Procurement in financial services is moving well beyond its traditional role as a cost-control function, with Bain & Company arguing that artificial intelligence and other digital tools are turning it into a strategic lever for banks and insurers.
In a new report, Procurement in Financial Services: A Tech-Powered Value Creator, the consultancy says rising spending on cloud services, data analytics, cybersecurity and generative AI is reshaping what procurement teams...
Continue Reading This Article
Enjoy this article as well as all of our content, including reports, news, tips and more.
By registering or signing into your SRM Today account, you agree to SRM Today's Terms of Use and consent to the processing of your personal information as described in our Privacy Policy.
are expected to do. Rather than concentrating mainly on sourcing and contract administration, they are increasingly being asked to help organisations improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and extract more value from technology investment.
Bain says that firms which leave procurement focused on tactical buying risk overlooking opportunities to cut expenditure, manage software portfolios more effectively and build longer-term relationships with technology suppliers. The report also points to a wider shift across financial services, with 80% of firms expected to increase IT spending last year, while many were also building internal agentic AI capabilities to reduce reliance on outside vendors.
The consultancy has separately argued that generative AI could change financial planning, analysis and reporting, while another Bain framework suggests procurement activities may be substantially automated by 2027. In that scenario, procurement professionals would spend less time on repetitive tasks and more on supplier collaboration, risk management and strategic decision-making.
Bain’s own procurement practice says data-led sourcing and supplier management can reduce purchase costs by 8% to 12%, underlining why the function is attracting renewed attention as companies look for savings without sacrificing access to critical technology and services.
The broader message from Bain is that procurement in financial services is no longer simply about buying better. It is becoming part of how institutions compete, adopt technology and manage risk in a market where digital capability is increasingly central to performance.
Source: Noah Wire Services
