AI and Procurement in the UK: a strategic shift is already in motion

Procurement leaders in the UK are prioritizing resilience and effective forward planning

UK procurement leaders are at a turning point. While procurement was once viewed primarily as a cost-control mechanism, the function is now core to business continuity, resilience and long-term value.

A survey of 100 senior decision makers in finance or procurement with responsibility over supply chains in the UK, conducted by SAP Taulia in August 2025, reveals a clear shift in how procurement professionals perceive their impact.

Most of all, how AI is becoming the next major acceleration point in the procurement function’s constant move towards new technology developments.

A shift toward strategic collaboration

While 42% say their biggest priority today lies in optimizing cash flow and reducing risk, 40% of respondents believe their greatest impact will come from driving innovation through collaboration with suppliers. This marks a notable pivot from operational efficiency being the core, to a new focus on strategic partnerships.

Other areas expected to grow in importance include managing and minimizing operational risks (rising from 24% today to 36% in the future) and enabling smarter, data-driven decision-making.

Perhaps this shows a move towards a broader business strategy, with a stronger focus on strengthening supply chains for business continuity – which is where AI technology steps in.

Dealing with mounting challenges

However, procurement professionals are facing increasing pressure. Three-quarters (74%) report that procurement-related challenges have intensified over the past year, with 15% noting a significant increase.

The challenges that feature highest in the survey include navigating macroeconomic shifts such as inflation and tariffs (37%), balancing competing demands from procurement, finance, and treasury teams (37%), and managing internal negotiations around cost versus quality (32%).

As the role of procurement becomes more complex, professionals are looking for more predictive, faster tools and processes. Almost all those surveyed agreed it was time for leadership to take action to face up to those challenges.

This is where AI can become a key factor. However, there are questions over the commitment from senior leadership to prioritise AI investment and growth, much as the survey found in Germany. While over four in five (84%) believe AI and related technologies can address such challenges, only 20% report that procurement is a leadership priority for AI investment.

Growing adoption of AI tools

Nonetheless, despite a lack of prioritization at leadership level – perceived or real – procurement teams are increasingly adopting AI tools. Over half (52%) currently use AI-powered procurement tools, with 37% actively considering them. Generative tools (GenAI) are even more widely used, with 57% already using them and another 37% considering adoption.

These tools are being applied in different ways. While AI-powered procurement tools are more focused on cost-saving analysis and forecasting (40%), GenAI tends to be used mostly for supplier evaluation (35%) and decision-making data and insights (30%). This perhaps signals that access to specialised procurement tools that can already provide these capabilities remains limited.

Strategic benefits are evident

For those procurement professionals already using AI tools, the benefits are clear, with over four in five (82%) agreeing that AI use leads to procurement tasks shifting from manual to strategic work.

Increased productivity (30%), earlier risk identification (30%), reduced manual tasks (24%), and improved decision-making (26%) are all signs that AI has freed up time for more high-value, impactful work, and enabled greater innovation within their roles.

However, some concerns remain. Three in four professionals (75%) express some level of worry about the impact of AI. Examples include fears that AI could make it harder to demonstrate procurement’s value (35%) or cause the function to focus too heavily on cost savings instead of strategic value (23%).

Having said that, the UK’s fear regarding the latter point is more than doubled by respondents in Germany (50%), while the UK’s concern over job cuts (25%) is almost half that in neighbouring France (48%).

Nonetheless, the responses from UK professionals highlight the growing opportunity for AI to be harnessed collaboratively to help procurement teams build resilience and strategic influence.

Looking ahead: where AI will find value

Fast-forward five years, andover three in ten UK procurement decision-makers (31%) believe AI will have its biggest impact on risk detection and mitigation. This contrasts with France, where their counterparts expect procurement’s impact to grow most in sustainability and innovation.

Other key areas include sustainability tracking (29%), and contract management (27%). The professionals surveyed are most comfortable with automation in areas such as invoice processing and spend analysis (34%) but expressed a preference for human oversight for tasks involving supplier negotiations and contract drafting.

AI is here to stay and undoubtedly has a key role to play in the future of procurement in the UK. However, to fully realize its potential, organizations must align leadership priorities with what the professionals ‘on the ground’ need and strike the right balance between automation and human expertise.