The Infrastructure Gap: Why Direct Procurement is at a Breaking Point

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Infrastructure Gap: Why Direct Procurement is at a Breaking Point"

Supply Chain Now – June 24, 2026
Host(s): Scott Lewton & Corinne Bursa
Guest: Mark Schnecker – Vice President, Industrial Manufacturing, Coupa Software

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the widening gap between procurement ambition and reality—and why direct procurement is facing a breaking point. Drawing insights from the Coupa "State of Direct Procurement 2026" report (with data from 133 senior leaders), the hosts and guest analyze the infrastructure shortcomings beneath procurement, the pitfalls of layering AI on top of messy data, and the urgent need for strategic change. The discussion features a practical three-pillar framework (Infrastructure, Intelligence, Influence) that separates procurement leaders from laggards, and offers actionable examples and takeaways.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Pace and Nature of Change in Procurement

• AI Evolution:
  • Transition from generative AI to “agentic AI”—autonomous agents performing procurement functions without human intervention.
    • "These aren't tools that wait for a human to push a button... they're autonomous agents capable of triage... risk analysis... predictive sourcing." (Mark Schnecker, 10:42)
• Rise of the Digital Front Door:
  • Procurement processes are becoming consumer-grade, with seamless, intuitive digital experiences for employees.
  • User requests trigger automated workflows, compliance checks, and orchestration without manual intervention.
    • "Instead of forcing users to navigate through a catalog... just talk to me... balances strict corporate compliance with really a seamless, easy consumer grade experience." (Mark Schnecker, 11:52)
• From Cost Focus to Resilience:
  • Global volatility has shifted procurement’s KPI from cost savings to continuous supply and resilience.
    • "Now we need to build for resiliency, not for cost, in order to keep the supply chains running." (Mark Schnecker, 12:56)

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2. The $16 Million Infrastructure Gap

• Fragmentation Equals Loss:
  • Each company faces an average $16 million/year loss from disruptions due to outdated procurement infrastructures.
    • "It isn't theoretical risk... it's actual recorded losses... these losses aren't happening because supply chains are inherently broken... [but because] the infrastructure underneath procurement was never designed to see disruption coming." (Mark Schnecker, 15:54)
• Leaders vs. Laggards:
  • 60% of leaders can detect supplier reliability and price risk early versus 26% of laggards—a 34-point capability gap.
• Urgency to Modernize:
  • Companies that don't fix their data and infrastructure will continue to be blindsided by disruptions.

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3. AI on Messy Data: The False Promise

• Danger of Layering Technology:
  • Applying analytics or AI to fragmented or “dirty” data results in faster noise, not true transformation.
    • "What you get is not transformation... more sophisticated analytics produces more sophisticated noise." (Mark Schnecker, 19:38)
• Foundational Steps Are Critical:
  • Successful organizations cleanse and connect data, then implement AI—foundation first, intelligence second.

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4. Three-Pillar Framework for Procurement Success

Pillar 1: Infrastructure

• Unified Visibility and Process Discipline:
  • Leaders achieve early supplier risk detection and run structured, automated workflows (e.g., 30% do touchless invoicing vs. only 11% of laggards).
  • Integration is key; leaders tackle tough data problems first.
    • "It's the basis, the foundation, it's the floor... integration complexity... is because they realize that's the first problem I have to solve." (Mark Schnecker, 24:14)

Pillar 2: Intelligence & Decision Quality

• From Cost to Comprehensive Value:
  • Leaders assess cost, risk, quality, lead time, tariffs, capacity—not just price.
  • Only 3% of leaders negotiate single-source on price, compared to 17% of laggards (who then suffer higher PO churn and shortages).
    • "PO churn is not an operations problem. It's a decision quality problem." (Mark Schnecker, 29:28)

Pillar 3: Influence

• Organizational Placement Drives Impact:
  • A scant 2% of procurement leaders report to the CEO; most report to supply chain or finance.
  • Placement under supply chain leadership aligns procurement with organizational continuity, not just cost control.
    • "Procurement's influence is not keeping pace with its impact... when you wire it into the supply chain, it starts to become strategic." (Mark Schnecker, 32:21)
• Impact Measured in Outcomes:
  • 47% of laggards experience revenue loss from fulfillment failures, only 20% of leaders do.

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5. Direct vs. Indirect Procurement: Breaking Down Silos

• No Enterprise-Wide View:
  • 37% of leaders and 40% of laggards have completely separate direct and indirect procurement functions, preventing a unified view of supplier spend and risk.
    • "As long as the two functions are silos, no one in the business can really see total spend, total supplier exposure, total risk... that's an industry-wide gap." (Mark Schnecker, 38:00)
• Competitive Advantage:
  • Organizations integrating direct/indirect gain negotiating power and holistic risk management.

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6. Real-World Examples & The 'So What' Factor

• Quantifiable Advantage:
  • Disruptions affect all, but leaders fare far better—e.g., only 20% of leaders (vs 47% laggards) experience revenue loss from missing parts.
• Best Practices:
  • Case studies:
    • Albemarle: Built intelligence on a cleansed, unified data set, greatly reducing fulfillment issues.
    • Glencore: Running an integrated operating system enables scenario modeling, margin protection.
    • ADM: CPO sits in Sales & Operations Planning, elevating procurement’s strategic input.
    • "The common thread... didn't get there by buying more software. They got there by deciding at executive level that procurement is core infrastructure." (Mark Schnecker, 42:30)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• "More sophisticated analytics produces more sophisticated noise."
  — Mark Schnecker (02:09, 19:38)

• "When procurement breaks, margin, service, production, customer commitment—all of those are going to feel the impact of leaky procurement processes."
  — Corinne Bursa (26:44)

• "PO churn is not an operations problem. It's a decision quality problem."
  — Mark Schnecker (29:28)

• "Procurement's influence is not keeping pace with its impact... when you wire it into the supply chain, it starts to become strategic."
  — Mark Schnecker (32:21)

