A global survey of 358 procurement executives finds budgets rising and AI moving from theory to practice, with data quality and integrated platforms shaping the path to resilience in 2025.
The procurement function is stepping back into the spotlight as the latest State of Source-to-Pay Digitization 2025 report reveals a market moving from experimentation to implementation. Based on a global survey of 358 procurement executives and commissioned by Ivalua, the Ardent Partners study maps a year in which organisations are recalibrating costs, dependencies and resilience, and where technology is becoming a central driver of performance.
Budgets and AI move from theory to practice
The research shows a clear shift in investment discipline. More than half of chief procurement officers have increased their Source-to-Pay technology budgets compared with the previous year, while artificial intelligence is moving from theory to practice, with roughly half of CPOs already using AI in some form. In the words of Vishal Patel, Ivalua’s senior vice-president of product marketing, the landscape is being rewritten as external challenges evolve and supply chains recalibrate: “Procurement is once again stepping into the spotlight, with technology now central to business performance.” This sentiment was echoed in industry coverage of the report, which emphasised how AI adoption is becoming a strategic asset rather than a niche capability.
A year of challenge, a year of opportunity
The survey paints a cautious but aspirational outlook for 2025. Ninety percent of CPOs anticipate the year to be more challenging than 2024, underscoring ongoing volatility in global trade policies and tariffs. Against that backdrop, the top priorities are cost savings (71%) and supply risk reduction (42%), with digital transformation (37%) and broader AI enablement following closely. Almost half of CPOs (47%) plan to adopt integrated S2P technology to streamline operations and manage supply-chain complexity, while a majority have increased technology budgets again this year (53% versus 30% in 2024). These figures point to a market that views digital investment as a lever for resilience and competitive advantage, not merely an optional upgrade.
AI as a driver of decision-making and efficiency
Industry data suggests CPOs expect AI to be transformative. The majority (72%) forecast a transformational or significant impact from AI, and about half report current AI usage. Use cases span supplier discovery, spend analysis, contract analysis, sourcing and more, with many respondents acknowledging that AI’s value hinges on strong data foundations and careful implementation. Productivity gains are the single most-cited AI objective (79%), but executives also see AI as a catalyst for improved decision-making (49%), better stakeholder engagement (30%), and smarter forecasting (27%). Another notable finding is the emphasis on efficiency (40%) and the potential for AI to unlock greater savings (32%).
Data quality: the prerequisite for AI value
As more organisations digitalise processes and lean into AI, data quality remains a persistent bottleneck. The report identifies data visibility and analytical capability as a major opportunity (48%), yet it also flags that poor data quality and limited data access within S2P tools are the principal barriers to realising value (42%). The call is clear: to realise AI’s promise and scale its impact, organisations must invest in data quality, AI literacy, and robust, integrated S2P platforms built on trusted data foundations. To this end, the study’s insights frame data as the central enabler of procurement transformation, not merely an adjunct consideration.
A shift toward end-to-end platforms and data discipline
The market storyline aligns with industry commentary that prefers integrated, end-to-end S2P platforms over disparate point solutions. Nearly half of CPOs are weighing or pursuing an integrated S2P approach to consolidate processes and reduce complexity. This trend dovetails with a broader leadership narrative that emphasises platform maturity, unified data models and interoperable systems as prerequisites for AI to scale across the enterprise. Ivalua’s own commentary on the report highlights a move toward platform-level AI enablement, with data governance and cross-system interoperability positioned as non‑negotiable for success.
Vendors in the spotlight: AI, governance and market leadership
The market context is further shaped by independent assessments of S2P platforms. In Gartner’s 2025 Magic Quadrant for Source-to-Pay Suites, Ivalua was named a Leader, a designation the company celebrated as validation of its unified, AI-enabled spend-management platform. Franck Lheureux, Ivalua’s chief executive, said the recognition underscores the club‑wide shift to a single, end‑to‑end platform that can accelerate procurement transformations and elevate AI’s role in decision-making. The market mood is reinforced by other leadership announcements, including Coupa and Oracle, both named Leaders in Gartner’s MQ 2025. Coupa’s release emphasises its AI-native approach to prescriptive insights and end-to-end spend management, while Oracle touts embedded AI capabilities as part of its cloud-based procurement suite. The backdrop of multiple Leaders in the MQ reflects a market converging on unified platforms and AI as core capabilities rather than experimental add-ons.
