Supply Chain Asia Forum 2025: Key takeaways

Key takeaways from Supply Chain Asia Procurement Forum 2025, attended by givvable

🤖 Technology as a Catalyst for Resilience

• AI is already being used to increase efficiencies and data-driven decision-making, from flagging non-compliance or risky terms in contract management and identifying maverick spending, to testing out GenAI to generate procurement reports, RFPs and supplier communications.
• Implementation of AI-enabled tools in procurement requires patience for experimentation and freedom to make mistakes; some companies may allocate (small) budgets to undertake this piloting.
• The rate of adoption of AI in procurement varies across industries and jurisdictions. It can take time for buy-in, and companies have differing capacities for testing and implementation.
  

📈 Redefining Value Creation: Procurement Tells its Story

• Procurement has historically struggled to detach itself from being seen as a tactical, back-office function focused on cost control, rather than creating strategic value.
• Now there is widespread recognition from senior ranks that procurement is imperative for business growth through innovation, sustainability, risk management and value creation, and CPOs are reporting to the Board on this. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu”
• Procurement teams need to improve the way they communicate this value within their companies and to C-suite. Leveraging technology to demonstrate real value creation through data-backed evidence is crucial for this.
  

🌱 Sustainability as a Strategic Priority

• Action and reporting on sustainability are driven by (1) Regulation/compliance (2) Market access and stakeholder requirements (3) Brand reputation.
• Procurement strategies and processes need to be aligned to support ESG and sustainability goals. For example, embedding ESG criteria into supplier screening processes ensures organizations work with partners committed to supporting objectives around emissions reduction, human rights, diversity and governance.
• A significant amount of responsibility for achieving organizational ESG goals lies with procurement as the custodian of supplier relationships and data. Companies need to enable inter-functional data sharing and collaboration to eliminate silos and data duplication.

🔮 Future-Ready Procurement Leaders – Skills for the Next Decade

• New graduates are digital natives, already educated on new technologies and advancements in AI. It is the current cohort of managers and ‘to-be CPOs’ that will need to rapidly upskill on digital adoption to keep pace.
• However, digital fluency and technical skills will not be what sets leaders apart. Strategic thinking, analytical skills and the ability to communicate the strategic value of procurement will drive the success of CPOs.
• When hiring into procurement, managers should consider candidates’ ability to acquire skills and attributes over time and not just those they have today.
  

givvable’s multi-award winning intelligence platform and flexible toolkit supports businesses to automate supplier screening on ESG and effectively engage suppliers.