Procurement at a Crossroads: The Paradox of Progress
Procurement has never been more visible or more burdened.
Over the last two decades, procurement leaders have transformed their function from back-office cost controllers to strategic power players. Yet in 2025, many Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) find themselves facing a frustrating paradox: despite rising expectations, procurement teams are often asked to deliver more with legacy tools, lean budgets, and fragmented processes.
It’s a story that surfaced time and again in our CPO Rising 2025 report: procurement is central to enterprise performance, but still peripheral in enterprise investment.
So what’s holding procurement back from reaching its full potential? And more importantly, what will it take to move forward?
Strategy Without Support
CPOs are expected to navigate a complex web of challenges in 2025: economic uncertainty, global trade disruption, and a fresh wave of tariffs, all while driving digital transformation. The majority of procurement leaders surveyed for the report expect this year to be even more difficult than the last.
Yet their top challenges aren’t just external, they’re internal:
- 38% cite budget constraints as their biggest barrier
- 32% struggle with process misalignment
- 30% report missing or incomplete technology infrastructure
These stats reveal a deeper truth: while procurement’s strategic importance has grown, its resources haven’t always kept up. It’s the paradox of progress: more responsibility, without the corresponding enablement.
Under Pressure, Overlooked
This disconnect plays out daily in procurement teams expected to unlock savings, mitigate risk, and lead on AI adoption, all with limited headcount and underpowered systems. And while digital transformation remains a top priority, procurement’s ability to execute often hinges on the willingness of the broader enterprise to invest in the right tools and talent.
At Fairmarkit, we see this firsthand. Procurement leaders know what’s possible, but they’re stuck playing catch-up. Automation, spend visibility, and intelligent sourcing aren’t “nice to haves” anymore, they’re essential. And the organizations that empower procurement with modern platforms are the ones pulling ahead.
The Opportunity Ahead
The good news? The gap between potential and performance isn’t permanent. Best-in-Class procurement teams—those operating at the top 20% of their peers—are already showing what’s possible when strategy and investment align.
They’re sourcing a higher percentage of addressable spend, achieving greater contract compliance, and enabling their suppliers digitally at scale. And yes, they’re adopting AI faster and smarter.
The key difference? These teams aren’t just reacting to change, they’re architecting it.
Procurement’s Inflection Point
Procurement is at a crossroads. The function has earned its seat at the table, but now it needs the budget, the tech, and the enterprise alignment to act like it belongs there.
For procurement leaders, the challenge isn’t just keeping up, it’s leading forward, despite uncertainty. That means championing the investments that will unlock agility, insight, and value creation at scale.
The organizations that recognize procurement’s true potential and equip their teams accordingly won’t just survive this era of disruption. They’ll define what comes next.
Want to see what the leading CPOs are doing differently in 2025?
Download our full CPO Rising 2025 report for exclusive benchmarks, insights, and actionable strategies.
