PROCUREMENT MAGAZINE WHITEPAPER
The current challenge: fragmented data and shadow procurement
Digitisation of tasks created a landscape where data exists within systems. Research published on CPO Rising, the official news and research site for Ardent Partners, indicates that teams use 20 % of data. The remainder resides in systems that do not exchange information.
This lack of integration creates friction for the user. When data does not flow between systems, the process lacks clarity. The user encounters hurdles and repetition. Experience leads the person to seek routes for purchases outside the platform to save time. Shadow procurement occurs when technology acts as a barrier rather than a conduit. Fragmentation reduces visibility.
Teams cannot assess demand before commitments occur. If the system requires steps, users find ways to avoid it. Behaviour leads to spending that procurement cannot manage. It increases risk. It prevents the capture of savings. The problem resides in the gap between intake and execution.
Tools address the start but ignore the finish. Gap is where visibility disappears. To solve this, organisations move to orchestration. Expenditure occurs outside governance. Finance encounters transactions only when invoices arrive. Transformation has replaced silos of paper with silos of software.
56 April 2026