Procurement teams are being stretched thin as tariffs, inflation, and supply disruptions collide with shrinking headcounts and fragmented tools. A new ORO Labs survey finds nearly half of executives say the pressure is unusually high, with some loosening risk standards just to keep pace. The findings point to a widening gap between investment in digital tools and the operational resilience those tools are meant to deliver.
Risk Standards Fray Under Tariff Shocks
The report shows how tariff-driven supplier turnover is forcing faster decisions with thinner guardrails. Almost one in four executives admitted to relaxing supplier vetting, working with partners who carry lower credit scores or incomplete documentation. While 24% are moving the other way, tightening compliance checks, the overall trend reflects uneven approaches to risk.
86% of executives say they have already onboarded or offboarded suppliers in direct response to tariffs this year or expect to do so within three months. Yet despite this scramble, resilience remains fragile. Just 16% of respondents said they could replace a key supplier in under a week, while nearly one-third still view the loss of a critical supplier as a top concern.
Technology Proliferation Without Productivity
Teams themselves are under pressure. While 30% report growth, 38% are shrinking, even as budgets rise. Much of that investment is going into technology rather than headcount. The result is tool sprawl without productivity: 64% of respondents said they use more than 10 procurement tools, but only 8% felt those tools consistently delivered ROI.
More than half of executives still depend on IT support for even small system changes, slowing responsiveness in high-stakes environments. AI adoption is advancing quickly, 85% are piloting or using AI, and 73% have deployed AI agents, but comprehension is shallow. Just 49% of leaders say they fully understand how agentic AI works, and only 39% report formal AI training for their teams. This suggests capability gaps could undermine the very technologies meant to offset shrinking teams.
Beyond Efficiency: Procurement’s Real Test
The next phase of procurement’s evolution may depend less on how many tools are deployed and more on whether organizations can simplify the architecture around them. Efficiency gains will matter, but long-term resilience will come from fewer, better-connected platforms where AI is not just present but trusted. That shift could determine whether procurement emerges from today’s pressure cycle stronger, or more brittle than before.
