What are the Biggest Global Risks to Procurement in 2025?

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We explore the World Economic Forum's 20th Global Risks Report (Credit: Unsplash)
We explore the World Economic Forum's 20th Global Risks Report as state-based armed conflict tops the list of immediate global risks for 2025

Imagine a global playing field where geopolitical tensions, environmental challenges and technological disruptions are constantly reshaping the rules of business. 

For procurement professionals, this is not a dystopian fantasy—it is today's reality.

In the high-stakes world of global procurement, the World Economic Forum's 20th Global Risks Report offers a strategic roadmap for survival in an increasingly complex landscape.

(Credit: World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2024-2025)

The headline is stark: state-based armed conflict tops the list of immediate global risks for 2025. Nearly a quarter of global experts see this as the most severe challenge.

For procurement, this means more than abstract geopolitical tension—it means disrupted trade routes, compromised critical resources and destabilised regional supply networks.

Mirek Dušek, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum, cuts to the heart of the matter: "Rising geopolitical tensions, a fracturing of global trust and the climate crisis are straining the global system like never before."

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The WEF highlights several key procurement and supply chain vulnerabilities:

  1. Strategic resource concentration: procurement teams are facing unprecedented competition for critical materials. The days of passive sourcing are over - strategic resource management is now a critical survival skill.
  2. Technological risks: AI-driven innovations come with a double-edged sword. Procurement leaders must balance technological potential with significant risks, such as algorithmic bias, ethical concerns and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
  3. Environmental pressures: long-term environmental risks are reshaping procurement strategies as extreme weather events disrupt logistic, biodiversity loss affects raw material availability and regulatory pressure to decarbonise supply chains mounts. 

“As we enter 2025, the threats posed by increasing protectionism to already fragile and stretched global supply chains are profound," comments Carolina Klint, Chief Commercial Officer for Europe at Marsh McLennan. 

Carolina Klint, Chief Commercial Officer for Europe at Marsh McLennan

"Proposed regulations that impose restrictions on data flows and escalations in malicious cyberattacks will also increase costs to business and reduce its ability to fully leverage innovative digital technologies and AI.

"By taking proactive steps to enhance supply chain resilience and invest in robust cybersecurity, businesses will be better placed to navigate these challenges and position themselves for success in an increasingly complex and fractured global risk landscape.”

The procurement imperative: Resilience through collaboration

Mark Elsner from the World Economic Forum offers a powerful warning: "From conflicts to climate change, we are facing interconnected crises that demand coordinated, collective action."

Mark Elsner, Head of the Global Risks Initiative at the World Economic Forum. Picture: WEF/YouTube

For procurement professionals, this translates to three critical strategies:

Enhanced stakeholder dialogue

  • Strengthen trust across the value chain
  • Create transparent, adaptive partnerships
  • Build resilience through communication

Resilience-building tactics

  • Diversify supplier bases
  • Localise critical production
  • Invest in advanced risk monitoring technologies

Sustainable practices

  • Embrace circular economies
  • Prioritise renewable energy
  • Reduce carbon emissions

The numbers are sobering: nearly 64% of respondents expect a fragmented global order by 2035. 

The top 10 risks in 2025 as selected by WEF survey respondents. Picture: WEF

The report exposes the changing procurement playbook, as traditional cost-cutting approaches are being replaced by more holistic, resilience-focused strategies.

By prioritising collaboration, innovation and sustainable practices, procurement can transform from a back-office function to a strategic driver of organisational resilience.

"With the planet surpassing the 1.5°C warming threshold in 2024 for the first time, the stakes are sky-high," adds Peter Giger, Group Chief Risk Officer for Zurich Insurance Group.

Peter Giger, Group Chief Risk Officer for Zurich Insurance Group

"The report’s survey results clearly show that experts see climate risks as being critical over the long term, but as recent news headlines show us, they also require our short-term attention.

"The biggest risk would be to sit back now and say there's nothing we can do. It's not too late."

For procurement professionals, the message is clear: adapt, collaborate and innovate—or risk being left behind in an increasingly unpredictable global landscape.


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