• "These leaders are killing it based on this research... investments in this area are going to pay for themselves."
  — Corinne Bursa (53:22)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 02:09 — Opening warning: AI on bad data is “faster noise”
• 10:22 – 13:03 — Mark on AI evolution, digital front door, shift to resilience
• 15:54 — The $16M cost of procurement fragmentation
• 19:38 — Why layering AI on bad data fails
• 24:14 — Pillar 1: Infrastructure and why it matters
• 28:13 — Pillar 2: Intelligence, decision quality, and moving beyond cost-only sourcing
• 32:21 — Pillar 3: Influence and why procurement must report to supply chain, not just finance
• 38:00 — The persistent direct vs indirect procurement silo
• 42:30 – 45:32 — Real-world examples: Albemarle, Glencore, ADM
• 51:34 — Corinne’s “art and science of the possible” key takeaways

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Practical Takeaways & Action Items

For Supply Chain & Procurement Leaders:

• Assess Infrastructure:
  Start with a maturity assessment to benchmark your current state.
• Fix Data & Integration First:
  Clean, connect, and standardize data before scaling AI/analytics.
• Modernize Workflows:
  Move from heroic manual processes to touchless, automated workflows.
• Expand Procurement’s Influence:
  Elevate procurement to report through supply chain or as a strategic partner in S&OP.
• Unify Direct & Indirect Procurement:
  Integrate functions to see total spend, supplier risk, and gain true negotiating power.
• Leverage Insights:
  Download the "State of Direct Procurement 2026" report and Direct Spend Procurement Maturity Model to guide next steps.

Three Standout Points from Corinne Bursa:

1. "The art and science of the possible:" Technology unlocks strategic gains when data is in order.
2. Embrace the Digital Front Door: One process for all procurement activities is key.
3. Unleash Your Inner Leader: Move procurement from a transactional to a strategic lever for margin and service improvement.

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Memorable Moment

• Mark’s Core Message:
  "Organizations are closing the gap not by spending more money, but by building differently—foundation first, intelligence second."

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Conclusion

Direct procurement stands at a breaking point—not for lack of ambition, but because infrastructure has not kept pace with volatility and technology. Organizations that cleanse their data, unify direct/indirect procurement, automate processes, and elevate procurement within the C-suite are leapfrogging the competition. The takeaway: act now to bridge the infrastructure gap, or the costs will only climb.

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For further resources:

• "State of Direct Procurement 2026" report
• Direct Spend Procurement Maturity Model
• Reach out to Mark Schnecker or Coupa for in-depth guidance

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Episode encapsulated by Supply Chain Now – 'Do good, get forward, be the change that's needed.'

Transcript

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[Mark Schnecker]

now are actively piloting or scaling AI and the intent is right. But here's the problem. They're layering intelligence onto fragmented data or disconnected workflows and architectures that were built really for a much simpler world, right? One with a lot less volatility. What you get is not transformation. With this type of implementation of AI, it's the same problem. You're just processing it faster. More sophisticated analytics produces more sophisticated noise.

[Scott Lewton]

Welcome to Supply Chain now, the number one voice of Supply Chain. Join us as we share critical news, key insights and real supply chain leadership from across the globe, one conversation at a time. Hey, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be. Scott Lewton and the one and only Corinne Bursa with you here on Supply Chain now. Corinne, how you doing today?

[Corinne Bursa]

I'm doing great, Scott. I'd like to add my welcome to all the supply chain movers and shakers out there. It is a great time to be in supply chain and I think we're going to have a really interesting conversation today.

[Scott Lewton]

We are, we are. And there you go. You nailed it. I knew that mantra was coming, but it's all true. It is a, it's a great time to be in our industry and it's a great time to be here today on supply chain now because as Corinne mentions, we got a great show coming up today. Hey, did you know that according to some studies, 72% of companies react expect rather procurement to become a strategic competitive advantage within three years. Yet most organizations aren't seeing that gap closed between ambition and capability and ultimately value. Today we're gonna be speaking with the industry leader about how we can close that powerful gap. And we're gonna be talking about one proven approach in particular that relies on automotive visibility, continuous intelligence and cross functional influence. All that and much, much more. So stay tuned for an informative and actionable conversation. So Corinne, giving your not only your passion and excitement for what's going on in global supply chain, but given your track record of making stuff happen, moving mountains in global supply chain for years, especially from a technology standpoint, I'm really looking forward to your insights here today. Should be a great show, huh?

[Corinne Bursa]

It really should be. It's an important conversation and it's something that sometimes gets thought of as a back office component, but it's a big contributor to your overall profitability and how you serve your customers. So looking forward to what our speaker has to share.

[Scott Lewton]

That's right. We got to take a 2026 approach to procurement expertise and function, not a 1986 approach, folks. So Corinne, it's time to get to work. I'm going to introduce a great featured guest we've got here today. Our guest is known for turning complexity into actionable results. He has shown an innate ability to blend technical expertise with deep industry insight to deliver measurable value across supply chain, planning, sourcing, procurement, and even supplier collaboration and much more. He's a frequent speaker, a patent holder, a published author, and he's almost as passionate as Corinne about solutions that meet the demands of today's dynamic supply chains. I want to welcome in Mark Schnecker, Vice President, Industrial Manufacturing with Koopa Software.

[Mark Schnecker]

Hey.

[Scott Lewton]

Hey Mark. How you doing today?

[Mark Schnecker]

Hey Scott. I'm doing good, thank you. Hit correct.

[Scott Lewton]

Well, it's terrific to see you and Corinne. We had a great pre show session where we learned a lot About Mark earlier, didn't we?

[Corinne Bursa]

We certainly did.

[Scott Lewton]

You now call St. Petersburg, Florida home, Mark? Yeah, and when you, yeah. When you're not doing big things in global supply chain, you, we can expect you to be on your schooner or your boat chasing after fish across the Gulf and up the Intracoastal Waterway. Tell us more about that, Mark.

[Mark Schnecker]

Oh, yeah, I love, I love spending time on the water. I'm on the Intercoastal and really fishing has kind of become one of my passions. I just love the sport. I'll be out there this weekend again.

