Navigating the vendor landscape and ecosystem integration

Continuing our guide to Procurement Transformation, we take a look at the big question you must answer when selecting a procurement tech solution.

As discussed in a previous article, selecting the right tech solution depends on a number of factors:

Without conducting an in-depth analysis of every need within your cross-functional team, your organization is primed for pitfalls. Once issues have been brought to light, you have the opportunity to make an action plan that suits each member’s needs. Many identified needs will likely surround current process bottlenecks, which tech solutions can often support. Determining which solution is the most ideal match for your organization’s needs is a large discussion, as it can make a significant impact on your day-to-day operations and long-term capabilities.

To find the right match, you should start with some preliminary questions to get the ball rolling: 

1. Are you a small to medium enterprise (SME), mid or large organization?
2. What is your budget?
3. Will the new solution need to integrate with any of your current tools or platforms?
4. What coverage area would you like your solution to support? 

And now, the big question: 

Do you go with a best-of-breed (BoB) or full-suite solution? 

Best-of-breed vs. full-suite solutions

The short answer is that BoB solutions excel at precision and specialization and suites offer breadth and integration. The longer answer is that because each has its own strengths, the right choice will depend on the organization’s specific needs, existing systems and long-term strategy.

BoB solutions are specialized tools that focus on doing one or a few things exceptionally well, such as contract lifecycle management, spend analytics or sourcing. These solutions are often designed with a clear target market in mind, such as SMEs or specific regional markets. For organizations with very particular requirements or operating in niche environments, BoB platforms can offer a more tailored, agile and cost-effective approach. They allow companies to pick and choose modules that match their needs. The depth and focus offered by BoBs distinguishes them from suites by bringing more content, as they are specialists in the area they serve. This can be particularly beneficial for organizations unprepared to train everyone to use a massive database, technology or platform and thus avoid unnecessary complexity or functionality. 

While a widely held belief is that BoB solutions are difficult to integrate with platforms or solutions, many have partnerships and can integrate quite seamlessly with other solutions or platforms. Some even integrate better with a suite’s module than another module of that same suite.

The difficulty with selecting a BoB solution, however, is scalability. In the long run, if you want to break into other modules, it may require finding another BoB or switching to a full suite (depending on how and what kind of coverage you are looking for). The real driver of selecting a BoB is depth or specialization.

Full-suite solutions, on the other hand, offer a more comprehensive, end-to-end procurement ecosystem. These platforms typically provide a single platform of integrated modules that cover the entire source-to-pay (S2P) process, such as sourcing, supplier management and analytics. The trade-off is that some individual features may not be as deep or specialized as those found in BoB solutions. 

Full-suite solutions are often geared toward large enterprises with complex procurement processes and global operations, but there are many suites perfectly situated and targeted to support SMEs and mid-sized businesses as well. A key factor in choosing a suite is the long-term opportunity to expand into other modules without having to put in extensive research and effort into finding another solution and learning its interface. At the same time, if an organization decides to switch to a different solution, the transfer process can be difficult.

Full-suite platforms typically provide integrated modules across the procurement cycle. The idea is that centralized data and consistent UX/UI reduce the friction that comes with managing multiple systems. However, in reality, they are sometimes not as seamlessly integrated as one may think, as a suite is an amalgamation of multiple solutions served on a thanksgiving platter trying to pass itself off as a cohesive meal. 

It is important to note that while integration is incredibly important, especially within procurement departments, most users in cross-functional teams will only use one tool. For example, legal will only use the contract-related solution. So, even if the company is using a BoB, they will see that the UI/UX is very different from the sourcing solution. Suppliers will also likely work with a different aspect of a platform, making it mostly important for management teams to be familiar with a solution’s different aspects. In cases where an organization desires a unified approach, implementing an intake and orchestration solution can provide a consistent UX to users, as it is a solution focused on interoperability and collaboration within a workspace. 

Comparison table: 

Feature/Factor	Best-of-breed	Full suite
Focus	Deep specialization in specific functions	Broad, integrated functionality across the end-to-end procurement ecosystem
Integration effort	May require effort but many integrate well with other platforms, even suites	Native integration across modules but sometimes more ‘stitched together’ than truly seamless
Depth of features	Deep and tailored in specific areas	Broad coverage; sometimes less depth
Scalability	Can be limited to specific needs/markets; adding new capabilities may require more solutions	Scalable for enterprise-wide operations
Ease of implementation	Deploys on a smaller scale and may need less training across an organization	May require longer implementation cycles and will require broader organizational buy-in and training
User experience (UI/UX)	Tailored and often optimized for the target user group	Consistent across modules (in theory) but may be inconsistent due to product acquisitions or other outlying factors.
Ideal for	SMEs or organizations with niche, highly specialized needs	Enterprises or organizations seeking streamlined operations across departments
Use cases	A company that needs only advanced in a specific area, e.g., spend analytics	A multinational enterprise that needs S2P support

How to build a flexible, scalable tech stack

With needs identified, organizations can begin curating an ideal tech stack that aligns with current and long-term goals. A flexible, scalable stack both supports the procurement function and facilitates alignment with finance, legal, IT and other cross-functional teams. The key is to find harmony between comprehensive coverage and specialized functionality, without compromising on integration and usability. 

There is no one-size-fits-all model. In many cases, organizations will opt for a hybrid approach, blending the breadth of full-suite platforms with the precision of BoB tools:

• A full-suite solution may handle sourcing, requisitioning, invoicing and supplier onboarding in a unified experience.
  
• That same organization, however, might bring in a BoB contract management tool to meet stricter legal workflow needs or a specialized supplier risk platform to meet ESG goals.

This approach allows organizations to stay agile — adopting new capabilities as business needs evolve — without waiting for suite vendors to catch up.

When deploying multiple solutions, integration becomes critical. Procurement teams should evaluate:

• Native integrations (out-of-the-box connections to ERP, CLM or finance systems)
  
• API capabilities (for custom or flexible data exchange)
  
• Middleware options (like integration platforms-as-a-service or iPaaS tools)
  

Lack of interoperability can lead to siloed data, duplicated work,and poor user adoption, especially across teams. A scalable stack should allow for real-time data sharing and workflow continuity between systems. To improve interoperability from an existing tech stack, organizations should consider implementing an intake and orchestration tool, specifically designed to layer on top of your current solutions and create a seamless operating process. 

Your tech stack should not only meet today’s needs. It should be able to grow with your organization. Prioritize vendors that have a commitment to collaborate with you and will add functionalities and innovate alongside you as procurement technology and research develops. 

For example, a mid-sized company may not initially require advanced AI-driven spend analytics or supplier risk scoring, but selecting vendors that offer those capabilities ensures a smoother path to future sophistication.

As your organization seeks out procurement solutions amongst an evolving procurement landscape, ensure your company is fortified to adapt to change, respond to market dynamics and improve procurement performance.

With TechMatch, users can find which solutions integrate together and which solutions have capabilities that align with their specific needs.