Over the last several weeks, Ardent Partners has gone back in time with its “State of Procurement (A Retrospective)” series, featuring executive insights from its previous State of Procurement reports dating back to 2006. It’s now time to shift gears into the present, with a close examination of this year’s report, highlighting the most significant trends and issues facing today’s CPOs.
Our new weekly series brings industry insights around Ardent’s CPO Rising 2025: Navigating Global Uncertainty & Unlocking an AI-Driven Future report. Don’t miss our coverage on all things procurement, including operational strategies, technology adoption, artificial intelligence trends, and supply chain challenges.
In Part One this week, we look at procurement evolution over two decades. CPO Rising research has documented the transformative journey of procurement and the ascendant role of the chief procurement officer.
Global Uncertainty and a AI-Driven Future
Over the past two decades, procurement has undergone a dramatic transformation, evolving into a strategic powerhouse that enables business resilience, drives savings and innovation, and helps build competitive advantage. In this time, the CPO’s journey has been marked by financial crises, a global pandemic that created far-reaching supply chain disruptions, geopolitical instability, and rapid digitalization. Through it all, procurement has remained at the forefront — navigating complexity, mitigating risk, and delivering value.
This year, Ardent Partners analysts are authoring their 20th annual State of Procurement report as an exciting wave of innovation is about to take hold. Yet, CPOs are steadfast, standing at the helm of a major hub of business intelligence and business results, guiding their teams through uncertainty while shaping the future of procurement and the global supply chain.
In 2025, businesses are navigating a storm that is far from perfect, built upon an uncertain foundation of economic, business, and trade uncertainty, including persistent inflation, supply chain fragility, and escalating geopolitical conflicts — all set against the backdrop of rapid technological disruption and shifting global trade dynamics. At the same time, a technological revolution is unfolding. Intelligent, AI-driven procurement is becoming a reality — offering the promise of higher levels of efficiency, intelligence, and agility.
While this report reflects on two decades of dramatic CPO progress, it remains focused on the here and now, presenting a comprehensive, industry-wide view of what is happening in the world of procurement and capturing the experience, performance, perspectives, and intentions of more than 300 CPOs and other procurement executives.
Two Decades of Procurement
Since its inception in 2006, the CPO Rising research series has documented the transformative journey of procurement and the ascendant role of the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO). This annual endeavor, capturing the collective wisdom and evolving priorities of thousands of procurement leaders across diverse regions and industries, has moved beyond observation to become a primary source illuminating the forces that have shaped — and continue to shape — the profession. From the initial recognition of procurement’s strategic potential to navigating global economic crises and embracing the digital revolution, these reports offer a rich and nuanced understanding of an evolution marked by both persistent challenges and remarkable progress. This brief retrospective discussion aims to synthesize the key insights and overarching themes that have emerged over two decades of CPO Rising research, providing a comprehensive overview of procurement’s evolution and offering valuable lessons for practitioners as they navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape.
The early years of the CPO Rising series (referred to as the CPO’s Agenda from 2006 to 2009), focused on establishing the strategic imperative of procurement and defining the core challenges facing CPOs. The inaugural report in 2006 highlighted the inherent paradox of procurement — central to enterprise activity, yet often perceived as peripheral. The initial agenda centered on foundational elements: building capable teams, expanding spend under management and ensuring compliance, fostering strategic supplier relationships, and strategically leveraging technology. The 2007 research shifted towards accountability, emphasizing the need for CPOs to manage performance rigorously and articulate their value in clear financial terms, and advocating for a stronger partnership with finance. By 2008, the narrative had gained momentum, proclaiming that the CPO is “rising” to meet new challenges and increased expectations, underscoring the growing visibility and strategic importance of the function. These early reports laid the groundwork by identifying the fundamental pillars upon which a strategic procurement organization would be built.
The Great Recession that extended into 2009 served as a critical inflection point, forcing procurement into the spotlight as a key lever for cost containment and bottom-line impact. The CPO’s agenda became inextricably linked to the CEO’s, with procurement’s ability to navigate crisis solidifying its strategic position within the enterprise. Subsequent reports explored CPO relationships, notably the dynamic between the CFO and the CPO, with a growing recognition of the CPO’s leadership potential extending beyond the procurement domain. The focus on measuring and demonstrating value intensified, with the 2012 report emphasizing the need for robust performance metrics to drive prioritization and communicate impact. The mid-decade reports, from 2014 to 2016, highlighted the increasing convergence of responsibilities under the CPO, demanding greater agility and utility. The rise of technology as a critical enabler became a central theme, culminating in the 2017 report’s direct address of the need for CPOs to fully embrace digital tools to enhance agility and avoid obsolescence. The emergence of “The Age of Intelligence” in 2018 underscored the potential of data in driving smarter procurement decisions. The drive for continuous improvement and “#ValueExpansion” defined the 2019 report, recognizing the need to instill their organizations with innovative tools and strategies to unlock new sources of value.
The unprecedented global disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and beyond cast a long shadow over the procurement landscape, as documented in the 2021 and 2022 reports. These years highlighted procurement’s crucial role in navigating supply chain chaos, ensuring business continuity, and building resilience. The pandemic served as a stark reminder of the fundamental reliance on global supply chains and the imperative for proactive risk management. The focus on digital transformation and data utilization intensified as organizations sought to gain greater visibility and control over their extended enterprises. “CPO Rising 2023” captured a profession facing critical decisions regarding the restructuring of global supply chains and the acceleration of digital transformation in the wake of these disruptions. The enduring narrative of the CPO Rising series reveals a profession that has consistently adapted and evolved, demonstrating its strategic importance and its capacity to navigate periods of profound uncertainty. In 2025, this capacity will be tested once again.