[Scott Lewton]

Okay. And your fish of choice, if that's a thing. I don't know if it is a thing. I'm not really a fisherman. But red snapper is, is what you like to get. If you catch anything else, it's red snapper. Is that right, Mark?

[Mark Schnecker]

Yeah, that's definitely a favorite. You know, I, I like the, the play on the line. I'd like it for dinner too. So catch a big enough one.

[Scott Lewton]

The family feasts for days, maybe with a big enough one. And Corinne, when we talk about Florida, that's kind of your old stomping grounds. You still have a bunch of family down there. Do you like to grow up fishing as well?

[Corinne Bursa]

Love it, love it. Love to go fishing. Scuba diving. You know, playing in the water, the beach, intercoastal, anywhere I could get my feet wet was great.

[Scott Lewton]

Okay, okay. Well, maybe, maybe you'll have to share some of your tips and tricks with Mark since he's called Florida home for a few months now. But Mark, we expect some whoppers, you know, £50 red snappers you're catching this weekend. You have to report back.

[Corinne Bursa]

I think one of the things he mentioned that is a real treat is just seeing dolphin all the time, even up and down the Intercoastal and it's just fun to watch them play in the water and usually they're headed for some fish, so you may want to follow where they're going.

[Mark Schnecker]

Yeah, it's a great idea.

[Scott Lewton]

There you go. There you go. We just now getting started and we're getting some good stuff from Corinne. Let's do this. We got a, a big show teed up and it's going to be driven by report. We're going to share in just a second. But Mark, before we talk about that, I want to talk about your long background of driving change across the industry. Tell us more about that as well as your role at Koopa.

[Mark Schnecker]

Well, I've been about the better part of three decades working on supply chain Design and solutions. I was in supply chain at SAP for 15 years and as part of that, I helped pioneer the direct spend collaboration solutions at Riva. I was also founding member of e2open back when supply chain collaboration was just becoming kind of a solution category. Today at coupa, I lead the industrial manufacturing market. So in my world, I work with companies that actually make things and the procurement teams that keep the factories running. That's what I work on today.

[Scott Lewton]

I love that this is important to keep those factories running. Manufacturing, of course, such a core component of a global economy and of course a global supply chain. And Corinne, he mentioned quite a few impressive stops in his journey, including what he's, of course, he's doing today at Cooper. What'd you hear there, Corinne?

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, absolutely. I think, Mark, you've probably looked at this problem or opportunity from lots of different angles in your experience, both from an ARIBA perspective, which was one of the early innovators in this procurement space all the way through to the work with IDA Open, who did a lot with supplier collaboration and had some very interesting and innovative solutions. And Coupa, now who is a leader in the procure to pay process, has been long established and doing some interesting things in other areas of supply chain as well.

[Scott Lewton]

Well said, Corinne. We've enjoyed our variety of conversations over the years that really illustrates that innovation and how they're helping to change the game. Let's do this. So Mark and Corinne, as we were talking about the pre show, we want to kind of put this on folks radar. A lot of today's conversation and expertise and insights we're going to hear from Mark are driven through a report that KUPA has invested in called the State of Direct Procurement 2026. One of the most important things about that, I think is it features insights from 133 senior direct procurement leaders. Right. So this is really going to help you between Mark's expertise and that report and of course Corinne's perspective as well, to put your finger in the pulse of not only what, what's going on today, the steps we got to take now to start to bridge that gap more effectively. Because as we were talking pre show, Mark and Corinne, the cost of being a laggard is going up by the hour. We'll help you figure out how not to be a laggard. All right, so let's do this. Mark, I think it's really important to get your take on the evolution that we've seen that continues to take place in the procurement space. Would you speak to that a little Bit Mark?

[Mark Schnecker]

Oh yeah, absolutely. I think what's really interesting is the evolution or the pace of change right now is phenomenal. It's faster than I've ever seen in my career. And I'm a computer scientist by, by degree and mathematician I think, you know, first we have to talk about generative AI, but really what's happened is this leap from generative AI to agentic AI. So and, and of course that's simply just, you know, autonomous digital work. These aren't tools that wait for a human to push a button. They're autonomous agents capable of triage, you know, classifying, automatically classifying incoming documents, autonomous risk analysis. You know, where we run this continuous now in the background, we don't actually just run a report and say, hey, can I bring the supplier on board? We watch them all the time. Predictive sourcing, you know, detecting, you know, shifts in demand and alternate suppliers. So I think that, you know, what's happening in AI is just permeating the solution. And what's more interesting is that when it is in your workflow and you don't know it and it's working for you, that's when it's the most effective. I think second thing that's really, really changed or evolution is the rise of the digital front door. So instead of forcing users to navigate through a catalog, what you're really doing is saying, hey, just talk to me, right? So an employee can just simply type, I need to onboard a software vendor for a new marketing project. And the intake and orchestration, it just automatically triggers the forms, the security reviews, the legal checkpoints, all of the rules and regulations to make sure we keep this right and tight in our organization. And it balances that strict corporate compliance with really a seamless, easy consumer grade experience. So user says I need this. And the system says this is what we're going to do and this is the process we're going to go through. And then finally the biggest change I've seen because I was a buyer for a period of time and everything that I did was around can you drive the cost down? And the way that we drove down cost with the CFO is we aggregated our spend. So I would give all of my spend to a single supplier and I was judged by how I could negotiate that aggregated or the larger spend at a lower cost. So my bonus was based entirely on how much money I could save. But with global volatility, I hate to say it, you know, we'd have an event every couple of quarters. Now it seems like Every week, you know, we have a new event, right, that's happening and it's, it's not something we can plan for. So with volatility, inflation, shifting, trade regulations, everything has changed on the scoreboard. Now we need to build for resiliency, not for cost, in order to keep the supply chains running.

[Scott Lewton]

All right, so, Corinne, we got a lot to dissect just in that last response in terms of how he was speaking to the evolution. Did you hear that he's also a computer scientist and a mathematician, so I'm out of my league. He talked about, of course, that moving from gen AI to of course, all the different ways and, and windows of opportunity that gentic AI offers. He talked about a predictive sourcing, the rise of that digital front door, of course, orchestration. But he also talked about, and this is one of my favorite parts, that consumer, how do you put it? Consumer quality.