A word on data quality, and the AI readiness imperative
Within Ivalua’s ecosystem, the emphasis on data quality is particularly pronounced. A related summary from Ivalua notes that 92% of procurement leaders regard accurate master data as critical, even as many organisations report that only around two-thirds of their master data is actually accurate. This data readiness gap is framed as a fundamental barrier to realising AI value and achieving reliable analytics, spend insights and supplier collaboration. The practical implication is clear: organisations aiming to maximise AI’s benefits must prioritise data cleansing, governance and cross-system interoperability from the outset.
Analyst and industry voices: a nuanced landscape
While the Ardent Partners study foregrounds AI-enabled S2P transformation as a strategic imperative, observers point to the need for disciplined execution. The “State of S2P Digitization” report highlights a trajectory toward end-to-end platforms that enable holistic procurement orchestration, while practitioners stress the importance of governance, data quality and AI literacy to avoid missteps. In commentary published alongside the MQ announcements, industry voices stressed that AI’s incremental value will accrue through disciplined data management, clear business cases and well-defined deployment roadmaps.
Implications for procurement teams moving forward
– Invest with intention in data governance and master data management as the foundation for AI-enabled procurement.
– Prioritise integrated S2P platforms that provide end-to-end process visibility, rather than assembling a patchwork of best-of-breed tools.
– Treat AI as a strategic capability: define targeted use cases, establish governance, and scale pilots to enterprise-wide deployment.
– Expect a more challenging external environment in 2025, and position technology, digital transformation and risk management as central pillars of resilience.
In sum, the 2025 State of Source-to-Pay Digitization report confirms a turning point in procurement: organisations are committing more resources to digital platforms, widely adopting AI in practical ways, and recognising data quality as the critical enabler of real, scalable value. The market is coalescing around integrated, AI-enabled S2P suites as the path to greater efficiency, transparency and resilience in procurement operations, even as leadership narratives from major vendors reinforce the importance of AI in shaping the next era of sourcing and supply management.
Source Panel
– Ardent Partners. Ardent Partners’ The State of Source-to-Pay Digitization 2025. Ardent Partners.
– PR Newswire. AI and Data Take Center Stage in Latest “State of Source-to-Pay Digitization” Report. August 21, 2025.
– Ivalua. The State of Source-to-Pay Digitization 2025 – insights and analysis. Ivalua.
– Ivalua. Ivalua Again Named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Source-to-Pay Suites. March 2025.
– PR Newswire. Ivalua named a Leader in Gartner MQ 2025 (related release). March 2025.
– Coupa. Coupa named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Source-to-Pay Suites. 2025.
– Oracle. Oracle Named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Source-to-Pay Suites. March 2025.
– Ivalua. AI-ready procurement: lessons from the 2025 Gartner MQ and beyond. 2025.
– Ivalua. 2025 Gartner MQ: lessons and strategies. March 2025.
– Ardent Partners (Ivalua-hosted) summary on 2024 insights and 2025 expectations. 2025.
Notes on attribution and quotes
– The lead finding that 53% of CPOs have increased their S2P technology budgets and that AI is moving into practical use is drawn from ARdent Partners’ State of Source-to-Pay Digitization 2025 coverage, as reported by PRNewsWire and industry outlets.
– The Visha Patel quote about the ongoing centrality of technology to procurement performance is attributed to Vishal Patel, SVP Product Marketing at Ivalua, in ITSupplyChain’s coverage of the Ardent Partners study.
– The Gartner MQ confirmations (Ivalua, Coupa, Oracle) are drawn from respective vendor press releases and Gartner-adjacent announcements published in early 2025.
– The 92% master-data importance and the 63.9% average accuracy figure are based on Ivalua’s synthesis of Ardent Partners’ data and related analyses.
If you’d like, I can tailor the piece to a specific publication’s style guide, or add a second, shorter version focused on practical steps for CPOs launching an AI-enabled S2P programme.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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