Procurement transformation 2025: Why invest in procuretech and how to make the case – Prewave

In readiness for our Q1 2025 theme of Procurement Transformation, which will include how to even start your digital journey, how to make the case for it, how to shape your digital roadmap and how to survive it, we have received input from some solution providers on their own customers’ journeys.

Maja Tepeh, Senior Brand Manager at supply chain risk management solution Prewave, shares what their customers are looking for from their digital procurement investment.

What customers prioritize when investing in procuretech

At Prewave, we find that our customers adopt a structured approach to their ESG and sustainability obligations, which is why it’s important to provide procuretech solutions that provide a clear, data-driven overview on environmental, social and governance issues.

On an environmental level, progress toward targets needs to be measurable: not just at the customer’s company, but across their entire supply chain. From the measurement of greenhouse gas reductions (Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions) to the percentage of procurement spend directed toward suppliers using renewable energy, the ability of our software to visualize quantitative data efficiently is central to buying decisions.

Likewise on a social and governance level, measurable benefits are key to software selection. The role of procuretech in this sphere is to provide a clear ROI for sustainable practices – both in revenue growth and cost saving. On the growth side, selecting sustainable suppliers helps companies improve retention among their customer base. However, the cost avoidance from mitigating ESG-related supply chain risks, such as regulatory fines or disruptions, is equally important.

How customers justify procuretech investment to stakeholders

Prewave is a supply chain risk management solution that provides different benefits to different stakeholders: it’s why we adapt our selling points depending on the specific needs of the stakeholders involved. As the decision to adopt Prewave requires buy-in from various departments across large multinational organizations, it’s important to equip our customer contacts with the right information to convince their colleagues, managers and teams.

For example, finance teams are mostly conscious of ROI, TCO reductions and cost savings metrics, while risk and compliance teams want to see data that demonstrates improved compliance rates and reduced risk exposure. On the other hand, ESG Committees are more interested in carbon footprint reductions, supplier diversity stats and alignment with corporate sustainability goals. Procurement teams are generally more interested in how the software is used. They measure success through time savings, process efficiency and increased spend-under management.

In our discussions with executives and board members, we consider the value of Prewave on a company-wide level: holistic ROI, risk mitigation, brand reputation enhancement and shareholder value.

Their key challenges in transitioning to procuretech

We could summarise this in three words: resistance to change.

From a setup and user-adoption side, it can be extremely daunting for customers to make changes to legacy supply chain management and procurement systems, especially if they’re outdated or heavily modified. It’s why integration and customization are at the core of our approach: to get the full value from Prewave, it has to be usable. We work intensively with our customers to provide the maximum value on a case-by-case basis.

In parallel to the complexity of modern supply chains is the challenge of data quality and availability, which has a significant effect on the value that can be extracted from any risk monitoring system. This is especially important when it comes to customers entering their own supplier information into Prewave. Although our AI and existing network can fill in the gaps in many cases, supplier resistance also needs to be taken into account.

Industry trends and regulatory shifts driving urgency for procuretech investment in 2025

On a macro level, digital transformation and technological advancements impact all industries. In procurement, the infinite nature of deep supply chain mapping – from raw material to end product – is a practically textbook use case for AI.

The continued emphasis on sustainability and ESG compliance has a huge influence on the need for procuretech. Much of this is enforced through new regulation, especially in the EU, where the CSDDD and CSRD will have a growing impact over 2025 and the coming years. The EU Deforestation Regulation and the EU Batteries Regulation will also put more pressure on procurement at specific companies.

With these legislations being transposed into national laws as we head into 2025, the need to invest in procuretech that will enable efficient compliance – but also ensure supply chain resilience – will only grow beyond that.

Many thanks to Prewave for sharing this insight with us.

Members can read our in-depth analysis of its solution here.

As always, reach out to discover how Spend Matters can help with your procuretech ambitions for next year.

Consult TechMatch – our tech selection tool that helps procurement and finance technology buyers quickly explore the market and identify best-fit solutions.