[Corinne Bursa]

Grade.

[Mark Schnecker]

Yes, Consumer grade experience.

[Scott Lewton]

And to be able to afford that to our team members, I think is a game changer. But what'd you hear there from Mark, Corinne?

[Corinne Bursa]

Well, I'm going to comment on that last. Your last comment first, because I think what I took away from consumer grade was simplicity. Is it simple, easy to engage with? Is it intuitive? These are characteristics that we typically align with consumer interaction because we know we're going to do it with, you know, hopefully thousands and thousands of consumers. So I love that they've got that eye and that capability in what they're delivering to the market. But Mark, I've got to tell you, I like this concept of the digital front door. I like the way that sounds. It's very engaging. But also that standard process, that quick response, the fact that agentic AI is behind the scenes kind of moving that workflow through its paces and giving me quick responses because historically some of the challenges in procurement were time lags. Right. I send you a question or leave you a message or send you a form and, and it may take some time to get a response, but with agentic working and moving things through, it makes everybody more efficient in the process and helps to make sure we've got contract compliance in place as well. So very important for both buyer and seller.

[Scott Lewton]

Yeah, we can eliminate some of those faxes and those carrier pigeon back and forth that I remember from some of my days in manufacturing. But good stuff, Corinne, good stuff. So I want to do this, Mark, as we get deeper and deeper into the topic at hand. And again, folks, go get your copy of the report that really is fueling today's conversation again, the state of direct procurement. 2026 insights from 133 leaders out there. Go check it out and let us know what you think. Okay, so we're getting into this what we're calling a $16 million foundation. So, Mark, first thing I'd love for you to speak to is why are supply chain disruptions no longer just statistics, but they are instead the literal cost of operating on fragmented infrastructure? Tell us more, Mark.

[Mark Schnecker]

So that you know, that $16 million number, it just makes the study impossible to ignore. It isn't theoretical risk. Right. It's the actual recorded losses from the report, you know, from just the data. So expedited freight production shutdowns, you know, missed commitments, you know, margins that walked out the door because I couldn't get my, my discounts. This is an average for every organization every year. Here's why it matters. Those losses aren't happening because supply chains are inherently broken. They're happening because the infrastructure underneath procurement was never designed to see disruption coming. It was, you know, so look what a leader can do versus a laggard. In the study, 60% of leaders can detect supplier reliability issues as well as price risk early in the process. Only 26% of laggards can do that. That's a 34 point gap, and it's an amazing way to run. So by the time a laggard or an average organization knows there's a problem, the leader has already responded to it. That window between protection, impact response, that's where the margin lives or dies. So when the data is fragmented across spreadsheets, ERP or somebody's, you know, email inbox, you don't get that window. The cost lands impacts your organization before you ever saw it coming. So when the report talks about 16 million, what we're really measuring is the price companies pay every year because they don't have the right data foundation.

[Scott Lewton]

All right, so, Corinne, one Keith thought I'd like to make that. That Mark is illustrating with the data points is that, you know, 60% of leaders detect supplier reliability and price risk early. Only 26% of laggards do that. And that's just on. On those couple of areas. Think of all the other areas where leaders are doing one thing and prioritizing another thing and making it happen with real return and laggards. Hey, I'm not throwing stones, but we're sitting on how business has always been done despite the massive landscape shifts that have been taking place over months and years and certainly decades. Corinne, what did you hear there from Mark?

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, a couple of things. You know, I'm a big fan of facts, not feelings. Right. We can't, we can't make good logical decisions just based on feelings. So this research is substantial. So Mark said 133 different companies sharing their insight. So that 34 point gap between what leaders are seeing and laggards are seeing is substantial. And, you know, rolling into this $16 million figure that he shared. So I think that means there's money on the table for all of us and we need to take a harder look at where we can boost data quality and maybe evaluate our workflows. Because many companies have built their current procurement workflows off of very antiquated business processes. And there's a huge opportunity now in 2026 to change that and accelerate, streamline and harvest data and insight where we couldn't do it before.

[Scott Lewton]

That's right. Do better, lead better, make better decisions, make better returns. All of that stuff is part of the art of the possible. So as a follow up, Mark, I want to talk about one of the investment traps out there that's catching organizations left and right, day in and day out. And what I'm talking about is tell us what happens when we deploy AI and advanced analytics. Let's not sleep on those on top of really messy data, broken workflows, old stagnant static processes. Mark, what happens?

[Mark Schnecker]

Well, Scott, I think this is one that should be keeping the CFO up at night. I mean rapid organizations now are actively piloting or scaling AI, you know, and the intent is right. But here's the problem. They're layering intelligence onto fragmented data or disconnected workflows and architectures that were built really for a much simpler world. Right. One with a lot less volatility. What you get, you know, is not transformation with this type of implementation of AI, it's the same problem. You're just processing it faster Then the report, I think had the perfect line for this. And I got to make sure I say this right. More sophisticated analytics produces more sophisticated noise. And here's the part that confuses me. The majority of organizations, for example, will share, they still share demand forecast via email, spreadsheets, phone calls. Flat out it makes it impossible to run predictive models on information that lives in these point solutions or like in a buyer sent folder. You can't build agentic AI on data that no two people in the company agree on. You've got to get your processes to work. So when AI adoption stalls, and I'm seeing it stall locked because of data, it's not because AI doesn't work. The technology does work, but it's simply because the foundation for it simply doesn't exist yet. So in this report, it shows that procurement leaders that figure this out early, they invested in connecting existing infrastructure, cleansing their data and then adding AI capabilities on top of that. So that sequence, which basically is foundation first, you know, intelligence second. That's what I think. Separating the organizations that really are getting results and pulling ahead from companies that are just frankly spending money.

