Study report · DACH · Edition 1

AI in Procurement 2026

Where procurement departments really stand and what the best do differently.

Benchmarks, pain points and a roadmap from 53 in-depth interviews with heads of procurement, from SMEs to large corporations.

32 pages · free

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A robust AI benchmark for procurement in the DACH region

53

heads of procurement interviewed in depth

CHF 18.4bn

represented procurement spend

1,681

represented buyers

70.3

average AI Readiness Score

Executive Summary

Five findings you should know

“The score shows where an organisation stands; the conversations show why.”

72%

are stuck in the developing stage

Solid processes and a clear strategy are in place, but concrete AI implementation is missing.

81%

spend at least 60% of their time on routine

Operational work displaces category strategy, negotiation preparation and supplier development.

58%

primarily want workload relief

Time saved and better data matter far more than a pure savings case.

57%

struggle with manual processes

PDF-to-SAP ping-pong and media breaks are the most common pain point in the interviews.

16

concrete AI agents in the portfolio

Prioritised by time saved and implementation complexity, from quick wins to transformation.

What you will receive in the report

  1. 01Participant field and study design
  2. 02AI Readiness benchmark derived from five dimensions
  3. 03Top pain points with anonymised quotes
  4. 04Use case portfolio with 16 AI agents
  5. 05Maturity model and a concrete roadmap
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Methodology

Collected from April to July 2026 in 53 structured in-depth interviews. 15 questions across five dimensions, quantitative scores and 51 qualitatively coded conversations. All findings are aggregated and anonymised.

View the continuously updated study results →