Procurement teams are under growing strain as tariffs, inflation, and supplier volatility collide with shrinking teams and disconnected systems that slow their ability to respond. In fact, nearly half of procurement executives surveyed say pressure on their function is higher than usual, with 16% calling it the most intense period in the past three years, and one in four admit they’ve loosened supplier risk standards to keep pace, according to ORO Labs’ inaugural 2025 State of Procurement Agility Report.
“Procurement leaders are being asked to move faster while their teams are getting smaller and their systems are holding them back,” says Sudhir Bhojwani, co-founder and CEO of ORO Labs. “Tariffs are forcing rapid supplier turnover, but most large organizations are still running on disconnected tools and IT bottlenecks that make it harder to respond. Adding more technology to the stack hasn’t fixed the problem. What procurement needs is a connected system that harnesses agentic AI to create streamlined and autonomous workflows: one that gives leaders clear visibility, the flexibility to adapt quickly, and the confidence to make the right calls under pressure.”
Key takeaways:
● While 24% of executives surveyed say they’ve tightened risk requirements by adding stricter vetting or compliance checks, 25% say they’ve done the opposite, increasing tolerance for risk by working with suppliers who may have lower credit ratings or limited documentation.
● 86% of procurement executives have either onboarded or offboarded suppliers in direct response to tariffs this year or expect to do so in the next three months. While 16% say they could replace a key supplier in under a week, nearly a third of all executives surveyed still cite the loss of a key supplier as a top concern.
● While 30% of respondents say their procurement teams have increased in size, 38% report shrinking teams, even as 39% of these say their budgets have increased. Rather than investing in people, many organizations are deploying technology to offset the loss of capacity and keep up with growing demands.
● 64% of survey respondents use 10-plus procurement tools, but only 8% say the majority of those tools deliver expected ROI. More than half (57%) need IT support for anything beyond small changes, while just 28% can adjust systems without technical help.
● 85% of procurement executives say they’re piloting or using AI, with nearly three-quarters (73%) already deploying AI agents. Yet, only 49% clearly understand how agentic AI works, and just 39% report providing formal AI training across their teams.