[Scott Lewton]

Yep. All right, so Corinne, I want to go back to that line. He spiked the football in a bit more sophisticated analytics produces more sophisticated noise. And transformation isn't always a good thing because if we're transforming bad components of our operation organizations, it's just, it's going to multiply and give us more of the bad thing and, and certainly more friction and heartburn. But what'd you hear there, Corinne, from Mark?

[Corinne Bursa]

Lots of good stuff. I, I think number one, lots of companies are piloting different aspects of artificial intelligence. And, and I just want to be sure that when you do that, you're not necessarily thinking of that as a long term sustainable solution. So speeding up a process today may not result in a sustainable advantage for your company. I think if you step back and look at your foundation, look at the data, it's not uncommon that an enterprise has multiple systems, multiple data sets that need to be accessed and inquired upon to really look at the procurement process. So looking at your data foundation is really important because otherwise you're, you know, you're, you're basically bridging gaps, but you're not necessarily moving into transformation. You're not necessarily taking advantage of new workflows that are going to change the way you interact with your suppliers and you manage your process and gain visibility, new insights and new opportunities to drive costs in alignment with, with your corporate goals.

[Scott Lewton]

You know, Corinne, kind of to your, one of your last points there and certainly something Mark that called out that resonates with me during, when I was in manufacturing is spreadsheet driven or email driven forecasts. You know, no matter how often Mark called out, you can't go tracking something down in your, in your scent folder. It is so inefficient. And of course for me that was years ago when I was actively shipping stuff, making stuff. You know, working in manufacturing, there's such a better way here in 2026 to do, do better by your customer, do better by your supplier, and certainly do better by your team member that's working so hard to make things happen. So let's get more into the good news, Mark and Corinne, because there is certainly a better way. And I look forward to Mark's take and what we've Learned from these 133 leaders from the report. We're going to be offering up or learning from Mark on this proven three pillar framework that is separating the leaders from all the rest. And it's really going to focus on three things, infrastructure, intelligence and influence. So Mark, on that first pillar, when it comes to infrastructure, tell us more.

[Mark Schnecker]

Yeah, I mean, I think this, you know, kind of segues from what we've been talking about. I mean it's the basis, the foundation, it's the floor. Right. You can, can you really see across spend, suppliers and risk before the consequences hit. So leaders have solved this problem. That's what we found in the study and they've moved on. So 60% can detect supplier reliability, as we discussed, and laggards are at 26%. They're half as efficient. The point isn't that visibility is hard, it's that it is a prerequisite. Right. So on top of that, once you have the visibility, then you need process discipline. Do your workflows run on system logic or is it really the superhuman efforts of individuals and individual judgment? So for example, 30% of leaders in the study are doing touchless invoicing, but laggards only 11%. So the takeaway isn't that process discipline is, it's not an efficiency play, it's a risk reduction play. So workflows and that individual judgment behave differently under pressure. So as we see volatility, you're going to see really severe reactions when they're versus normal conditions. So leaders remove that variability. They basically say, let's put in structured processes, take out the basically superhuman efforts of some incredible employees and get back into a system. And then the third aspect of that pillar, it's got to be integration. We got to put all the pieces together. And that's where I think it gets really interesting. So the report wasn't looking at what you're using for integration tools. It's just showing that leaders that they're setting their legacy systems and integration complexity as bigger barriers than the laggards. So what does that tell you? That tells you that the leaders looked at the problems of the data first. Right. I know that sounds backwards if they'd say that integration is a barrier, but it's because they realize that's the first problem I have to solve. They don't have a clean data set, so they're not going to get Clean results, you're going to get hallucinations. AI is going to give you an answer. It still does, but it's only based on the data it has. So leaders, they cross that threshold, they give it clean data. They're working on the harder problem first, which is really the foundation, the infrastructure and the data.

[Scott Lewton]

Corinne, we're talking about this three pillar framework. And the first pillar was infrastructure that Mark was speaking to. What did you hear there?

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, first of all, I think it's important just to reiterate that when procurement breaks margin, service, production, customer commitment, all of those are going to feel the impact of gaps or leaky procurement processes, if you will. And then Mark shared some really compelling numbers there. Mark, I think you said 60% of, of leaders can detect supplier reliability or pricing risk. That's huge. Right? That, that's, that's compelling to me, especially in today's global market where we've got increased volatility. But also as a result of COVID many companies are looking at dual sourcing or multi sourcing and making those trade offs and having a foundation that allows me to do that. Again, facts, not feelings. To do that in a good, standard, methodical way I think is critically important.

[Scott Lewton]

Yep. And you know, also he mentioned the touchless invoice processing. Right. 30% of the leaders are doing that and their teams are very grateful. Probably the whole ecosystem is very grateful and only 11% of the Lackards are doing that. And that, that's. There's a lot of friction between those two numbers and consternation for our team members. Okay, so that the first pillar was infrastructure. The second pillar we're going to be talking about is intelligence and decision quality. Tell us more, Mark.

[Mark Schnecker]

So this is where visibility, so once you have that, visibility translates into action. So two dimensions really matter here. So now that I have the data, I really need decision quality and I need sourcing, agility. These are the two kind of aspects. So the report surfaced a really interesting statistic and one I think a, a little bit surprised. 17% of laggards, Corinne just touched on it, still negotiate single source primarily just on unit price. And I just get the best price. You know, I aggregate my spend, I drive the best possible contract, I meet my metric of basically saving from the previous contract. When you look at the leaders, only 3% do that anymore. That's it. Only three leaders have moved on to a much more comprehensive evaluation. So they're looking at cost risk, quality, lead time, tariffs, production capacity, and they weigh all that together. Right now you can get different Weights to different variables. But you look at everything, because the hidden cost of a price only sourcing strategy, the effect of that, it shows up later. And what that means is that you're going to end up with expedited freight. Part shortages mean production delays or outages, you know, in the worst, worst case, and a lot of times frequent order changes. So the data backed it up. And this was, I think, amazing. Just like only 3% of leaders actually negotiate just on cost. Instead, 60% of the laggards have frequent PO changes. And what that's really saying is I have no backup. So I keep changing the PO to make it fit as best I can for my master production schedule versus leaders. I've already shunned that down to 40%. So PO churn is not an operations problem. It's a decision quality problem. And it compounds across thousands of transactions and procurement operations per year.

