Webinar Recording: Kickoff 2026 – What Topics Will Define Procurement This Year?

2026 marks a turning point for industrial procurement. Global trade structures are changing permanently, geopolitical interventions are becoming the new normal, and technological developments are noticeably accelerating decision cycles. Procurement is no longer just tasked with managing costs but actively shaping stability, transparency, and competitiveness.

In the webinar "Kickoff 2026 – What Topics Will Define Procurement This Year?", Erik Esly (Managing Partner, ErikEsly Advisory & Consulting), Hans Boot (Partner, Durch Denken Vorne Consult), and Lucas Trümpler (Tacto) discuss which developments will shape procurement organizations in the coming years – and where concrete action is needed now.

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The Changing Role of Procurement

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While operational tasks long dominated, procurement is increasingly becoming a strategic value contributor. Quality assurance, innovation capability, risk management, and EBITDA impact are moving more into focus. This also changes the requirements for procurement organizations. Analytical ability, technical understanding, communication skills, and confident handling of data and AI are becoming core competencies. Procurement must not only evaluate data but understand connections and make them usable for strategic decisions.

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Framework Conditions for 2026: Geopolitics Becomes Structural

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Erik Esly contextualizes the global developments of recent years and makes clear that geopolitical risks are not a temporary phenomenon. Trade conflicts, tariffs, export controls, and energy dependencies permanently affect supply chains and cost structures. Optimizing purely for cost no longer suffices. Modern sourcing strategies cannot do without resilience, diversification, and forward-looking scenario thinking. Nearshoring, new markets like India or the ASEAN region, and the geopolitical assessment of supply chains are increasingly coming into focus.

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Where Procurement Must Act Now

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Based on these developments, the speakers outlined key action areas:

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• Data as foundation: Without transparent and reliable data, no strategic steering is possible. It forms the basis for everything – from commodity group strategy to risk analysis.
• Redefine value contribution: Traditional negotiations and cost engineering remain important but are increasingly supplemented by data-driven analyses and precise benchmarks.
• Foster collaboration: Procurement breaks down silos. It works more closely with departments like engineering, production, and finance, becoming the central coordinator of the value chain.
• AI as assistant: Artificial intelligence relieves the team in operational business. It prepares data and delivers valuable impulses to make well-founded decisions faster.

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AI in Procurement: Pragmatic Rather Than Visionary

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An important point of the discussion is a realistic view of AI. Instead of grand future promises, it is about concrete use cases that show short-term impact: analysis of procurement data, preparation of KPIs, maintenance of master data, automated checks, or support in commodity group strategies.

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Conclusion

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The webinar makes clear that 2026 will be shaped less by individual trends than by the ability to adapt. Procurement organizations that systematically use data, strategically develop their role, and purposefully deploy technological support create clear advantages.

Erik Esly, Hans Boot, and Lucas Trümpler show how procurement can reposition itself between geopolitical pressure, technological development, and growing responsibility – and why now is the right time to set the course for the coming years.