Now in its 12th edition, the Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Survey once again spotlights procurement’s determined shift towards becoming ‘agents of change’ through digital transformation. With responses from 265 senior procurement leaders across more than 40 countries and 12 industries, this year’s report, titled Agents of Change: Procurement’s Big Bet on Digital, reveals a strong trend among so-called ‘Digital Masters’ who are leveraging disciplined generative AI and other advanced technologies to achieve the dual imperatives of cost reduction and operational efficiency.
Pierre Mitchell, Deloitte’s chief research officer and a well-known procuretech analyst, has co-authored this study for the fourth consecutive year. He explains that the ‘Digital Masters’ are distinguished not only by their significantly increased technology investments—now making up around 20% of their procurement budgets, nearly double that of 2023—but also by their strategic approach to funding a portfolio of cross-functional, self-sustaining projects. These go well beyond traditional ERP and source-to-pay transformations to include critical enterprise capabilities such as third-party risk management, tariff management, and the technological orchestration underpinning these functions.
Key to this transformation is the effective utilisation of generative AI (GenAI) alongside advanced analytics and emerging agentic AI capabilities. The report highlights a marked performance gap between these ‘Digital Masters’ and their peers, the latter termed ‘followers.’ On average, ‘orchestrators of value’ reported a 2.8x return on GenAI investments, compared to 1.6x by followers. The survey’s data depicts a consistent pattern where Digital Masters exceed or meet targets in cost savings (96% versus 80% for followers), supplier performance (84% versus 59%), and internal stakeholder satisfaction, underscoring the tangible benefits of integrating digital literacy and innovative AI-driven tools into procurement operations.
This performance advantage is echoed by findings in Deloitte’s broader 2025 Global CPO Survey, which shows Digital Masters outperforming peers by as much as 25 percentage points in cost savings, cost avoidance, and stakeholder satisfaction. The emphasis is clear: superior outcomes arise from a synthesis of technology adoption and capability-building across procurement teams. Digital literacy is identified as essential, particularly the ability to weave GenAI, advanced analytics, and human decision-making into cohesive operating models.
Supporting these conclusions, the 2024 Deloitte Global CPO GenAI survey revealed that 92% of CPOs are actively planning or assessing generative AI capabilities, with over 20% intending to invest more than $1 million by 2025 on GenAI for sourcing and procurement functions. Early adopters have already demonstrated striking returns on investment, some surpassing five times traditional methods, illustrating the transformative potential of AI to enhance procurement decision-making and processes.
Additional industry research reinforces this trend towards AI-driven procurement transformation. A study sponsored by Icertis and ProcureCon Insights found that 90% of procurement leaders have either adopted or are considering AI agents to optimise operations in 2025, with a significant portion of CPOs seeking to create value beyond simple cost savings by leveraging advanced analytics and AI for deeper insights.
Yet the transition is not without challenges. According to The Hackett Group’s 2025 Key Issues Study, while 64% of procurement leaders anticipate AI and generative AI will fundamentally transform their roles within five years, they are also grappling with rising workloads—projected to increase by 10% in 2025—far outpacing budget growth, which is expected to rise by only 1%, thus creating a 9% efficiency gap. This discrepancy underscores the urgency of accelerating AI adoption as a means to bridge this gap and unlock new operational efficiencies.
Surveys from other sources further reveal the heightened emphasis on AI and digital initiatives. For example, over 80% of procurement leaders have identified or prioritised AI use cases, while around two-thirds rank leveraging AI in procurement processes as a key priority within the next 12 months. Enhanced data analytics and spending visibility technologies also feature among the top initiatives for many CPOs.
The latest Deloitte report offers not only compelling evidence of these benefits but also practical guidance for procurement leaders aspiring to become ‘digital-ready.’ It stresses the importance of developing digital literacy within teams and adopting a deliberate, opportunistic approach to funding—balancing investments with risk mitigation. Notably, nearly three-quarters of surveyed CPOs identified cultivating alternative supplier sources as the most effective risk mitigation strategy in volatile markets, coupled with a strong focus on enhancing supply chain visibility and improving supplier collaboration.
In conclusion, the 2025 Deloitte Global CPO Survey paints a clear picture: procurement functions that embrace digital transformation, especially through intelligent AI adoption and talent development, emerge as true orchestrators of value and agents of change. Those organisations that rethink their operating and talent models to harness the efficiencies and insights enabled by agentic AI and autonomous workflows are poised for significant financial and strategic payoffs. The report’s self-reflective questions provide a useful framework for CPOs to assess their readiness for this journey, reinforcing that the future of procurement is firmly digital, data-driven, and AI-enabled.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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