Christoph Bode and Ruth Schültken spoke at the 6th SME Purchasing Forum 2025

On February 18, Christoph and Ruth presented key findings from our The ‘State of the Procurement Profession’ Study 2024 at the 6. Einkaufsforum Mittelstand 2025. Their talk, titled “The Relevance of Procurement Trends and Challenges for SMEs”, explored the most pressing issues shaping procurement today. Key insights:

• Cost focus remains the top priority for procurement professionals, often overshadowing strategic initiatives.
• Sustainability and digitalization are advancing but continue to fall short of expectations.
• Employee satisfaction in procurement is declining, raising concerns about talent retention.
• SMEs in Germany face multiple challenges, including supply chain disruptions, economic uncertainty, a skilled labor shortage, and increasing complexity in procurement processes.

With resilience and strategic alignment becoming more critical than ever, these insights highlight the evolving role of procurement in navigating uncertainty.

📥 Download the executive summary of the study here: State of the Procurement Profession Survey 2024