[Scott Lewton]

All right, so that's a compelling second pillar of this framework. And I got to go back to one of the first things he mentioned. That single source. 17% of laggards, only 3% of leaders. Just my take in today's world, Gosh, if we're only starting and stopping and looking at cost and all the different challenges out there, we are really doing a disservice to our ecosystems. But, Corrine, what'd you hear there from mark in this second pillar?

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, when I heard the 17% based on unit costs. So that's not total cost, that's unit cost. Total cost could be exponentially higher. So I think that's a really important point that makes that 17% even more concerning, quite honestly. So one thing that I believe firmly is visibility tells you what's happening. But intelligence is going to help you decide what to do next, where to make changes, where to engage with your suppliers and even make some recommendations on the next logical steps that should be taken. So we're not talking about passive reporting anymore. We're talking about active decision support. Right. And again, we're into this mode where we want to leverage technology and AI enablement to accelerate the response, to mitigate any impact of disruptions and make sure that we're able to deliver on our commitments to our customers by keeping manufacturing, you know, running smoothly and efficiently and protecting margin. So these gaps are significant. Mark, in your research here between the leaders and the laggards, I think you're giving us a lot to consider. And it shows that incrementally, we are leaving money on the table, and we're making our business process harder than it

[Mark Schnecker]

needs to be, you know, the good

[Scott Lewton]

news, though, the gaps are significant, but, you know, the good news is there's something we can do today to start bridging them more effectively. Right. Okay. Good things come in three. We've shared the first two. We're getting to the third pillar. We're talking about this influence deficit. Mark, tell us more.

[Mark Schnecker]

So the first one, I mean, you know, getting the right data, having the intelligence leaders can respond quickly to market conditions, you know, almost twice as fast as laggards. But the third one kind of goes a little bit sideways, and I think it's going to make some people uncomfortable. That is really, where do you report? Right. Where does the procurement sourcing and procurement processes live inside of an organization? What we found, right, because we asked the question, where are you in the organization? And only 2% of senior procurement leaders report to the CEO. Okay, I know when Covid hit, what I found was the CPO was at the table, and now it's shrunk back down to saying, you know, you really are not at the seat with them. So suppliers, materials, risk decisions, they feed into every part of your strategic discussions at the top. But the procurement's influence is not keeping pace with its impact. That's kind of the dichotomy. We don't know why that's happening, but what it. But it actually surfaced up in the report. So where leaders sit organizationally is really interesting. 37% of them report to the chief supply chain officer, and I think that's fabulous. But laggards are more likely to just be under the cfo. Nothing, nothing wrong with the cfo. But remember, that's all about financial discipline. Right? It's about cost. Typically, right. In that area versus the supply chain is about continuity. It's about getting products shipped, it's about cost, as well as all the other variables to ship product. So when you treat procurement as a financial control function, to say, I'm just trying to control my cogs, it tends to stay transactional. But when you wire it into the supply chain or operations, then it starts to become strategic. And that. That is what we saw. But the deeper point is this influence in the organization, because that's really what it comes down to. It's not really earned via the reporting lines. It's earned through outcomes. And so the cost of not having that is measurable. So 7% of laggards, and make sure I get the statistics right, experience revenue loss from fulfillment failure. In other words, they couldn't get a part on time. Almost half of the laggards saw that that only happened 20% of the time for leaders. So what's really happening is when it's treated strategically, not as a cost control. We're getting the parts we need to keep the factories running to keep our master production schedule on time. So the gap is the price of operating without a seat at the table, of basically being part of the strategic discussion versus just transactional cost control.

[Scott Lewton]

That's a big gap. It can be corrected. But two quick things, Karen, before I get your take number one, at the beginning of Mark's response, he talked about this might be a bit uncomfortable. If we're not getting a little bit uncomfortable, at least we're probably not having some of the conversations we need to have, especially in 2026. And then secondly, on a lighter note, hey, CFOs out there, we love you, we love you. Nothing against you. Just want to make sure we, we establish that.

[Corinne Bursa]

All right.

[Scott Lewton]

So Corinne, what'd you hear there from Mark?

[Corinne Bursa]

First of all, I want the CFO to be the supply chain cheerleader in the business. So making customers happy and doing it profitably, that's what we're in business for. So nothing against CFOs here, but I do think procurement has been this stepchild. The procurement organization or process has been a bit of a stepchild in the organization and it does move around. It's in accounting and finance sometimes and it's in its own little silo. We want it integrated. The Corinne Bursa recommendation as a part of our supply chain. So reporting into that chief Supply Chain Officer is going to make sure we are aligned with serving our customers and serving our customers well and meeting our strategic goals for the business. So, you know, the impact of direct material decisions is the intersection of supply, finance, operations, engineering, customer customer satisfaction. So it is really vital to the process and I think having it personally tightly integrated with the rest of the supply chain operations is really important.

[Scott Lewton]

Corinne, I'm with you. Out of all the events and all the, gosh, thousands of conversations I've had just this year, from the Gartners to the Manifest to Modex and more, reinventing the operating model was a big major theme in light of technology and challenges out there, the ever changing landscape. Well, folks, part of that is reexamining the reporting structure which Mark and Corinne is talking to. So what a thought provoking and hopefully conversation and action provoking three pillar framework, Mark. So we'll see where we can keep driving the conversation. Folks. Check out the report, but we got more, we got more good stuff to Cope. So beyond the framework, Mark, you just walked us through, right, all three pillars. There's another barrier that we've got to speak to because it impacts so many companies out there. And you know, we talk about silo busting. I feel like I've been talking about that for years. And as Corinne, we have been, and as Corinne knows, I like to observe that in this era of go of the golden age of supply chain tech, I don't know if we're eliminating more silos or building more digital silos, I don't know. But the one silo that we would argue maybe nobody has solved yet is that silo between direct and indirect procurement. So, Mark, speak to that silo a bit. I feel like we're back on your branch, Mark, with all these silos.

