AUTOMATION MATURITY IN PROCUREMENT: WHERE DO YOU SIT?
Most procurement functions are still in the early stages of their automation journey, which promises to fundamentally reshape the profession.
According to McKinsey’ s Transforming Procurement Functions for an AI-Driven World report( 2025), procurement’ s spending managed per full-time equivalent is already 50 % higher than it was five years ago, and AI agents could make functions a further 25 to 40 % more efficient by shifting activity from routine tasks to strategic decision-making.
Keelvar, a global leader in intelligent sourcing solutions, also reports that 52 % of procurement teams have adopted automation technologies, significantly improving speed, efficiency and responsiveness, whilst those yet to act face growing challenges to remain competitive.
As such, the question for procurement leaders is no longer whether to automate, but how quickly they can move up the maturity curve before their competitors do.
This process relies on trusted, verified data being embedded into these workflows to enable the reduction in manual effort and accelerate decisionmaking.“ The goal isn’ t faster decisions, it’ s more confident decisions made fast, without compromising the rigour that compliance demands,” says Alicia,“ Those who embed trusted, verified data into their automated workflows are able to reduce that effort and accelerate decisions.”
The stakes of getting this wrong are significant. Ben Allen, Vice President of Public Sector Solutions at Appian, points to visibility as the foundation of resilient procurement.
“ When organisations rely on disconnected systems and manual
80 August 2026