ProcureAbility has published a study on procurement leadership priorities and organisational readiness. The survey points to a widening gap between rising expectations and the resources available to meet them.

The study drew on responses from 160 senior procurement leaders at large enterprises with annual spend ranging from USD $50 million to more than USD $10 billion. Respondents came from 21 industries and represented organisations with global operations.

Its central finding is that procurement teams are being asked to deliver more savings, resilience and strategic input while operating with limits in staffing, data and technology. Sixty-one per cent of respondents said savings expectations had risen from the previous year, while 71% described their teams as moderately or highly capacity-constrained.

That combination appears repeatedly in the survey. More than four in 10 respondents, or 42%, said they were facing both increased expectations and constrained team capacity at the same time.

The report suggests pressure to find savings is not matched by early involvement in spending decisions. Forty-three per cent of respondents identified late procurement engagement as the biggest barrier to delivering value, indicating teams are often brought in after decisions on cost, suppliers and specifications have already been made.

Conrad Snover, chief executive officer of ProcureAbility, said: "Procurement delivers the greatest impact when it is engaged as a strategic partner from the start. Once plans are locked in, many opportunities for value creation have been lost, and even the strongest sourcing cannot recover them."

The findings reflect a broader shift in how procurement teams are positioned within large organisations.

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