this will be an extremely important and very viable shift in the future.
“My advice to procurement leaders is to embrace everything we’re talking about here, particularly around AI. Think about the skills and strategies needed to deliver and drive more value, move (and sometimes fail) fast and keep innovating. If we do that, procurement is on the right track.”
To explore essential procurement insight and thought-leadership, read The Procurement Survey 2025 here.
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