The State of Spend: How Procurement is Managing the Money
Having published its first State of Spend Report in October, Sievo looks into how world’s biggest procurement organisations manage their spend.
Sievo’s report uses real procurement data instead of surveys or projections. Drawing from US$1.4tn of the US$2tn in annual enterprise spending processed through its platform – roughly 2% of worldwide GDP – the report examines six major industries.
The State of Spend 2025 looked at:
- Healthcare
- Chemicals and biotechnology
- Manufacturing and automotive
- FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods)
- Infrastructure and utilities
- Services and retail
Each industry section delivers insights into:
PO coverage – measuring purchase order discipline and maverick spend
Due to pay – tracking payment timing and cash flow management
Invoice to due – assessing invoice processing efficiency
Supplier and invoice fragmentation – analysing the number of suppliers and invoices per US$1bn in spend
Looking at how procurement is evolving and highlights how data and analytics are becoming central to spend management.
Fleet spend increased by 33% in almost every industry from 2022-2024, likely driven by inflation, fuel price volatility, higher financing costs and the normalisation of mobility demand after COVID. Cross-industry travel spend grew by 58%. Operations and services spend represent 24% of total revenue.
Sammeli Sammalkorpi, CEO and Co-Founder of Sievo, says: "This report shows what top performers are really doing. These aren't hypotheticals we’re analysing, they're patterns from real spend that can help you understand where you stand and where you need to go."
The key figures
Number of suppliers per US$1bn
- Healthcare – 7,700
- Chemicals and biotechnology – 4,000
- Manufacturing and automotive – 6,200
- FMCG – 3,900
- Infrastructure and utilities – 2,500
- Services and retail – 8,100
Spend per supplier
- Healthcare – US$130,000
- Chemicals and biotechnology – US$261,000
- Manufacturing and automotive – US$160,000
- FMCG – US$255,000
- Infrastructure and utilities – US$402,000
- Services and retail – US$123,000
Invoice to due
- Healthcare – 49 days
- Chemicals and biotechnology – 38 days
- Manufacturing and automotive – 42 days
- FMCG – 50 days
- Infrastructure and utilities – 29 days
- Services and retail – 27 days
Coupa’s CPO–CIO Report looks at how procurement and technology leaders work together to drive transformation. Coupa’s report explores the developing partnership between CPOs and CIOs and their teams.
The research shows that, although procurement and information technology (IT) departments typically work together well, significant shortcomings exist in their readiness for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
These findings highlight the critical need for improved data quality, modernised systems and unified platforms to maximise AI's value in procurement operations. The report offers readers valuable perspectives on strengthening procurement-IT collaboration around technology deployment, enabling them to enhance efficiency, reduce costs and advance continuous procurement innovation.
Looking at spend management strategies which include procurement transformation (tech, analytics, cross‑function working), the report offers actionable insights – helping procurement professionals understand how technology decisions (and the relationship with IT) impact spend visibility, control and governance.
- 45% say the CIO and CPO are equal partners in technology procurement.
- 58% say their procurement and IT teams coordinate effectively.
- 34% say implementing AI and ML will be the most significant technology initiative for procurement over the next 12 months.
Mike Dunlap, Event Director at ProcureCon explains: “For procurement leaders, this is a pivotal moment to embrace innovation, strengthen cross-functional partnership and prepare for the future of advanced technologies.”
The report answers some key questions
Which of the following technology initiatives will be most significant for your procurement function in the next 12 months?
- 34% – Implementing AI and ML capabilities
- 24% – Adopting unified cloud-based procurement platforms
- 21% – Enhancing data analytics and spend visibility tools
- 15% – Improving cybersecurity and compliance measures
- 6% – Integrating more sustainable procurement technologies
How professionals see the relationship between procurement and IT evolving in the next 2-3 years:
- Greater challenges aligning on technology needs and procurement processes/policies – 58%
- More cross-functional teams working on joint initiatives – 54%
- More siloed operations as IT drives more independent purchasing decisions – 39%
- Closer collaboration with IT as a strategic partner – 37%
- Expanded role of procurement in IT vendor selection and management – 12%
How procurement teams contribute to digital transformation initiatives led by the IT organisation:
- 38% - Advising on cost-saving strategies
- 35% - Assisting in vendor negotiations
- 23% - Leading sourcing efforts for new technologies
- 4% - Participating in cross-functional digital teams
Amazon Business’ 2025 State of Procurement Data report draws on the thoughts of almost 3,500 procurement leaders.
The 2025 State of Procurement Data report shows procurement's evolution from a cost-focused operation into a strategic catalyst for innovation, resilience and sustainability.
Modern procurement teams balance established responsibilities with emerging priorities – including supplier partnerships, technology integration, and SRP initiatives – while working to optimise their overall operations.
Data from nearly 3,500 leaders demonstrates that digital transformation and AI-driven analytics are fundamental to delivering operational efficiency and strategic value.
Yet procurement's limited participation in executive-level decision-making represents a clear opportunity to expand its organisational influence.
Amazon Business facilitates this progression by providing tools that help procurement teams generate quantifiable impact, reinforcing that procurement has become indispensable to sustainable growth and organisational performance rather than simply a support function.
It provides a broad view of how procurement is evolving – shifting from cost‑centre to strategic driver, while highlighting how data and analytics are becoming central to spend management.
32% of decision makers and 29% of senior leaders want to let more people make purchases within a controlled system in the next year.
Brenda Spoonemore, VP of Commercial and Public Sectors, Amazon Business: “Technology plays a critical role in managing today’s supply chains from embracing emerging technologies like AI and machine learning to investing in procurement analytics and insights.”
Accessing a wider range of sellers or products is one of the top internal challenges to procurement operations for decision-makers (29%) and senior leaders (29%), as is ensuring compliance with spending policies (decision-makers 29% and senior leaders 22%)
Planned technology investments, over the next 2-3 years:
AI demand forecasting – 38%
AI-driven spend analysis – 38%
AI automated procurement processes – 38%
AI-supplier risk management – 37%
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants – 36%
Where should progress come?
31% of decision-makers and 34% of procurement senior leaders selected “improving reporting and analysis” as a top area where they want to see procurement spending more time or energy in the next year.
Other areas include:
Reducing spending
- Decision-makers: 23%
- Senior leaders: 19%
Becoming more agile or resilient
- Decision-makers: 21%
- Senior leaders: 24%
Company portals
Executives
Brenda Spoonemore
Sammeli Sammalkorpi
CEO, co-founder
