Diego Barillà

Procurement organizations are entering a new phase of AI adoption. What began as experimentation with copilots and analytics tools is evolving into a broader redesign of procurement workflows, operating models, and decision making. At the World Procurement Congress in London, discussions among chief procurement officers reflected a clear shift in focus: less attention on isolated AI pilots and more emphasis on how to scale AI across sourcing, contracting, supplier management, and intake processes.

Procurement is a vital force in financial institutions—but today’s banks are missing out on value if they haven’t adopted a tech-focused vision for procurement. If a procurement team prioritizes tactical operations over strategic vendor management, they lose ground in contract oversight and negotiations, leaving themselves vulnerable to savings leakage and price hikes. The potential for risk doesn’t end there.

Rising costs, geopolitical shocks, and persistent supply fragility have left many companies hesitant to commit to long-term plans. Nearly 40% of chief operating officers (COOs) expect tariffs alone to increase product costs by more than 10%, yet only a fraction of companies are prepared to absorb the impact, according to a recent Bain study (see Figures 1 and 2). Leaders are turning to procurement to help their organizations stay ahead of change, navigate disruptions, and improve performance.