It’s mid-April in London. Spring might be stubbornly late, the sky is overcast, but the view from Kearney’s central London office can’t be beat. 

The atmosphere is further heightened by the deep discussions and energetic conversations taking place as over 50 digital procurement CEOs and Founders, leading corporates, and B2B investors gathered to discuss the state of digital procurement and what the future holds. 

This marked the first of our 2024 London Procuretech Founders’ Circles, and was held not long after our New York and San Francisco sessions. You can read more about those here.

What happens at a Procuretech Founders’ Circle? 

This invite-only event is an intimate setting for digital procurement leaders to come together and discuss their budding questions, theories and experiences in the dynamic landscape. Lance Younger, Founder & CEO at ProcureTech, along with Kearney Partner Shakil Nathoo led the sessions, drawing upon key topics that continue to shape the way we work. 

State of the Markets 

Lance Younger, together with contributions from Chandar Lal of Mosaic Ventures, dove into current market dynamics for digital procurement solutions. Discussing not just the state of investment after the enormous VC-backed funding rounds we’ve seen in previous years, but also the growing skills gap in enterprises that is preventing them from fully embracing the technological advances that digital procurement solutions offer. 

The assumption is of a slow recovery as even though VCs have the resources to invest, expectations have changed and criteria have hardened. We are seeing a surge in investment in AI-related solutions, but not to the extent that we can talk about a peak...yet. 

Attendees were asked about their top 3 priorities over the next 12 months

Attendees were also asked about their experiences of  current market dynamics

Digital Transformation 

Kearney’s Shakil Nathoo delved into how complexity in digital procurement is an obstacle to digital transformation as end users in procurement functions opt for that which is familiar, highlighting that 84% of digital transformations fail. 

Accelerating the availability of AI tools, as well as investing in good process orchestration, offers us a path forward in overcoming this hurdle and will future-proof procurement technology architecture. 

Shakil Nathoo of Kearney speaking about complexity in digital procurement

Language/Market Fit 

Matt Lerner and Nopadon Wongpakdee, the guest speakers for the session, challenged the attendees to review their own websites and marketing from the perspective of Language/Market fit. Too often, solutions don’t use the right language to tell their prospective customers what they can do for them. Matt and Nopadong ran a crash-course in how to fix this, you can explore their training and solutions here. 

Matt and Nopadon from SYSTM discussing Language/Market fit

Build vs Buy vs Co-create 

Do you buy the best solution for you, or do you build something tailored to your unique needs yourself? What does this mean for financials, resources, and time? Rounding off the presentations of the day, and building on a Build vs Buy discussion prompted by Shakhil, attendees from both the enterprise and solutions provider side explored the needs and reasons for building or buying your own digital solution, with many offering a third way: for an enterprise to co-create a tailored solution together with a solutions provider.

How do I get involved with the next Founders’ Circle? 

Interested in taking part in future Founders’ Circles? Let us know or connect with the team, we’ll be hosting in London and Europe later in the year.