Every procurement leader I’ve spoken with has a similar frustration: the technology is in place, the strategies are signed off, yet the wider enterprise still makes too many decisions on instinct rather than insight. The latest research data from Economist Impact shows that the organizations breaking that pattern are not necessarily those with the biggest budgets or the most advanced toolsets; they are the ones whose chief procurement officers have made collaboration a non-negotiable habit.

Economist Impacts 2025 Procurement study, “Procurement in the age of polycrisis,” which canvassed 2,026 senior executives, reports that just under a third of CPOs now “strongly agree” that procurement teams effectively collaborate with the rest of the organization.

The 32.5% figure may not sound spectacular on first read, yet it represents the fastest year-on-year growth of the 4 years that this study has taken place.

The same dataset offers a critical clue as to why. Only 3.2% of CPOs admit that collaboration with internal stakeholders failed to improve over the previous twelve months.

It’s a similar story with insights, with over a third (37.7%) reporting that the insights that procurement brings are essential for implementing the organization's strategy and vision, and an even greater number (39.7%) strongly agreed that these insights are effectively applied.

All of this continual increase in collaboration has greater benefits for procurement, other than just ensuring its relevance.

When asked about the benefits that have resulted from this increased collaboration, respondents were quick to point out that there were two main ones:

Seventy-three percent identified increased cost savings. This makes sense, greater collaboration during the sourcing process and contract awards will lead to greater buy-in on those decisions, especially when we look at the importance of procurement insights to executing the company's vision 61% of respondents (including 63.7% of CFOs, and 64% of CSCOs) also selected improved digital adoption.

Sixty-one percent of respondents (including 63.7% of CFOs and 64% of CSCOs) also selected improved digital adoption.

For leaders still wrestling with low user take-up, the message is stark but enabling. No amount of training or mandate will embed  if the commercial, operational, and risk owners believe the outputs are “procurement’s numbers.” Flip the equation: Make collaboration the core KPI, give stakeholders ownership of the data, and the adoption curve will begin to look after itself. The latest benchmarks prove it, and the organizations that have already traversed the curve are reinvesting the dividend in the next wave of innovation. In a market that punishes delay, that is a cycle no procurement leader can afford to ignore.

What does good look like?

In our view, high-performing procurement organizations share three defining traits:

• First, they embed a culture of shared accountability for outcomes across the enterprise, making value creation a joint responsibility between procurement and the business.
• Second, they integrate intelligent insights directly into decision workflows so that critical sourcing and contracting choices are grounded in data, not instinct.
• Third, they deliver a frictionless digital experience that makes adoption effortless, where tools fit seamlessly into existing processes and are tailored to the user’s role and KPIs.

Driving adoption is less about enforcing compliance and more about designing for desirability. Stakeholders must see clear, measurable benefits from day one, faster cycle times, greater transparency, and wins that align with their own success metrics. SAP advocates a “collaboration-first” operating model: begin with joint business planning, measure success by shared value delivery, and treat technology as the enabler rather than the driver.

This approach is exemplified by Nufarm, a global crop protection and seed company, which adopted SAP Preferred Success for SAP Ariba solutions, expanded edition to accelerate value realisation. By co-owning data and decision rights with stakeholders, Nufarm improved sourcing efficiency, enhanced supplier collaboration, and reached business objectives faster. Similarly, Orora, a leader in packaging solutions, used the same program to improve procurement transparency, shorten sourcing cycles, and achieve higher stakeholder engagement.

These cases illustrate that when procurement is positioned as a facilitator of shared insights rather than an enforcer of compliance, adoption follows naturally. Collaboration becomes a capability embedded in the organization’s muscle memory, unlocking not just operational gains, but the agility to reinvest savings and insights into the next wave of innovation.