CIOs agree—today’s companies are juggling a growing list of technology priorities:
- Integrate AI strategically to create productivity gains
- Keep pace with competitors to create a market advantage
- Strengthen data security to prevent breaches
- Support internal customer technology demands across the enterprise
All the while, CIOs are closely monitoring IT spend and resource allocation.
One area that delivers strong ROI without straining already stretched IT teams is automating the management of a company’s supplier base.
That’s why supplier automation is gaining traction—not just for its efficiency, but for the control and protection it brings to data.
Imagine what would happen if hundreds or thousands of your supplier records were complete and up to date. What if this master data was free of duplicates and other errors? What if all your vendor records were protected from fraudulent entries?”
Akhilesh Agarwal, COO & EVP of Global Procure to Pay Solutions & Applied Technology
Questions worth considering—especially as you shape your future budgets.
- Are you overlooking one of the most obvious opportunities for impact?
- Is your outdated, manual supplier management process—complete with a cluttered vendor master—due for a transformation?
- Among all the initiatives competing for budget, which ones deliver the fastest, most meaningful ROI?
- And which will most effectively reduce your exposure to fraud across your entire supply chain?
The answer for many Global 2000 companies is clear: automate supplier onboarding and management. It’s a proven way to drive efficiency, strengthen compliance, reduce risk, and deliver rapid returns—without overwhelming IT.
To learn more about how you can achieve these results, explore the recent Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study that breaks down the benefits in detail.
Why Global 2000 Companies Are Prioritizing Supplier Automation in 2025
Here’s why leading enterprises are turning to automation to streamline supplier management, reduce risk, and unlock measurable value in the year ahead:
- Standardized Processes: Digital transformation projects to create one channel for all suppliers to get onboarded helps to identify and mitigate potential risks early on. This consistent channel reduces the likelihood of human error and ensures that all necessary steps are taken to vet suppliers. And the standardized process should be dynamic so parts certain checks are performed on only those that require it.
- Improved Data Accuracy: Automated systems can collect and verify supplier data more accurately and efficiently than manual processes. This reduces the risk of incorrect or incomplete information, which can lead to non-compliance or other issues.
- Enhanced Due Diligence: Background checks, credit checks, and other forms of due diligence on suppliers are getting automated through integration with various trusted data sources. This helps to identify potential risks and red flags, such as financial instability or a history of non-compliance.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Continuously monitoring suppliers for critical issues (financial health, prohibited list checks, cybersecurity) allows for swift action to be taken to mitigate risks before they become major issues.
- Compliance Supported by Technology: Automated systems can ensure that suppliers comply with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and company policies. This reduces the risk of non-compliance, which can lead to fines, reputational damage, and other consequences.
- Better Supplier Segmentation: With more accurate supplier data, suppliers can be further segmented and assessed based on risks associated with that segment. This ensures that high-risk suppliers receive more scrutiny.
- Faster Issue Resolution: Automated systems can quickly identify and escalate potential issues, enabling faster resolution and minimizing the impact of supplier-related disruptions.
- Data-Driven Risk Decision-Making: Accurate and real-time data can enable better decision making when the next disruption happens – whether it is a geo-political conflict or environmental event. Making decisions on how to route goods or new suppliers to engage can ensure resilience in the supply chain, which ultimately impacts revenue.
How Automated Supplier Workflows Eliminate Delays
Many of the processes your teams have performed manually can be handled with automation.
With seamless integration to third-party validation, risk, and authoritative third-party source databases, you eliminate the calls, emails and manual procedures that can delay supplier onboarding. Also, with continuous monitoring, you won’t miss risks that appear after you’ve onboarded a vendor.
How to Get Started—Even with Minimal IT Support
If implementing a full end-to-end supplier management solution feels like a heavy lift for day one, you don’t have to start there. You can begin with a simple, low-lift step that delivers immediate value—no major IT lift required.
Start with a portal for your supplier or vendor master team to capture and validate key fields like address, Tax ID, legal name, banking info, and more. Using built-in API integrations with trusted sources (IRS, global address databases, diversity registries), data is automatically validated and flagged for correction—giving your team cleaner, more secure records to enter into your ERP.
With validation logs and a simplified process, you’ll gain better control from day one. And when you’re ready to scale, you’ll already have a strong foundation to add features like supplier self-service, dynamic discounting, and automated ERP updates.
2025 is your chance to reduce fraud, free up resources, and strengthen procure-to-pay with smarter, faster supplier management.
Explore how you can take the first step toward smarter supplier management—on your terms and timeline.
