Methodology
In Q2 2025, WBR Insights conducted a targeted survey of 100 senior procurement professionals across Europe. Respondents included Chief Procurement Officers, Heads of Indirect Procurement, Global Sourcing Directors, and other senior decision-makers representing industries such as automotive, aerospace and defence, chemicals, FMCG, financial services, oil and gas, pharma, and telecoms.
The research was conducted via in-depth telephone interviews to ensure thoughtful, high-quality responses.
All participants were assured anonymity to encourage candid and unbiased insight.
The findings in this report reflect the evolving priorities, challenges, and strategies shaping the procurement function today. They are enriched with expert commentary from procurement leaders and will be explored further at the upcoming ProcureCon Europe 2025 event. Learn more about the event by downloading the agenda here.
What best describes your job title?
Head of Procurement
Head of Indirect Procurement
Global Head of Sourcing
Category manager Facilities/Category Lead/Category Director/Category Manager Travel/Category manager MRO
Direct Procurement Director
Procurement Operations Director
Chief Procurement Officer
Purchasing/Procurement Excellence Director
Group CPO / Group Chief Procurement Officer
Purchasing/Procurement Operations Manager
Indirect Procurement Director
VP Raw Materials
What industry do you work in?
Automotive
Aerospace and Defence
Chemicals
Financial Services
FMCG
Oil and Gas
Retail
Pharmaceuticals
Tech/Electronics
Telecoms
Where is your organisation based?
Hover on the icons for more info
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Germany
France
Belgium
Switzerland
Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden)
"Chief Procurement Officers and wider procurement teams face significant challenges as we see in this report, such as generating more savings with fewer resources, unmanaged spend, market cost dynamics, the need to integrate M&A, high cost of labor, seasonality, and geopolitical events such as tariffs. AI agents can drive savings at a scale and speed that couldn’t be achieved by humans alone. The agents are proven to autonomously generate 2-10% savings on unmanaged and under-managed spend, which for a global enterprise is significant."
Rinus Strydon, CRO, Pactum
