Founders' Circle - USA - February 2025

Recap

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In late February 2025, the Procuretech Founders’ Circle, hosted by ProcureTech and Kearney, brought together corporate procurement leaders, founders and CEOs from digital procurement solutions, and investors, for two groundbreaking events in San Francisco and New York.

These gatherings provided a unique, unparalleled opportunity for industry leaders to discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the rapidly evolving world of digital procurement.

💡 Key Themes and Discussions

🦾 AI and Agentic Workflows

One of the most prominent topics at the events was the role of AI, and more specifically, agentic workflows in corporate procurement. Participants explored the potential of AI to transform various aspects of the procurement ecosystem, from sourcing to contract management, and everything in between. The discussions highlighted the importance of developing “accurate” agents, and the critical enablers required to scale AI implementation at speed.

Takeaways included the need for having a robust data strategy in place before implementing GenAI solutions, the importance of building AI agents that can recognise limitations and seek human intervention when required, as well as the potential for AI to augment human capabilities rather than replace them entirely.  

📈 Data Management and Process Efficiency

Session facilitators and attendees emphasised the critical role of data management in driving procurement excellence, with the discussion centred around integration and data provenance, issues surrounding governance, quality, and access, and striking the right balance between data ‘overload’ and intelligence.

Digitalisation of processes was also discussed with a focus on process efficiency extending to areas including supplier onboarding, purchase order processing, and end-to-end simplicity in financial planning and analysis (FP&A).

💵 Buy vs. Build Debate

The debate surrounding ‘buy vs. build’ continues to evolve, with participants exploring the positive and negative aspects of each approach, while others advocate for a hybrid ‘co-create’ model. Regardless of the approach being selected, there was consensus on the need for establishing best practices, learning from the experiences of peers, ensuring the ability to iterate on solutions, and gaining clarity on ‘what good looks like’ for digital procurement solutions.

⚙️ User Experience and Adoption

To drive adoption of procurement technologies, attendees agreed that user experience and design are critical, with many noting the crucial aspect of investing in user experience, increasing adoption rates for simple and intuitive solutions, and the opportunity to build trust in AI-powered solutions with clear UI/UX.

🌱 Sustainability and Risk Management

Recent supply shocks, whether in the form of tariffs or natural disasters, have emphasised the importance of sustainability and proactive risk management in procurement. Leaders discussed opportunities in navigating global instability through supply chain risk management, and the need to chart new paths given trade and tariff challenges.

🧠 Inspirational Insights

Dan Cohen from Google X delivered a thought-provoking and inspirational keynote at the San Francisco event, setting the tone for innovative thinking and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in procurement technology.

One founder, in reflecting on their experience during the programme, shared two key takeaways:

1. AI agents don’t need to be perfect; they just need to know when they’re not. The ability to handle 80% of a task while intelligently flagging the remaining 20% for human review is invaluable.

2. AI won’t replace the human factor; it makes great UX more crucial than ever. The easier it is to use AI-powered tools, the more people will trust and adopt them.

🔮 The Path Forward

Hosted each quarter, the Procuretech Founders’ Circle events continue to underscore the rapid pace of innovation in digital procurement technology. As Ward Karson, Co-Founder of Raindrop Systems noted,

The Procuretech Founders’ Circle delivered an outstanding series of presentations, leading to open and challenging discussions with a focus on AI-powered solutions, including the impact and benefits for society, businesses, and software solutions alike.

Erwann Couesbot, Co-Founder & CEO of FlipThrough shared that,

Procuretech (Founders’ Circle) is the place to be if you want to connect with top innovators in the space. It’s where innovators share data and stories on improving customer experiences and collaborate to make our technology more valuable and address real problems.

To succeed in this evolving landscape, procurement leaders and technology providers must:

  1. Invest in teams and leverage tools to remain agile
  2. Foster partnerships that rapidly increase capabilities
  3. Prioritise customer success through intuitive UI/UX
  4. Build solutions based on strong engineering principles  
  5. Embrace AI while maintaining a human-centric approach

Serving as a catalyst for meaningful discussions and collaborations that will shape the future of digital procurement, the San Francisco and New York events were an inspiring and thought-provoking platform to kick off 2025. Bringing together diverse perspectives from corporate executives, founders, and industry experts, these gatherings build the foundation for continued innovation and growth across the sector, creating meaningful connections for collaboration and knowledge share.

As the industry continues to move forward at speed, it is clear that the successful integration of AI, data management, and user-centric design will be crucial in creating procurement solutions that not only streamline processes but also drive strategic value for organisations around the world.

🚀 If you would like to attend the next Procuretech Founders’ Circle, taking place Wednesday, April 2nd in London, register your interest here.