Accelerating procurement transformation

In an age of ubiquitous disruption and economic uncertainty, agility is emerging as a key characteristic for successful procurement functions. Agile procurement processes are essential for streamlining workflows, reducing costs, and enabling organisations to adapt swiftly to changing conditions.

As a result, procurement leaders are increasingly being encouraged to take bold steps toward digital transformation, with an emphasis on building momentum as the foundation for scalable and flexible operations. By prioritising agility and fostering confidence, CPOs can position their functions for sustained success.

With a passion for invention and innovation, Amazon Business is constantly pushing the boundaries of what procurement can do as a function. CPO Strategy sat down with Amazon Business VP Brenda Spoonemore to learn more about her procurement journey, Amazon’s commitment to meeting the challenges posed by an ever-evolving supply chain landscape, and leveraging technology to remain competitive and resilient.  

Hello Brenda, could you quickly introduce yourself and the role that procurement plays within Amazon?  

Brenda Spoonemore: “I am lucky enough to work for the biggest startup in the world. Amazon has obviously been around for a while but what I really love about the culture here — and what’s kept me here for more than 11 years — is how customer-obsessed we are and how teams here are constantly innovating on behalf of customers. That mission of continually raising the bar to deliver the best possible experience for our customers is really inspiring to me, and helps me feel connected and urgent about driving solutions for my customers every single day.” 

What inspired you personally to get involved in the procurement space?

Brenda Spoonemore: “I’m deeply passionate about Amazon’s ability to invent on behalf of customers, and was initially interested in the intellectual and leadership challenge of delivering the best possible procurement experience to businesses of all sizes. That is still true but there’s more: in my second week on the job at Amazon Business, a major hurricane hit the Southeast U.S. Our customers and their employees were heavily impacted, from large nonprofits to state and local governments to local businesses and factories. We started receiving urgent requests for help, including pallets of water, baby formula, flashlights, and other products to support folks who had been impacted by the storm. In that moment, I was so inspired by the Amazon Business team and the sense of mission we all had, and humbled by the trust that our customers were placing in us to meet their needs in a time of great stress. The team here really wants to support our customers every day, whether that’s delivering JanSan products to a factory, laptops and IT supplies to an office, or essential goods to families in a time of need.” 

How are the current economic challenges we’re seeing around the world reshaping procurement priorities for CPOs?

Brenda Spoonemore: “We’ve all experienced several pretty significant cycles of economic disruption over the past few years. When supply chains are challenged, companies realize just how strategic their CPO offices really are. I’ve heard a lot from CPOs about how differently their roles and functions are perceived within the C-suite these days. It’s not just about cutting costs anymore, it’s about building real strategic resilience. Of course, managing expenses is important, but single source cost-cutting can leave your business exposed to even bigger risks. CPOs are driving value for their organizations in a couple of ways. First: supplier diversification. By growing your supplier network, you’ll be ready to adapt and keep things running smoothly no matter what happens.

Second: technology. Digital capabilities are transforming procurement, giving you real-time visibility into your supply chain so you can spot risks and inefficiencies before they turn into bigger problems. With advanced analytics, you can make smarter, faster decisions and by consolidating your procurement data, you boost the value of analytics and GenAI to spot trends in purchasing, flag potential fraud and abuse to increase controllership, and drive corporate strategy around social responsibility- -including purchasing goals for small businesses and climate-friendly products. This all means that that managing costs and driving savings is just step one for CPOs in 2025, now the procurement function itself drives business stability and key strategic goals for each organization.” 

What would you say are the most impactful global procurement trends driving these shifts?

Brenda Spoonemore: “Procurement is changing fast, and technology is leading the way, but it’s not the whole story. Tools like AI, real-time analytics, and predictive modeling are helping CPOs stay competitive, but even the best tech is only as good as the people using it. The skills prioritized for the past 20 years aren’t going to make any of our teams ready for real-time disruption. In fact, what worked 6 months ago isn’t what will work today. It’s no longer just about crunching numbers, it’s about building a highly analytical and action-oriented team who can make fast, strategic decisions, and turn insights into action. And that’s where many procurement organizations are struggling: the skills gap is growing, and companies that thrive will be the ones with agile, innovative teams who can think strategically and act quickly.”

With a growing demand for new skills across the industry, how do CPOs bridge the workforce gap?

Brenda Spoonemore: “Great question. The skills gap is real, but it’s not impossible to overcome. Hiring analytical thinkers is a start, but to truly close the gap, organizations need to re-imagine their approach. There are a couple of key actions to take: First, build teams that can act fast and think bigger. These aren’t just data analysts, they’re decision-makers who know how to turn insights into impactful action. That means investing in a blend of the right talent, reliable data, and advanced tools that enable speed and precision. Second, consolidating your data drives sharper insights and more actionable data.

