Rising tech budgets and accelerating AI adoption signal a pivotal shift in procurement strategies for 2025, according to new research from Ardent Partners.
Redwood City, CA, August 21, 2025. The latest “State of Source-to-Pay Digitization 2025” report by Ardent Partners, which explores procurement’s top priorities and emerging market trends, has been published. The second annual study, based on surveys of procurement leaders across the world, assesses changes in technology strategy, focus, and investment at large organizations.
As procurement teams grapple with fluctuating global trade policies and rising tariffs, the report finds that 53% of Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) have increased their Source-to-Pay (S2P) technology budget compared to the previous year. At the same time, artificial intelligence is transitioning from theory to practice, with nearly half of all CPOs utilizing AI in some form.
“As external challenges evolve and supply chains recalibrate from recent disruptions, organizations are re-evaluating costs, dependencies, and resilience. Procurement is once again stepping into the spotlight, with technology now central to business performance,” said Vishal Patel, SVP Product Marketing at Ivalua.
A Growing Call for Digital Transformation
With 90% of CPOs anticipating 2025 to be more challenging than 2024, procurement’s top priorities are to deliver cost savings (71%) and reduce supply risk (42%), closely followed by driving digital transformation (37%).
Within this challenging operational context, nearly half of CPOs (47%) plan to adopt integrated S2P technology to streamline operational processes and better manage complexities in supply chains. Additionally, a majority of CPOs (53%) have allocated more money to technology this year than last, a significant jump from just 30% in 2024, indicating growing confidence in digital investment as a lever for performance.
AI Gaining Traction as a Strategic Asset
Most respondents (72%) believe AI’s impact will either be transformational or significant, and nearly half of all CPOs report using AI in some form today. Approximately one in three are leveraging AI for one or more of the following activities: supplier discovery, spend analysis, contract analysis, sourcing, and more. At the same time, many CPOs recognize that AI’s success depends heavily on strong master data, a clear business case, and thoughtful implementation.
The vast majority of CPOs (79%) indicate productivity gains as their top AI objective. Beyond automation, AI is gaining traction as a strategic asset: 49% of CPOs expect AI to enhance decision-making, while others look to AI for improved stakeholder engagement/satisfaction (30%) and smarter forecasting (27%). Another 40% cite efficiency as a critical goal, and 32% see AI helping increase savings.
The Critical Role of Data
As more companies seek to digitally transform their processes and start to truly leverage AI, the role of data has never been more important. Almost one in two CPOs surveyed in this year’s study (48%) agree that the best way to take their current performance to the next level is with “better data visibility and analytical capabilities.”
S2P platforms enable procurement teams to respond faster, make better-informed decisions, and operate with greater consistency. Yet even the most advanced tools cannot deliver meaningful insights without clean, consistent data. The most common barrier to S2P technology performance is poor data quality and/or limited data access within the solutions themselves, according to 42% of respondents.
“To fully realize AI’s promise and maximize its impact, organizations must treat data as a core enabler of transformation and innovation. That requires investing in data quality, building AI literacy, and adopting integrated S2P platforms built on strong data foundations. The AI transformation will be a continuous journey that demands agility, trusted data foundations, and the ability to adapt at scale,” concluded Vishal Patel.
To access the full “State of Source-to-Pay Digitization 2025” report and explore how Ivalua can transform your procurement operations, please visit www.ivalua.com.
About the Report
Ivalua commissioned Ardent Partners to conduct this second annual “State of Source-to-Pay Digitization” research effort. To complete this report, Ardent Partners utilized the survey and interview responses of 358 procurement executives around the world to examine the market today and the pivotal role that procurement leaders play in managing uncertainty and driving business value.
About Ivalua
Ivalua is a leading provider of cloud-based, Spend Management software powered by AI agents. Our unified Source-to-Pay platform enables businesses to better manage all categories of spend and all suppliers, increasing profitability, improving sustainability, lowering risk and boosting employee productivity. We are trusted by hundreds of the world’s most admired brands and recognized as a leader by Gartner and other analysts. Learn more at www.ivalua.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
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