View from the C Suite - Economist Impact Study Infographic
Quickly understand the latest priorities and challenges of procurement with this informative infographic from Economist Impact, summarising key areas from the latest research study Download the DocumentThe Procurement
Imperative
A view from the C-suite
Supported by
As modern supply chains grapple with continuous economic and geopolitical
disruptions, procurement teams are identifying new ways to innovate, stay
resilient and drive long-term value beyond cost as they reconfigure and align
with the broader organisation.
Economist Impact’s research gauges the confidence
of the C-suite in the procurement function and
explores how the function has changed over three
years (2022-2024). The research is centred around a
survey of 2,307 C-suite executives:
As businesses continue to navigate a challenging risk environment,
executives focus on managing a range of risks key to the next 12-18 months
C-suite leaders are moving towards technology solutions that enable their procurement teams to be more e cient,
cost-effective, and risk-averse than before.
Selecting up to two, which technology trends are you looking to implement or evaluate in the next 12-18 months?
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Strategic vs organisational risk priorities
Procurement technology to watch for in 2024-25
% % %
Monetary
uncertainty
Supply chain
visibility
Geopolitical
dynamics
CFOs
COOs
CPO
CSCOs
CHROs
CIOs
Top priorities 2024-25
Find out more about the changing procurement trends and how they
may impact your organisation by reading our full analysis
Proactive risk management and mitigation has become
the primary value driver for leading procurement teams
in 2024, and the lens through which non-procurement
executives view the health of their supply chains
Philip Ideson, founder, Art of Procurement
About the research programme
Chief financial o cers
Chief operating o cers
Chief procurement o cers
Chief supply chain o cers
Chief human resources o cers
Chief innovation o cers
Top priorities 2027-29
%
More than half (57%) of the C-suite cite
digitalisation as the top strategic priority for their
procurement teams in the upcoming 12-18 months.
Digitalisation is the top priority across regions,
functions, reporting lines and business sizes.
Over 40% of respondents plan to focus
on improving supplier diversity as a key
strategic area for their procurement
teams in the next 3-5 years.
%
Generative AI
for procurement
Intake
management
•
•
The need to build real-time capabilities to better address
dynamic market challenges and make existing procurement
processes more e cient.
The preference of data-driven insights in strategic decision
making that allows for more actionable outputs.
•
•
Organisations are trying to enhance competitiveness by
fostering innovation and unlocking opportunities through
market expansion by diversifying the supplier base.
Reducing single-sourcing dependencies to mitigate against
supply chain risks at the time of disruption.
Drivers Drivers
Procurement teams can support organisations in realising their strategic goals
and overcoming risks through a more streamlined use of emerging technologies.
In particular, the uptake of AI is expected to improve the following procurement processes:
Procurement
process
automation
Optimisation
and guidance
(eg enhanced user experience,
scenario planning, demand
forecasting)
(eg category intelligence,
autonomous sourcing,
ethical sourcing)
Productivity
/skills gap Cost
optimisation Sourcing
% 5% % %
Digitalisation
%
Diversification
%
Approximately 42% of C-suite executives
quote having sustainability/ESG as their
second top priority in the next 12-18 months.
More than a third (37%) of the C-suite continue
to have sustainability/ESG as their second
top strategic priority for the medium term.
•
•
Both internal and external stakeholders becoming more
socially and environmentally conscious and the increased
demand for transparency and accountability as a result.
Compliance scrutiny and tighter regulations around ESG
requirements coupled with the risk of monetary penalties
and restricted market access in case of non-compliance.
•
•
Renewed long-term focus on human rights and sustainability
which impacts brand reputation, influences employee and investor
preferences and mitigates against operational supply chain disruptions.
The additional value-creation potential of ESG initiatives
through improved profit margins and returns, going beyond
just reputational risks.
Drivers Drivers
Sustainability/ESG
%
Sustainability/ESG
%
Cost management as a focus area for procurement
teams was the third most cited choice for over
a third (34%) of the C-suite in the short-term.
The third key focus area for procurement
teams over the next 3-5 years is multisourcing,
selected by nearly 35% of the C-suite.
•
•
Pressure on procurement teams to identify cost savings and cost
avoidance opportunities to protect profit margins given rising
macroeconomic uncertainty (eg inflation, rising interest rates).
Cost management being a top performance metric
for the procurement function, given that its biggest
impact over the last 3 years was on cost savings.
•
•
Focus on risk reduction and building supply chain
resiliency amid growing vulnerability to external threats
(eg geopolitical shifts, supplier threats, liquidity risks).
Focus on building agility in the supply chains while ensuring
quality, speed and optimal prices.
