Supply chain disruption looms as Australian transport workers vote on action ● New Zealand procurement reforms show early implementation progress ● Australian parliamentary inquiry to examine essential supply chain resilience ● MP challenges Federal Government to turn Australian-made message into procurement mandate ● Victoria’s Big Build procurement practices set for royal commission scrutiny ● Forensic tomato testing raises supply chain traceability and forced labour concerns ● Procurement hiring reaches three-year high as contract demand surges ● Operation Kingfisher findings prompt calls for ACT procurement overhaul ● Australian Modern Slavery Act set for biggest overhaul since 2018 ● New Zealand finalises Singapore supply pact as Kiwi businesses face ongoing disruption

Gordon’s Window: May research

Gordon Window

This month, in his exclusive PASA column ‘Gordon’s Window’, Gordon Donovan, VP of Global Procurement Research at SAP, provides a handy expert summary of May’s global procurement research. Save your own time reading research when you can get the key takeaways in one place!

Key themes this month include the transformative impact of AI and digital tools, the importance of supply chain resilience, and the growing emphasis on sustainability.

Procurement strategies are evolving, with AI adoption accelerating decision-making, cost optimisation and risk mitigation. Reports emphasise the need for proactive tariff management, tail spend control and supplier collaboration, leveraging new technologies and talent management.

Fraud prevention remains a top concern in payments, with merchants increasingly adopting AI-driven tools, and the urgency of addressing Scope 3 emissions and embedding sustainability into procurement strategies are discussed.

Ardent Partners: Big Trends and Predictions

The ‘Procurement 2025’ report by Ardent Partners outlines transformative trends and predictions that are shaping procurement. 

Below are the key insights:

Trends

  • AI adoption: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming integral to procurement, with 76 percent of teams expected to leverage AI-powered tools. AI enhances supplier discovery, contract management and risk mitigation, making it indispensable for future-ready organisations
  • Digital transformation: AI is accelerating digital transformation, enabling intuitive systems, real-time analytics and streamlined workflows. Procurement leaders must prioritise technology adoption to stay competitive
  • Savings focus: Cost savings remain the top priority for procurement teams amidst inflationary pressures and executive mandates
  • Geopolitical challenges: Persistent global tensions are driving volatility in supply chains, necessitating agile sourcing strategies and resilient frameworks
  • Supply chain resilience: Diversifying suppliers, leveraging predictive analytics and fostering collaboration are vital to mitigating disruptions
  • Supplier collaboration: Strong supplier relationships unlock innovation, cost efficiencies and faster crisis responses.


Predictions

  • AI as a force multiplier: AI will revolutionise procurement processes, from autonomous sourcing to dynamic supplier negotiations
  • AI FOMO: Fear of missing out on AI-driven efficiencies will drive significant investments in ProcureTech solutions
  • Talent wars: Procurement will focus on recruiting AI-savvy professionals to lead digital transformations
  • Cybersecurity imperative: Procurement must proactively address supply chain cyber risks through robust third-party risk management strategies.


The report emphasises that procurement teams must embrace technology, adapt to geopolitical shifts and foster supplier collaboration to thrive in 2025 and beyond.

Arc Blue: Procurement Priorities

The ArcBlue report outlines seven critical procurement priorities for 2025, emphasising the sector’s transformation into a strategic powerhouse amid global uncertainty. Key takeaways include:

  1. Harness emerging technologies: AI and automation are revolutionising procurement, enabling smarter decision-making, predictive analytics and streamlined processes. By 2027, tasks that currently take hours could be completed in minutes, driving efficiency and competitive advantage
  2. Strengthen supply chain resilience: Geopolitical tensions, including post-election trade shifts, demand diversified sourcing strategies like ‘China-plus-one’ and digital supply chain modelling. Flexibility and adaptability are essential to mitigate disruptions
  3. Tackle rising costs strategically: Inflation and economic pressures necessitate bold approaches such as supplier collaboration, leveraging technology for cost optimisation and embedding ESG principles for long-term savings
  4. Build influence through storytelling: Procurement professionals are increasingly using data-driven storytelling to align stakeholders and foster collaboration across functions. Emotional and visual communication enhances trust and drives impactful decisions
  5. Prioritise ethics and transparency: Ethical sourcing and transparent practices are now prerequisites for supplier selection. Leveraging technologies like blockchain ensures accountability while enhancing reputation and stakeholder trust
  6. Bridge talent gaps: Addressing procurement talent shortages requires upskilling teams, fostering collaboration across disciplines (e.g. engineering), and embracing diverse leadership perspectives to drive innovation
  7. Leverage cross-industry collaboration: Sharing best practices across sectors enables procurement teams to balance efficiency with compliance while navigating global challenges effectively


Procurement leaders must embrace technology, sustainability and collaboration to thrive in an unpredictable landscape while driving strategic value for their organisations.

