As procurement moves from transactional tasks to strategic roles amid budget constraints, skills shortages, and digital transformation, industry experts emphasise the importance of long-term workforce investment and responsible AI adoption to navigate global uncertainties and ESG demands.
The role of the chief procurement officer has shifted from transactional back-office work to strategic leadership, as procurement teams confront tighter budgets, supply chain fragility...
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, rising regulatory burdens and acute skills shortages. Emma Mottram, director of operations at EN:Procure, the specialist procurement arm of Efficiency North, says modern procurement requires forward planning, commercial judgement and relationship-building as much as traditional cost control, and that a people-centred approach is now essential.
The workforce shortfall looms large across construction and building services. According to Logic4 Training, the sector will need some 350,000 new roles by 2028 to meet housing, retrofit and Net Zero delivery goals. A survey reported by Build-Up found 58% of UK construction professionals cannot recruit people with the right skills, while industry analysis published by SpecFinish estimates tens of thousands of additional workers will be necessary annually in key trades between 2025 and 2029. Mottram describes a “grow your own” strategy at Efficiency North, investing five to ten years to upskill staff so teams can handle modern frameworks, ESG obligations and new technologies.
Digital tools and artificial intelligence offer potential gains, but adoption is uneven and constrained by weak data, limited technical skills and governance gaps. Reporting by CPO Strategy highlights procurement teams’ slow uptake of generative AI driven by poor data quality and inadequate oversight; Ivalua research cited by Form notes that more than half of procurement and supplier-management processes remain undigitised, leaving organisations mired in manual work. At the same time, PwC’s Digital Procurement Survey indicates ambition: roughly 82% of procurement functions in Ireland and the UK plan to digitise by 2027, suggesting significant investment and reskilling will be required to translate intent into capability.
Mottram warns against treating AI as a panacea. The technology must be integrated with care to protect data integrity and comply with regulations, and cyber security must be built into procurement strategies. These considerations intersect with recruitment pressures: younger procurement professionals entering the workforce will need both technical and ethical literacy to manage AI tools responsibly.
Global instability has strained supply chains and amplified cost volatility. Mottram points to disruptions from geopolitical events and shortages such as the national chip scarcity that affected digitally controlled boilers, increasing lead times and prices. Procurement teams must map supplier networks and weigh cost-efficiency against resilience, while factoring in tariffs and cross-border complexities that have grown since Brexit.
Environmental, social and governance demands add another layer of complexity and cost. Mottram stresses the difficulty of tracing modern slavery risks and carbon footprints across international supply chains, particularly in retrofit programmes that source materials overseas. Public-sector budgets under pressure mean ESG requirements are increasingly baked into contracts but often with narrow margins, creating trade-offs between compliance and affordability.
The confluence of skills gaps, digital lag and rising ESG expectations is reshaping procurement’s remit. Industry reporting suggests the solution will require coordinated action across government, employers and education providers to attract diverse, digitally capable talent and to invest at scale in training. Mottram’s experience points to integrated teams where procurement, legal and finance collaborate closely, and to long-term talent development as the bedrock of resilience.
For procurement to meet the demands of retrofit, social housing and broader sector transformation, organisations must combine investment in technology with sustained workforce development. As Mottram puts it, whatever future tools emerge, the heart of procurement remains human: understanding commercial relationships, negotiating effectively and stewarding complex delivery across an uncertain landscape.
Source: Noah Wire Services
