The Procurement Paradox: Why High Performance Doesn’t Create Strategic Influence

80% of CFOs rate procurement as best-in-class. Only one in three see it as strategic.

CFOs face a paradox they don’t see coming. Procurement controls 65% of revenue in manufacturing companies and 30% in service industries. Yet most finance chiefs treat it as a cost center, not a strategic partner. This misalignment leaves billions in value on the table.

New research from Kearney reveals the scale of the problem, it shows that while 80% of CFOs rate their procurement teams as best-in-class, only one-third view procurement as strategic. That percentage has dropped by half in just a few years. Performance improved, but influence collapsed.

The gap widens at the top. In companies with more than $20 billion in revenue, only one in five CFOs see procurement strategically. The bigger the organization, the more procurement gets standardized, marginalized, and reduced to materials management. This creates a blind spot where a high-performing function delivers results but gets excluded from shaping enterprise direction.