MRC: Global Payments – Fraud

This report underscores the dynamic nature of eCommerce payments and fraud management. Merchants are balancing innovation in payment acceptance with robust fraud prevention strategies, leveraging technology to optimise operations while navigating emerging threats like RTP fraud.

Payment acceptance trends:

  • Merchants typically accept four to five payment methods, with cards, digital wallets and bank transfers being the most common globally
  • Real-time payments (RTP) are gaining traction, with 37 percent of merchants now accepting them. Adoption is expected to grow significantly in 2025
  • Over 74 percent of merchants added at least one new payment method in the past year to enhance customer experience and reduce cart abandonment.


Fraud trends:

Fraud rates by revenue and order have slightly declined globally, but real-time payment fraud has emerged as a major concern, impacting 45 percent of merchants.

First-party misuse and refund/policy abuse remain key challenges, though their momentum has slowed compared to previous years.

Fraud management strategies:

  • Reducing fraud and chargebacks remains the top priority for merchants, followed by minimising operational costs
  • Merchants increasingly rely on AI/ML-driven tools for fraud detection, with adoption rates rising across all segments. Generative AI usage jumped from 42 percent to 56 percent year-on-year.


One Advanced: Finance and Spend Trends

The 2025 Finance & Spend Trends report highlights critical challenges and opportunities for procurement leaders as they navigate a rapidly evolving business landscape. 

The report identifies that:

  • Cybersecurity concerns: Cybersecurity remains the top challenge, with only 59 percent of procurement leaders feeling prepared for cyberattacks compared to 74 percent of finance leaders. Greater adoption of cloud-based systems, which offer enhanced security, is recommended
  • Technology integration and upgrades: While 79 percent of finance and procurement leaders plan to upgrade technology, procurement lags behind finance in embracing innovations like AI and automation. Integration issues with legacy systems remain a significant barrier
  • Maverick spend and compliance: A staggering 93 percent of procurement leaders report ongoing issues with maverick spend, complicating forecasting and cash flow management. Additionally, fewer than 20 percent feel well-prepared for the Procurement Act 2023, which introduces new compliance demands
  • AI adoption: Although 63 percent of finance and procurement leaders have implemented AI projects, procurement adoption (42 percent) trails finance (67 percent). AI offers transformative potential in fraud detection, spend analytics and invoice automation but requires skills development and strategic implementation
  • Sustainability as a strategy: Only 32 percent of procurement leaders treat ESG as a business-as-usual activity, despite its potential to reduce costs and enhance supplier relationships. Sustainable supplier management is an area for growth
  • Hybrid working and talent: Talent shortages persist, with hybrid working embraced by 54 percent of procurement leaders. However, technology gaps hinder remote productivity.


PwC: Decarbonisation

PwC’s 2025 State of Decarbonisation report highlights the evolving role of sustainability in procurement and supply chain management. 

The report identified that:

  • Scope 3 emissions focus: Addressing Scope 3 emissions, which dominate corporate carbon footprints, remains challenging but critical for procurement. Only 54 percent of companies are on track to meet Scope 3 targets, with supplier engagement identified as a key area for improvement
  • Product sustainability: Sustainable product design is a priority, with 83 percent of companies investing in low-carbon products. Products with sustainability attributes can achieve revenue increases of six percent to 25 percent, underscoring the commercial value of integrating sustainability into procurement strategies
  • Value chain collaboration: Engagement across the supply chain is rising, with 72 percent of companies collaborating with suppliers and 67 percent engaging customers. Effective collaboration drives innovation, reduces emissions and aligns products with evolving customer expectations.


The report underscores that procurement leaders must prioritise supplier engagement, product sustainability and governance to unlock business value while advancing decarbonisation goals.

IDC: Procurement Applications

The procurement application landscape in 2025 is undergoing transformative changes, driven by advancements in AI, machine learning and agentic AI. These technologies are enhancing procurement applications, making them more intuitive and capable of handling complex tasks efficiently.

Some things that jumped out for me included:

  • Return to savings focus: Savings delivery is regaining prominence as a core procurement priority, alongside managing supply chain risks and sustainability goals
  • Agentic AI emergence: Agentic AI is poised to revolutionise procurement by enabling systems to set goals, make decisions and act independently. However, adoption remains in early stages, with many providers overstating capabilities during the current hype phase
  • Direct spend management: Direct spend, which constitutes a significant portion of organisational expenses, is receiving increased attention. AI-infused applications integrated with ERP and supply chain platforms are expected to address its complexities effectively.


As always, reach out to discuss more, I’m always happy to hear your thoughts!