Focus on the Future: How Procurement Priorities Are Evolving

Our journey through 2025 has officially begun and we here at NASPO have been looking toward the Top Ten Priorities for State Procurement Offices that CPOs from each state have told us they are focused on this year. Every year CPOs from each state are surveyed to gather insights into the challenges and objectives for public procurement in the upcoming year. This annual top ten list serves as a key resource for NASPO, shaping the focus of our research, educational content, conferences, and training.

We work hard to utilize and refer to this list throughout the year as we plan our resources, and we hope that as we move forward together you will reach out to us with any specific wants or ideas you may have around these topics. Be on the lookout for new resources from NASPO in 2025!

As reported by our primary members, the top priorities for 2025 are:

1. Modernizing the Procurement Process:

Digitization of solicitations, bids, contracts, and record keeping; automation of processes.

• Modernizing Your Procurement Office

• Cronin Awards 2023: Better, Faster, Stronger: Florida’s Modernized Quarterly Sales Reports

• Future-Proofing Procurement with Emerging AI Technologies

2. eProcurement:

Start-to-finish system creation and adoption; increased statewide agency utilization of eProcurement/ERP solutions.

• eProcurement: What It Is & What It Isn’t

• eProcurement with NASPO’s Chief Information Officer, Bob Sievert

• Moving to eProcurement: Kelly Sanders and Andrew Cochran, OH

3. Talent Management and Succession Planning:

Recruiting and retaining skilled procurement professionals; remote work capacity; succession planning; talent management strategies.

• Empowering Hidden Talent: The STARS Initiative’s Role in Workforce Development and Economic Mobility

• Finding IT Talent in a Haystack! Part I and Part II

• Transforming State Workforce and Procurement: Inside Indiana’s Strategies with Dr. Rebecca Holwerda

4. Training and Certification:

Promoting training and certification programs that elevate the procurement profession and develop skillsets for the future.

• Cronin Awards 2022: Georgia’s “Procurement Officer Bootcamp”

• Training and Certification: A Better Value for Everyone

• Training the Trainer: Kristi Sligh and Samantha Gerard

5. Central Procurement Office as a Strategic Leader:

Strategic leadership; active participation in policy setting and statewide planning; comprehensive governance and oversight; centralized data gathering and analysis for increased business insight and responsiveness to stakeholder needs.

• State & Local Government Procurement: A Practical Guide

• General Session: Management & Leadership Session

• Introduction to Leadership

6. Continuous Process Improvement:

Continuous review and improvement of current procurement processes to eliminate waste and gain new sources of value and efficiencies.

• From Chaos to Control

• Modernizing your Procurement Office

7. Customer Service to Agency Stakeholders:

Responsiveness to agency stakeholders’ needs; maintaining trust, compliance with service level agreements, and high satisfaction levels.

• Effectively Managing Project Stakeholders

8. Analytics for Data-driven Decision Making:

Using data analytics and tools to drive better procurement decisions state-wide.

• Data Analytics Demystified

9. Artificial Intelligence in Procurement:

Implementing A.I. technologies into procurement processes; understanding data and security implications for A.I.-enabled products.

• Why Your Office Needs AI

• AI in Procurement

• Artificial Intelligence & Legal Implication for Public Procurement

10.Change Management:

Managing organizational change (process, administrative, new technologies or systems) and ensuring successful adoption and buy-in once implementation is completed.

• Successful Change Management: Policy, Procedures, and People

If you would like to see how procurement priorities have evolved, check out past Top Ten Priorities lists in the NASPO Content Library. While you are there, browse through all the procurement topics listed to find more informational resources to address your office’s priorities this year. Watch for upcoming publications, events, and educational opportunities on NASPO.org as we continue to produce resources based on the Top Ten throughout 2025.