Accelerating your team’s effectiveness goes beyond just upgrading systems or adding new roles. It’s about fostering a culture that thrives on collaboration, innovation, and decisiveness, and then equipping your teams with the resources to make informed decisions quickly. By investing in your people, processes, and technology, you’ll not only close the skills gap but also position your procurement team to lead with agility and confidence in a rapidly changing world.”

What are the technologies procurement leaders should be prioritizing to remain competitive and resilient?

Brenda Spoonemore: “The most nimble CPOs I’ve talked to — whether just starting their digital transformation or already well into it — are fully committing to end-to-end digital solutions. It’s not just about automating processes; it’s about creating a procurement function that’s more connected, agile, and resilient in the face of constant change. As we talked about earlier, if you haven’t already, now is the time to invest in technologies like advanced analytics, AI-driven spend management, and supplier collaboration systems. These tools don’t just help you react to challenges; they allow you and your team to anticipate disruptions, optimize costs, and deliver greater value across the business. One way to think about it is to focus first on areas where technology can have an immediate impact. For example, solutions that centralize supplier data and purchasing activity can provide much-needed visibility into spend and uncover opportunities for efficiency.

At Amazon Business, we see procurement teams using these tools to make the purchasing process more efficient and to establish deeper, more reliable relationships with suppliers. Our Professional Services team works with organizations to identify their unique challenges, guiding them through their digital transformation journey. Even if you’re managing this process on your own, focusing on tools that unify data and improve procurement workflows can drive meaningful progress.

The second benefit of this data centralization is that you can take advantage of more proactive insights. Amazon Business recently launched the first generation of “spend anomaly” reporting which looks across your organization's purchasing patterns, delivery locations, and other attributes to flag pockets of spend for controllership inspection. This helps drive efficiency by focusing your team’s time in the areas where they can have the biggest impact. Digital transformation is a continuous process, but the value is clear. With the right technologies, organizations can make faster, more informed decisions, strengthen supplier relationships, drive spend controllership, and stay competitive in unpredictable marketplaces.”

What are some ways you’re seeing technology help procurement teams optimize their managed spend?

Brenda Spoonemore: “Technology plays a huge role in optimizing managed spend, but the magic really happens when you focus on two key elements: supplier diversification and data consolidation. When your technology connects all your systems and eliminates data silos spread across spreadsheets or platforms, you gain unmatched clarity about where your money is going. This level of visibility helps your team quickly spot inefficiencies, uncover savings opportunities, and pivot when business priorities change. At the same time, diversifying your supplier base helps you reduce risk and stay more agile. Relying too heavily on just a few vendors can limit your flexibility, especially if there are disruptions or performance issues.

By working with a broader mix of suppliers, you not only mitigate risk but also create the flexibility to adapt your sourcing strategy to meet evolving business goals. Tools that integrate seamlessly with whatever e‑procurement system you already use — like Amazon Business — bring both of these together. They pull in purchasing data from your existing platforms and connect you to a large, vetted supplier network. The result? A single, actionable view of spend and choice, so your team can spend less time wrangling reports and more time driving strategic value.

Also, keep in mind that those data analytics tools and GenAI applications drive more insights when they have more data, so data consolidation helps you get more value out of your analytics. One customer my team has been working with is driving unprecedented consolidation of purchasing across a wide set of internal customers to both provide better purchasing services internally as well as realize significant cost savings and transparent controllership for their spend. It’s a game-changer.” 

What advice do you have for procurement leaders who might feel like they’re stuck in the early stages of change?

Brenda Spoonemore: “A lot of procurement leaders may not feel ready for a major transformation, but you can start small and begin laying the groundwork today. It could be as simple as introducing digital catalogues to guide employees toward preferred suppliers or using an AI tool to analyze spending in one area of your business. These small steps may require upfront effort, but they streamline processes, reduce overhead, and deliver measurable results over time.

More importantly, they build trust and momentum within your organization, and start to train your team to adjust in quicker cycle times. Strategic thinking isn’t about waiting for the perfect moment; it’s about planting seeds today to prepare for tomorrow. The sooner you take that first step, the better positioned your team will be to adapt, grow, and capitalize on future opportunities. Every CPO I’ve spoken to over the past 6 months understands the rate of change has increased; now it’s a matter of doubling down on team effectiveness and technology to deliver organizational results at a pace that is a step ahead of the competition.” 

Originally published in CPOstrategy.