Over Half of Procurement Teams Are Automating—Keelvar’s 2025 Report Shows Why Others Risk Falling Behind

52% of procurement teams have already implemented automation, gaining speed and efficiency while their peers face mounting competitive pressure

CORK, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Keelvar, a global leader in intelligent sourcing solutions, has unveiled its annual CPO survey report, "Sourcing in 2025: AI & Automation Take Center Stage," shedding light on how procurement teams are leveraging automation to secure a competitive edge. The report highlights that 52% of procurement teams have already adopted automation technologies, significantly improving speed, efficiency, and responsiveness, while those yet to act face growing challenges to remain competitive.

The report reveals that 78% of procurement leaders believe the market has become equally or more unpredictable compared to last year. While driving savings remains a top priority, sourcing teams are grappling with internal cost pressures and external challenges like inflation. The findings underscore that AI and automation are no longer optional—they are now essential tools for navigating this complexity and achieving progress.

“The race has begun, and early adopters of automation are already pulling ahead,” said Alan Holland, founder and CEO of Keelvar.

“In 2024, procurement leaders were asking, ‘Is automation feasible?’ By 2025, the focus must shift to, ‘How can we implement it at scale?’ The ability to automate effectively will be the defining success factor for organizations in the years ahead,” he added.

Keelvar’s report highlights the advantages realized by procurement teams adopting automation:

• 60% reduced time spent on repetitive tasks.
• 56% decreased risk of errors.
• 40% improved responsiveness to market changes.
• 35% freed up resources for strategic initiatives.

The findings also show that procurement leaders see ProcureTech vendors playing a critical role in enabling automation adoption, with 60% identifying budget constraints as the primary barrier. Vendors must provide strong ROI cases to secure buy-in from CFOs and unlock automation’s full potential.

About the Report

Keelvar’s Voices of Sourcing 2025 report combines insights from global procurement leaders across various industries. It explores the challenges, opportunities, and strategic priorities that will shape the future of sourcing. For more information and to download the full report, visit Keelvar’s website.

About Keelvar

Keelvar is the only eSourcing tool that offers optimization (i.e. analytics that a human brain couldn’t do) and automation (i.e. the ability to scale best practices by building them into repeatable processes), in one single, easy to use software.

We empower procurement teams to make the best sourcing decisions and get savings and efficiency gains with a tool that their entire organization can use, built to drive instant results then grow with them.