Q1 2025 research roundup: A deep dive into procurement tech market movements; updated coverage of 12 vendors

Throughout the year our analyst team provides vendor-specific profiles and tech solution analyses as part of Spend Matters Insider content. Our coverage also explores the latest thought leadership topics about procurement and supply, the technology that serves it and comparative analyses based on demos and the scoring of 500+ RFI requirements across 12 source-to-pay (S2P) categories that create our Vendor Ranking data. In this roundup of Q1, we review the Vendor Analyses and other Insider content that the team produced in the previous quarter. We then look ahead to what members can expect in the coming months.

Each article is followed by a pair of parentheses containing information about the membership level needed to read that piece. If there is no information, the article is free to read. More information about the differences in membership levels can be found on the Spend Matters Insider page.

Exploring the world of procurement tech in Q1

Spend Matters Insider coverage in Q1 included more than just our staple Vendor Analyses. Our team keeps tabs on the latest news in the procurement world and explores ideas that will inform its future. A collection of these quick takes, conference insights and solution comparisons is below.

Procurement survival guide

To better navigate the stages of digitally transforming your Procurement processes, Spend Matters created a guide packed with clear, actionable and phased advice for a successful, digitally fueled transformation. The guide is an invaluable tool for anyone thinking about starting or actively undergoing a digitally-enabled procurement transformation. All of the phases are peppered with real-world case studies from the people who have been in your shoes; so you don’t have to step into the same holes they’ve already avoided!

Making change less scary for Procurement professionals (Basic)

What digital transformation is and means for Procurement

Digital success – What makes Procurement’s challenge so different?

There is change and there is change (Basic)

Best practices and considerations for the rollout of procurement technology (Basic)

Building a Digital Roadmap for procurement technology transformation (Part 1) — The foundations (Basic)

Building a Digital Roadmap for procurement technology transformation (Part 2) — Designing the roadmap (Basic)

Stakeholder management in procurement digital transformation: Why, what, how?

Interviews

Expanding the influence and impact of Procurement — a case study featuring Ron Schnur at Utz

As many procurement professionals have discovered, transforming your processes to meet today’s challenges in an effective manner is not as simple as writing a new mission statement. The success of the Procurement team at Utz Brands, Inc., a snack food company, came from how they intentionally targeted key strategic initiatives under Senior Vice President and Head of Procurement Ron Schnur’s leadership. Learn how he succeeded.

Getting to grips with tariffs, trade and compliance with Thomson Reuters

Following our extensive tariff coverage in late Q4, Xavier Olivera, Spend Matters senior analyst for downstream procurement, spoke with Ray Grove, Thomson Reuters’ SVP global head of product, about the current trade and tariffs situation in the context of procurement. Learn about embedding intelligence into your P2p and e-invoicing processes and creating a single source of compliance.

From DeepSeek to Deep Research and beyond

DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company that released its open source DeepSeek V3 LLM  at the end of 2024, recently released its similarly open sourced reasoning-based LLMs DeepSeek-R1-Zero and DeepSeek-R1. Pierre Mitchell, Spend Matters chief research officer and MD, examined DeepSeek and what this development means for Procurement. (Basic)

Intake and orchestration

The state of the intake and orchestration market

The addition of intake and orchestration to SolutionMap has given the Spend Matters Analyst Team plenty of time to get to grips with the vendor market. Nikhil Gaur, Director of Strategic Projects and Research Analyst, highlights some key themes identified during the SolutionMap process at the market-level to help outline the maturity of this market. (IO)

Intake and orchestration market growth headwinds and tailwinds

When Spend Matters released the Spring 2025 SolutionMap, we introduced the Intake and Orchestration map. While gathering the data necessary for the rankings, Nikhil Gaur, Spend Matters Director of Strategic Projects and Research Analyst, has developed a picture of the market’s head- and tailwinds. (IO)

Understanding AWS Marketplace in the context of procurement solutions

Many are more familiar with Amazon Business, a platform for sourcing indirect physical goods. However, when it comes to procuring third-party software, data and professional services, AWS Marketplace is the dedicated platform designed to support businesses in building and running their digital infrastructure. Read Lead Analyst of Downstream Procurement Xavier Olivera’s quick breakdown of the solution.

Vendors in focus in Q1

In Q1, Spend Matters published 12 Vendor Analyses as part of our Insider coverage.

BeNeering addresses fragmented processes, low user adoption and ERP integration complexities with a unified solution for catalog management, requisitioning, ordering and receiving. (ePro)

Circulor can track and monitor the flow of goods through supply chains, enabling companies to demonstrate responsible sourcing, prove ESG performance, support climate neutrality objectives and ensure compliance with regulations. (Core)

EcoVadis is a leading vendor in the ESG technology market that provides comprehensive sustainability ratings and insights. (CO2; Core; Risk; SXM; SRM)

Forestreet supports instant supplier discovery with a focus on market and category-based discovery to identify key capabilities and the suppliers able to deliver them. (Sourcing; SXM)

Hivebuy is an intuitive, easy-to-deploy platform that helps mid-sized companies manage indirect spending that enables teams to implement efficient P2P processes. (P2P)

Intellyse combines services and software development with standardized solutions for savings and contract negotiations to tailor savings and negotiation opportunities  to each buyer. (AP/I2P; CLM)

One Click LCA helps users understand the environmental impact of a product, infrastructure or entire organization. (CO2)

Precoro enables businesses to move away from manual, fragmented procurement methods by offering a centralized, automated solution that enhances spend visibility and operational efficiency. (P2P)

RapidRatings offers a financial risk assessment solution that predicts supplier economic viability with a high accuracy rate for bankruptcy forecasts and provides insights and real-time financial data for supply chain decision making. (SXM; SRM)

Samification promises to normalize 100% of suppliers at an affordable price point. (Core)

Spendkey provides a still fairly young turnkey solution with solid data management.  It is a good starting point for organizations that lack spend analysis. (Analytics)

Unimarket offers an integrated P2P platform with strong marketplace capabilities, particularly suited for higher education and healthcare, where curated supplier management and compliance are critical. (P2P)

Coming up in Q2

Looking beyond Q1 and into Q2, Insider members can expect the steady stream of Vendor Analyses to continue.

Members can also expect an expansion of our research into the alignment between the CFO and CPO to develop a guide. This guide will be designed to be a practical resource, offering targeted insights on each critical phase of the finance-procurement alignment journey. It will provide expert-driven materials, including real-world case studies and briefing papers, actionable strategies, and more, to help you navigate specific challenges — whether you’re identifying misalignments, prioritizing initiatives or integrating technology for seamless collaboration.