Digital transformation has emerged as the primary driver of change across organisations, yet the biggest challenge for teams has been more complicated than adopting sophisticated technology.
As artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and automation reshape the procurement function, the most pressing question facing Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) isn’t what technology to deploy, but whether their teams possess the skills to harness its potential.
The Digital Divide: A Tale of Two Procurement Functions
A stark performance gap is emerging between procurement organisations that have mastered digital transformation and those struggling to keep pace. The most digitally advanced procurement functions are deploying advanced analytics and robotic process automation at four times the rate of their peers while their AI deployment rates are an astounding ten times higher, according to Deloitte’s 2025 Global Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) survey.
The correlation between technology adoption and performance goes deeper than simply budgets; success depends on the intersection of advanced tools and digitally literate talent. Digitally literate managers don’t just implement technology; they cultivate teams that understand how to integrate these capabilities into core procurement processes. Bearing this in mind, it’s no surprise that the execution gap between leaders and followers continues to widen. This disparity suggests that technology alone cannot bridge the performance divide, it requires a fundamental shift in how procurement teams think about their roles and capabilities.
The Changing Skillset
Modern procurement teams must combine traditional commercial skills with advanced data literacy. This includes the ability to interpret complex analytics dashboards, understand trends in spend data, and make decisions based on predictive insights. AI and automation are now part of the toolkit, requiring professionals to not only understand the outputs but also to question assumptions, spot anomalies, and apply insights strategically.
Sustainability is another emerging area of expertise. Teams are increasingly accountable for ESG performance across their supply chain. Procurement professionals need to assess supplier environmental practices, social responsibility, and governance structures, often interpreting non-financial data that doesn’t fit neatly into existing reporting frameworks.
Soft skills such as negotiation, collaboration, and strategic thinking remain critical – particularly as procurement intersects with other functions such as finance, sustainability, and operations. The ability to communicate insights clearly and influence decision-making is essential to maximise the impact of data-driven tools.
Rethinking Talent Development: From Individual to Functional Capability
The most successful organisations are moving beyond traditional training approaches focused on individual skill development. Many of these teams are building digital literacy as a functional capability and are creating cross-functional teams where technology expertise is distributed and collaborative.
This approach recognises that modern procurement operates through interconnected systems and processes. A procurement analyst might use AI-powered spend analytics to identify savings opportunities, but the category manager needs to understand how to validate those insights and incorporate them into supplier negotiations. The contracts specialist must grasp how automated contract extraction tools work to ensure critical terms aren’t missed. The supplier risk manager requires knowledge of predictive models to interpret early warning signals effectively.
Rather than expecting every team member to become a technology expert, leading organisations are creating collaborative frameworks where digital tools augment human expertise. They’re investing in hands-on training for advanced technologies like process orchestration and AI agents, but they’re also ensuring that simple, routine tasks are pushed to automated systems, freeing their employees to focus on higher-value activities.
The Road Ahead
As procurement continues its digital transformation journey, it’s tempting to focus primarily on technology capabilities and implementation challenges. However, the future of procurement talent is not about replacing human capabilities with digital ones but about creating powerful synergies between human judgement and machine intelligence. The teams that master this integration will define what a good procurement function looks like.
Sources