Drivers Drivers
Cost Management
%
Multisourcing
%
$
C-suite
executives
COOs
CFOs
CIOs
CHROs
CSCOs
CPO
Imperative
A view from the C-suite
Supported by
As modern supply chains grapple with continuous economic and geopolitical
disruptions, procurement teams are identifying new ways to innovate, stay
resilient and drive long-term value beyond cost as they reconfigure and align
with the broader organisation.
Economist Impact’s research gauges the confidence
of the C-suite in the procurement function and
explores how the function has changed over three
years (2022-2024). The research is centred around a
survey of 2,307 C-suite executives:
As businesses continue to navigate a challenging risk environment,
executives focus on managing a range of risks key to the next 12-18 months
C-suite leaders are moving towards technology solutions that enable their procurement teams to be more e cient,
cost-effective, and risk-averse than before.
Selecting up to two, which technology trends are you looking to implement or evaluate in the next 12-18 months?
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Strategic vs organisational risk priorities
Procurement technology to watch for in 2024-25
% % %
Monetary
uncertainty
Supply chain
visibility
Geopolitical
dynamics
CFOs
COOs
CPO
CSCOs
CHROs
CIOs
Top priorities 2024-25
Find out more about the changing procurement trends and how they
may impact your organisation by reading our full analysis
Proactive risk management and mitigation has become
the primary value driver for leading procurement teams
in 2024, and the lens through which non-procurement
executives view the health of their supply chains
Philip Ideson, founder, Art of Procurement
About the research programme
Chief financial o cers
Chief operating o cers
Chief procurement o cers
Chief supply chain o cers
Chief human resources o cers
Chief innovation o cers
Top priorities 2027-29
%
More than half (57%) of the C-suite cite
digitalisation as the top strategic priority for their
procurement teams in the upcoming 12-18 months.
Digitalisation is the top priority across regions,
functions, reporting lines and business sizes.
Over 40% of respondents plan to focus
on improving supplier diversity as a key
strategic area for their procurement
teams in the next 3-5 years.
%
Generative AI
for procurement
Intake
management
•
•
The need to build real-time capabilities to better address
dynamic market challenges and make existing procurement
processes more e cient.
The preference of data-driven insights in strategic decision
making that allows for more actionable outputs.
•
•
Organisations are trying to enhance competitiveness by
fostering innovation and unlocking opportunities through
market expansion by diversifying the supplier base.
Reducing single-sourcing dependencies to mitigate against
supply chain risks at the time of disruption.
Drivers Drivers
Procurement teams can support organisations in realising their strategic goals
and overcoming risks through a more streamlined use of emerging technologies.
In particular, the uptake of AI is expected to improve the following procurement processes:
Procurement
process
automation
Optimisation
and guidance
(eg enhanced user experience,
scenario planning, demand
forecasting)
(eg category intelligence,
autonomous sourcing,
ethical sourcing)
Productivity
/skills gap Cost
optimisation Sourcing
% 5% % %
Digitalisation
%
Diversification
%
Approximately 42% of C-suite executives
quote having sustainability/ESG as their
second top priority in the next 12-18 months.
More than a third (37%) of the C-suite continue
to have sustainability/ESG as their second
top strategic priority for the medium term.
•
•
Both internal and external stakeholders becoming more
socially and environmentally conscious and the increased
demand for transparency and accountability as a result.
Compliance scrutiny and tighter regulations around ESG
requirements coupled with the risk of monetary penalties
and restricted market access in case of non-compliance.
•
•
Renewed long-term focus on human rights and sustainability
which impacts brand reputation, influences employee and investor
preferences and mitigates against operational supply chain disruptions.
The additional value-creation potential of ESG initiatives
through improved profit margins and returns, going beyond
just reputational risks.
Drivers Drivers
Sustainability/ESG
%
Sustainability/ESG
%
Cost management as a focus area for procurement
teams was the third most cited choice for over
a third (34%) of the C-suite in the short-term.
The third key focus area for procurement
teams over the next 3-5 years is multisourcing,
selected by nearly 35% of the C-suite.
•
•
Pressure on procurement teams to identify cost savings and cost
avoidance opportunities to protect profit margins given rising
macroeconomic uncertainty (eg inflation, rising interest rates).
Cost management being a top performance metric
for the procurement function, given that its biggest
impact over the last 3 years was on cost savings.
•
•
Focus on risk reduction and building supply chain
resiliency amid growing vulnerability to external threats
(eg geopolitical shifts, supplier threats, liquidity risks).
Focus on building agility in the supply chains while ensuring
quality, speed and optimal prices.
Drivers Drivers
Cost Management
%
Multisourcing
%
$
C-suite
executives
COOs
CFOs
CIOs
CHROs
CSCOs
CPO