Amazon Business Predicts Procurement in 2025
2025 is set to be another huge year for procurement, with everything from AI to ESG expected to go through dramatic shifts.
While no one has a crystal ball to say perfectly what the next 12 months will look like, Amy Worth, Director & General Manager of Amazon Business UK and Tom Mills, procurement expert and current Head of Procurement & Properties at Bibby Financial Services shared their predictions.
Amy Worth, Director & General Manager of Amazon Business UK
Amy is a strategic, customer-focused and mission-driven senior executive with more than years of experience at Amazon, who has launched, built and scaled tech-driven business lines across Europe and Asia, driving revenue and customer loyalty as they grow and evolve.
ESG
“Research shows that the majority of people are already making changes to reduce their environmental impact. By capitalising on employees’ natural values and interest in sustainability, businesses can use the procurement tools available to upskill staff and put ESG at the forefront of operations to drive change across the business.”
Sustainable and local procurement
“Sustainable procurement will be a key priority for all businesses in 2025 as they look to meet tightening regulations and evolving consumer expectations. We will see businesses re-evaluate their supply chains and opt for local suppliers to cut down on transportation costs and the associated carbon emissions. Procurement companies are responding to this trend and are now developing tools to help businesses more easily identify local suppliers and improve the diversity of their supply chain.”
Supplier diversity
“Supplier diversity will be a defining focus for the procurement industry, not just for its sustainability benefits, but also for the impact it has on supply chain resilience. By sourcing from a more diverse pool of suppliers, businesses can better manage supply chain disruptions and protect themselves from instabilities in the global supply network. By embracing advancements in real-time data analytics, Amazon Business provides businesses with proactive tools that promote supplier diversity and help them stay ahead of changes in their supply chain”.
Industry trends
“2025 will no doubt present procurement teams with a fresh set of challenges and opportunities. By focusing on supplier diversity and supply chain resilience, businesses can put themselves in the best position to proactively respond to these changes. Artificial intelligence will be transformative here, unlocking greater transparency and efficiency that will free up procurement teams to tackle larger investments”.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
“Procurement, like many sectors, is going through the process of evaluating how AI could be used effectively. Next year, we will see more procurement teams embrace AI, but particularly through the automation of routine tasks, increased spend visibility and the improvement of risk management.
“AI and ML technologies can help businesses make better data-driven decisions with real-time analysis. By providing procurement teams with a comprehensive view of budget allocation, as well as real-time updates on suppliers, inventory and supply chains, AI’s predictive power allows organisations to stay ahead of issues, ensuring smooth operations and better risk management.
“As business buyers have an increasing interest in personalised experiences, procurement teams should also look to embrace tools such as natural language processing (NLP), pattern recognition, cognitive analytics and large language models (LLMs) to further streamline processes, enhance decision-making and optimise operations.”
Tom Mills, Procurement Expert
Tom has worked in leading companies, from The Co-Op as the Range Strategy Manager, to the Head of Procurement, Corporate, Brand, Marketing and Digital Marketing at Clarks. He currently works as the Head of Procurement and Properties at Bibby Financial Services.
He is passionate about all things procurement after spending more than 20 years in the space, managing large budgets and loving the buzz which only working in procurement can provide.
Supply chain resilience
“2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for AI and procurement technology. Businesses and procurement leaders face increased pressure to tackle ongoing global instability and overcome supply chain disruptions that are constantly evolving.
“Now more than ever, it is crucial that procurement teams are aware of global political and economic conditions. A strong supply chain is essential for any business’ success and understanding how geopolitical issues affect the supply of products will help businesses stay on the front foot of any emerging risks or challenges. Supply chain resilience will continue to be at the forefront of conversations in 2025 and being informed of the global landscape is the first step to building this resilience.”
AI as a resource
“Building on the momentum of 2024, we will also see how AI can be a transformative tool for enhancing product and service availability and making supply chains more resilient than ever. Companies will be looking for ways to integrate AI with their current technology and optimise their procurement strategy.
“It will be interesting to see how widely teams adopt these innovations and how they leverage them for efficiency. With AI automating many manual tasks, we will see the focus shift towards restructuring the capabilities of procurement teams to ensure that they deliver the most value to their business. With the support of AI, strategic procurement teams can focus on high impact activity, rather than being bogged down in the details and limited by slow and lengthy processes.
AI for efficiency
“The evolving role of technology in procurement will enable teams to focus their efforts on larger investments where they can create the most value. For example, we will see more procurement teams establish a self-service framework that includes useful tools and templates and provides a list of preferred vendors that's easily accessible for employees. Providing freedom within a framework will empower teams to buy with confidence.
“In this way, AI has the potential to help procurement teams overcome the challenge of demonstrating the strategic importance of procurement, not just as a buying function, but as a tech savvy engine that drives growth across the business.
“In 2025, humans will interact more with AI, meaning that emotional intelligence will become a key differentiator in the market. Procurement leaders will need to think about how they can tap into the skills of their team such as sharp decision making, leadership and collaboration as these will be more important than ever.”
Talent shortages
“There is also a pressing need to tackle the talent shortage in procurement. Many young professionals are still hesitant to enter the field so businesses must work on attracting fresh talent in order to succeed. Looking ahead, businesses should consider what matters to Gen Z in order to attract new talent”.
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