SAP: Five Trends in Spend Management Shaping 2025

Having undergone transformative change in 2024, spend management functions are streamlining financial processes and driving down costs by embracing advanced technologies. 

Automation, artificial intelligence and data-driven insights are all reshaping how organisations manage expenses, budgets and procurement.

Amid economic uncertainties and evolving regulatory demands, companies are prioritising solutions that enhance visibility, ensure compliance and promote strategic decision-making. 

Discover five trends in spend management shaping 2025 according to SAP. 

AI-Powered Procurement

With 72% of procurement leaders prioritising the integration of Gen AI into their strategies (Gartner), the industry is utilising AI for market intelligence automated data entry and processing and predictive analytics. 

Etosha Thurman, Chief Marketing Officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP says: “In 2025, AI and cloud-based solutions will position procurement at the heart of data-driven decision-making, enabling real-time insights and freeing teams to focus on high-impact initiatives. 

“The future belongs to procurement professionals who blend strategic thinking with relationship management and a combination of functional and technological expertise. These skills will be crucial in fostering cross-functional collaboration and advancing corporate goals, from supply assurance to compliance to sustainability. In the digital age, spend management expertise extends to not just supporting, but also steering the business.”

Streamlining processes

While not a new trend, streamlining procurement processes through digitalisation and automation has become a significant focus for organisations to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. 

With 83% of CPOs globally prioritising the digitalisation of their procurement function, Manoj Swaminathan, President and Chief Product Officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP says: “The technology landscape is rapidly evolving, and organisations are grappling with a heterogeneous mix of solutions.

"Many companies now employ multiple systems to meet their end-to-end business needs, leading to siloed processes and confused employees. Procurement, in particular, often suffers from fragmented systems handling everything from purchase requests to supplier onboarding, creating inefficiencies and frustration.

“To address this challenge, we’re seeing a shift toward process orchestration – a centralised approach that connects disparate systems, streamlining procurement inquiries and status updates.”

A new generation of leaders

Evolving to meet the demands of a dynamic business environment, the next generation of procurement leaders are technologically proficient, strategic, collaborative, agile, adaptable and sustainable. 

Jeff Collier, chief revenue officer for Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP says: “In 2025, a shift will occur in the procurement landscape as a wave of fresh faces step into the CPO role. AI-driven procurement strategies, ever-evolving requirements and changing demographics have created the perfect storm for new leaders to emerge. 

“As the industry stands on the precipice of transformation, organisations must prioritise nurturing existing talent, upskilling their workforce and attracting bright young professionals to the procurement function. 

“The stage is set for junior procurement leaders, who have proven their mettle during the challenging COVID-19 years, to rise to the occasion, particularly those who can showcase tangible achievements in sustainability, AI integration or risk management. Brace yourselves for a year marked by new names, fresh perspectives and a reshaped procurement industry in 2025.”

AI Across Business Networks

Significantly transforming business networks, AI is enhancing efficiency, collaboration and decision-making to optimise operations and drive innovation. 

Val Blatt, Chief Revenue Officer for SAP Business Network says: “In the near term, AI is already making waves by optimising process efficiency and information sharing within and across companies in a supply chain. 

“As we move into 2025 and beyond, we’ll see AI do more to synthesise intelligence and efficiency across areas like risk, demand and inventory planning, as well as manufacturing and delivery. This evolution becomes even more relevant because no business does business alone, and AI can synthesise and be predictive across company boundaries. 

“We’ll see AI decision support evolve into decision-making – and, ultimately, automated process execution. These advancements will occur as the need for AI to sense and predict situations with proposed planning recommendations grows, spanning across related functional areas and processes that involve trading partners in a supply chain.”

Travel and expense management

Having already undergone significant transformation driven by technological advancements and evolving business needs, innovative solutions are being adopted in travel and expense management to enhance efficiency, ensure compliance and provide a seamless experience for employees.

Christopher Juneau, SVP and head of SAP Concur Product Marketing, Intelligent Spend and Business Network Marketing & Solutions says: “As leaders strive to position their company for growth in 2025, they will still attempt to maintain employee spending at 2024 levels. Inflation drove higher spending beginning in 2023, resulting in fewer trips in 2024. As inflation slows, many leaders are likely to expect that their T&E budget – even if flat year over year – will go further in 2025.

“Investments in technology innovation and security infrastructure will be top priorities. The risks associated with security and privacy incidents will only continue to grow, which means companies are looking for technologies that deliver greater value to customers with lower risk. It is really a balancing act to move fast without disregarding the very important aspects of security and privacy when architecting solutions – internally and for customers.”

The landscape of spend management is rapidly evolving as organisations embrace advanced technologies and innovative strategies. 

From AI-driven procurement and process automation to the rise of a new generation of leaders focused on sustainability and strategic decision-making, businesses are adapting to meet the challenges of a dynamic environment. 

As spend management continues to transform, the integration of AI across business networks is clear. Ultimately, these advancements position organisations to better manage financial processes, enhance collaboration and drive long-term success.

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