CPO Rising’s Technology Round-Up series continues this week with fresh supply management technology news and updates covering a few recent major announcements. If you are a sourcing, procurement, or spend management solution provider and you are continually innovating the way that procurement and supply chain leaders and practitioners drive value, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a note at info at cporising dot com. Thanks, and enjoy!
NPI Financial Study Reveals Margin Transfer from Enterprises to Software Providers
The intersection of procurement, supplier management, and IT has never been more complex. That complexity was part of a recent discussion between Ardent Partners and Jon Winsett, CEO at NPI Financial. The conversation covered several topics, including NPI’s latest State of Enterprise IT Sourcing in 2025 study, which shed light on shifting IT spend patterns, growing vendor pressures, and evolving staffing dynamics in procurement.
IT Spend and Renewals Dominate
The study revealed a striking revelation that 83% of IT spend is locked into contract renewals. Winsett said the figure was far higher than the 60-70% expected, reflecting a continued migration to cloud and SaaS, where recurring agreements dominate budgets. The statistic was also indicative of IT’s influence within enterprise operations as investments in cloud and software increase and those in telecom and hardware continue to decline. All these point to the greater need for procurement leaders to master renewal negotiations and anticipate vendor strategies.
Agreement Value Dependent on Benchmarks, Early Planning
The market power of suppliers such as Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP reveals a shift toward aggressive posturing of enterprise software vendors. Winsett noted forced migrations, SKU sunsetting, and rigid pricing structures as evidence of exercising their market power. Recently, Microsoft announced a 13% increase in enterprise agreement pricing for large buyers, sparking backlash and raising questions about transparency.
This emerging dynamic, said Winsett, represents a “margin transfer” from enterprises to software providers. Procurement leaders must take heed. To retain value in their agreements, procurement must rely on pricing benchmarks and begin planning earlier in their renewal cycle. Those strategies are valuable inputs during negotiations.
Cost Savings Drive Procurement IT Outsourcing
Another area the study touched on was IT procurement staffing. Not surprisingly, enterprises are outsourcing portions of procurement offshore, leading to inefficiencies caused by talent gaps, time zone differences, and lack of internal alignment. Is there a happy medium? Winsett pointed to best-in-class procurement teams that assign lower-value renewals to offshore partners while ensuring high-value renewal negotiations remain in-house. Enterprise talent is a competitive differentiator. Consider the procurement value gained and lost with an outsourcing strategy.
Fairmarkit Partners with Conduent to Support Procurement Processes
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Conduent Incorporated announced a strategic collaboration with Fairmarkit to enhance its procurement and spend management capabilities. The partnership will integrate Fairmarkit’s AI-powered sourcing platform with Conduent’s FastCap Finance Analytics solution.
The company stated that the integrated solution will support procurement processes from sourcing strategic suppliers to managing RFP responses, while using AI-driven insights to refine purchasing decisions and optimize spend management.
According to Allison Yount, vice president of partnerships and business development at Fairmarkit, “Conduent’s deep expertise in procurement transformation, combined with Fairmarkit’s intelligent technology and experience working with the world’s leading procurement teams, creates a compelling solution,” she said.
Read the full announcement here.
ORO Labs Launches ORO Partner Enterprise Network (OPEN)
SAN FRANCISCO — ORO Labs, a leading procurement orchestration platform, announced the launch of the ORO Partner Enterprise Network (OPEN), a strategic ecosystem designed to help enterprises accelerate outcomes through a unified partner-first approach to procurement. The OPEN program brings together technology providers, consulting firms, and service partners into a single, outcomes-driven network aligned around customer success.
The company stated that OPEN is built on ORO’s modular, no-code, AI-powered platform, enabling seamless collaboration between partners and enterprises across the procurement lifecycle, from intake and sourcing to supplier onboarding, compliance, and risk. The network is open by design, API-first, and deeply aligned with ORO’s core mission of simplifying enterprise procurement.
According to Lance Younger, EVP, EMEA GM & Global Alliances at ORO Labs, “Strong partnerships are the cornerstone of enterprise transformation,” he said.
“With OPEN, we’ve created a partner ecosystem that’s not just integrated, but orchestrated in a way that empowers our customers to move faster, innovate smarter, and unlock value from day one.”
Read the full announcement here.
Coupa Announces Acquisition of Scoutbee
FOSTER CITY, Calif. — Coupa, a leading AI platform for total spend management, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Scoutbee, a leading AI-powered supplier discovery platform and network.
The company stated that by integrating Scoutbee’s AI-powered search, rich supplier network and dataset, and collaboration tools with the Coupa platform and network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers, businesses worldwide will benefit from greater transparency and efficiency in supplier discovery, onboarding, and transactions.
According to Salvatore Lombardo, chief product and technology officer for Coupa, “Coupa and Scoutbee share a fundamental belief that better data leads to better AI, better decisions, and ultimately, a better world through more resilient supply chains,” he said.
“Together, we are creating the world’s most comprehensive, dynamic and data-rich network. This acquisition enables us to deliver a truly effortless buyer-supplier matching experience and further enhances our network that will power the future of global trade.”
Read the full announcement here.
Beroe Launches Innovative Tariff Management Solution
RALEIGH, NC — Beroe, a global leader in procurement decision intelligence, is expanding its solutions portfolio with new offerings to support procurement teams as they navigate the complex challenges of the fast-changing multinational trading environment.
The company stated that its new Tariff Monitoring solution provides up-to-date tariff data by product category across 190 countries, with tracking at the 6-digit HS code level for 2,500 categories. The accompanying Tariff Impact Analysis solution helps businesses quantify the cost implications of existing or proposed tariffs. With the functionality to integrate customers’ internal spend data, the solutions enable procurement teams to calculate tariff impacts on spend and savings targets and model alternative scenarios via an interactive and customizable dashboard.
According to Prerna Dhawan, chief product officer at Beroe, “In today’s dynamic business environment, staying informed and prepared is critical for ensuring resilience in supply chains,” she said.
“Our new Tariff Management solutions and Sourcing Location Optimizer tool deliver timely insights, contextual analysis, and actionable sourcing intelligence — helping procurement teams move faster, negotiate smarter, and adapt confidently to market and regulatory shifts.”
Read the full announcement here.