[Mark Schnecker]

Yeah. So, yeah, I don't keep silage. I, I use fresh or. Yeah, I can't raise my own. Anyways, this was one, I think, maybe not as big a surprise, but it was kind of one of my favorite findings in the whole report because it's a place where literally, I mean, people are not solving this problem. And so it came back and it said 37% of leaders and 40% of laggards, or roughly a huge audience. They operate with completely separate direct and indirect procurement functions. And I think it kind of follows on to the organizational structure, which is sometimes we, we stick indirect over here and we stick to the direct materials over there. But in the end category, strategy, sourcing, optimization, contracts and everything that we do in kind of foundational elements is really the same. Right. So it's not a leaders versus laggards story. I mean, it's an industry wide gap that we see. And then I think the cost of not addressing this is actually pretty real. So as long as the two functions are silos, no one in the business can really see total spend, total supplier exposure, you know, total risk. That also plays into the ESG part. You can't model, for example, a tariff impact across both. You can only do it separately. Right. So now you have two different ways to say, okay, what's going to happen with the new tariff that we just happened? You can't negotiate across both and you certainly can't apply AI across both because you've got them in two completely different systems. You have to then get that foundation right, you know, get that integration, because the data won't speak for itself. So I think the organizations that close this gap, they get tremendous process efficiency, but then there's also now the tooling that comes on top. So Once we get this data foundation that says, hey, look at all your spend, and I'm talking about indirect spend, MRO spend, services spend, direct spend. When you look at everywhere that you spend money and you analyze it, you have an opportunity to get a complete picture of who you actually buy from who and at what risk. And the agentic AI functionality really gets a lot more powerful.

[Scott Lewton]

Corinne that last point he made that whoever has a complete picture, right, that he's referencing that has massive competitive advantage. But what'd you hear there from Mark? Corinne?

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, I think that in our minds we over simplify direct and indirect procurement. In reality, for most companies, they have suppliers that they work with and they may work with them in a variety of different capacities and some of those suppliers may even be customers. And so there are, you know, buy and sell transactions in many directions. So one thing Mark mentioned is that visibility of total spend with a supplier and it could be with a region of a supplier or it could be on a global basis. So the ability to bring that direct and indirect together is really valuable because we do want to look at total spend, we want to look at total margin. These things quite honestly are negotiation points for us as we go forward and select and partner with suppliers in the future as well. Having good clear visibility of the total engagement both in what we buy and maybe what we sell to those suppliers is really important.

[Scott Lewton]

Well said, Corinne. Well said. Okay, we're going to talk about the so what factor but first Mark and Corinne, I want to let people in our little inside joke a second ago because folks, one of the things we learned about Mark is he spent years on, on a ranch in Colorado before he moved to Florida. So that's where the, the hay remarks and the solid remarks came from. Folks, want to bring you all with us as always. Okay, Mark, the so what factor in all the different events I've been to, all the different supply chain conversations and keynotes and presentations, you always got folks in the back, arms crossed, they like to use the word humph at things, you know, and then at the end of everything, oh well, so what? Well I think the so what factor here and your response is really important because I think it speaks to the sense of urgency, the art of the possible here today in 2026 and of course all the results that comes with it you've been speaking to. So I think it's important for us to kind of bring it home with a few examples of organizations that have taken this framework and are getting considerable outcomes, increasing competitive advantage and certainly being more Leader, then laggard talk to us.

[Mark Schnecker]

Mark, I think I just want to reference the report and then talk about a few customers. You know, I think this. So really it comes down to the math in the report. It just puts that out on the table, you know, so disruptions happen to everyone. The same disruption affects virtually the same two companies, right? In this case, 47% of laggards experience revenue loss because they can't get their parts. Only 20% of leaders suffer from that. 40% of laggards have missed or delayed product launches. So you can't even run your new product introduction, your NPI process. That's only happened for 23% of the leaders. So this is really the interesting part of looking at the math and saying these are really huge economic impacts to a company. So we all have the same environment, the same disruptions. But the P and L is completely, you know, the outcome is completely different from leaders versus, like, you know, that's the macro story. I'll use a few examples in. In Albemarle, the intelligence program that they built is on top of the integrated COUPA data. The pattern is the same. They invested in the foundation, the data itself, and they then layered, you know, AI on top of that clean integrated data, not on top of fragmented silos. So the results they have are incredibly precise. Right? They're part of the leaders that basically do not suffer from shortages of product fulfillment. Glencore, now in their case, they're running different modules of coupa, but it's really one operating system, it's not four separate modules. And I think that kind of comes part of that is, you know, the sweet story that COUPA will talk about. But it unlocks the ability to model scenarios. You know, when you have these modules together continuously rather than, as, you know, every single time I source, the market shifts. So for Glencore, in a commodity exposed industry that are in mining, that's the difference between protecting margin and chasing it. And then you know, to kind of go back to this reporting structure. And I love this because the CPO at ADM is Archer Daniels Midland is turned into a friend, not just an associate. And he now sits in the SNLP process. So in the sales and operations process or strategic planning that says, what are we going to sell? Okay, based on what we sell, here's the supply that we'll need to fulfill those orders. He's there at the table and so he's basically bringing procurement intelligence and feeding it to the executive team. He has a seat there. So the shift in procurement went from the reporting on what happened, Well, I didn't get the parts, so we missed our production plan to shaping what's going to happen next and building that into their plan. So the common thread across a few customers is that they didn't get there by buying more software. They got there by deciding at the executive level that procurement is core infrastructure. Right. And then building it that way and operating it that way.

[Scott Lewton]

All right. We can't just throw more dollars at technologies, throw it over the fence and say, okay, done, check the box, move on. It's kind of one of your last points there, but two things that really, amongst other the examples Mark shared. Corinne, we all know the value of clean integrated data. It can move mountains when we have both of those items together. And then secondly, that continuous scenario modeling, not one off, not starting over again, but continuous scenario modeling at scale, massive value there. But what did you hear, Corinne?

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, first of all, loved the customer examples. Those are a very helpful market and I think that they are very compelling examples of how we move from this transactional cost center mentality to a strategic lever for the business. Right. How do we activate our digital front door, as you said, and really make it part of that S&OP process where it's integrated into our overall goals and objectives for the business. It's not just being pressured on unit cost. So I think that's very important to the overall value proposition. And those examples give some good tangible thoughts and ideas on where we can start.

[Scott Lewton]

Yep, that's right. And folks, if you want more details on those examples and what it may mean for your business, your organization, your ecosystem, your team, I know Mark and the Koopa team would welcome those conversations. Is that right, Mark?

[Mark Schnecker]

Yes, yes, certainly. I think it also. But it depends on where you are, the kind of conversation have. Right? So there's, I think there's kind of three different paths. You know, if you're early in your journey and you want to know where you actually stand, the easiest place is to start with a maturity assessment. Like basically it's the procurement maturity model, really received incredible focus from the industry as a whole. You can map your organization against that framework that these 133 companies were measured against. And you can see exactly where you are and where your gaps are. So if you're early, that's an easy way to self start and say, hey, we're really good here. Or you know what, we are nowhere near the leaders. If you're already on, if you've already started your digital transformation roadmap, but you want to Pressure test it. You know, whether you're building foundation or you're deploying intelligence or whether your direct and indirect strategies are aligned, whether you're investing in the right pillar, that's a conversation that's definitely one you want to tailor it, you know, reach out. We can talk with you personally if you want to see what's next. You know, connect with me on LinkedIn. I'd be glad to talk to you about it. We just finished our conference, it's called Coupa Inspire. And a lot of what we showcase there is directly addresses what we discussed today and it's pretty amazing. So it's autonomous procurement agency, AI intake and orchestration. Of course we acquired a company as well as platform, you know, platform integration. So the on demand content is released. It's extensive. It can get kind of deep, but it's worth a look. So the bottom line and this kind of echoes, I think the report itself is that organizations are closing the gap. They aren't spending more money, they're just building differently. They're looking at the problem differently. And we'd love to help you build the right foundation in the right sequence. So please reach out or through koopa.com or connect with me directly on LinkedIn.

[Scott Lewton]

Mark, it sounds like it's really easy no matter where you are in the journey to connect and get value. Even if you don't start working with Cooper right away, I think you'll find them to be and Mark and the team to be an excellent resource to bounce some thoughts off of. And of course, as he shared, there are no shortage of companies that are getting partnering with Koopa and getting great, great value on such a challenging time to find success across global business. Which only adds to Corinne, only adds to the why that we've got to do business different. Your quick comment on that, Corinne. And of course we've got your big patenting takeaway coming soon, but not yet react to the urgent need to do business different. Corinne.

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, it is urgent because the gap is getting bigger and Mark has already shared, or this research has shared some pretty significant gaps. So those who are leveraging technology to accomplish some really tangible goals are not taking small steps, but giant leaps forward and creating a competitive advantage in the way they manage their businesses. So that that's my big takeaway from that last point that Mark was sharing with us. And I have scribbled several different things I want to put into a final thought.

[Scott Lewton]

So good, I'll circle back on that because I saw you fast and furious. I knew you were taking 17 pages of notes too, like I have today. Let's see here. Let's start with the report that we have been referencing regularly. Check it out. The State of Direct Procurement 2026. As we've mentioned a couple of times, this resource sheds light on how leaders pull ahead while others stall or even regress in some cases.

[Mark Schnecker]

Right.

[Scott Lewton]

And it also features those insights, those actionable insights from 133 senior direct procurement leaders. And then secondly, we got even more. This resource entitled the Direct Spend Procurement Maturity Model. I think Mark was referencing this earlier. This offers up a roadmap for evolving from reactive operations that just react to market conditions and geopolitical and tariffs and trade and all the headaches out there evolving from reactive operations to intelligent connected supply networks. So make sure you go check that out. That roadmap will be very useful today and into the future. Okay, Corrine, you got a toughest question of the day because Marcus shared a container load of perspective here today. So what is your patent key takeaway here today, Corinne?

[Corinne Bursa]

Yeah, so I guess to start with Scott, you made the comment about the art of the possible. And I'm going to add the art and science of the possible because technology, artificial intelligence, does play a part in here, in really taking that data and transforming it into insights and actions for our business. So I want you to think about both the art and the science of the possible to help you run your business in a more strategic manner every day so that those tactical activities happen and they feed our our strategic goals for the business. So that's the first thing. The second thing is download this report. It is packed full of some really good insights and it's going to help you ask some questions internally about your business on where you sit today and where your opportunities might be. So the fact that they've also got this maturity model that can help you identify where you are, grab that too, because that'll be helpful for your business to take a look at where you are so then you can understand what's possible and put the pragmatic steps in place to do that. The third thing is this concept of the digital front door. I love it. I love having one digital front door, one process that can serve my suppliers and all of my procurement professionals and do it in a consistent, efficient manner. So think about, do you have a digital front door for your business? And then finally, let's unleash our inner leaders. These leaders are killing it based on this research. And chances are that investments in this area are going to pay for themselves. And you're going to see better margins across your business, better service for your customers as a result.

[Scott Lewton]

Corinne, I tell you, I knew you were up to the task, but those are three exceptional takeaways from what Mark shared here today. Mark, did she do you justice? I think she did, huh?

[Mark Schnecker]

Yeah. Fabulous. You guys, you guys are the greatest.

[Scott Lewton]

Well, really, you have brought some quality perspective rooted in data and rooted in industry and rooted in those organizations that are, that are doing what we're talking about.

[Mark Schnecker]

Right.

[Scott Lewton]

And there's such a great opportunity. If you feel like you're a laggard, you've got some catching up to do. Hey, there's no time like right now here today because as Karen mentioned, I'm going to steal this from her. The art and science of the possible. I love that. I love that. All right, so Mark Schnecker, vice president, Industrial manufacturing of Koopa Software, thank you so much for being here with us today, Mark.

[Mark Schnecker]

Thank you.

[Scott Lewton]

Look forward. You bet. Look forward to having you back. Good luck this weekend as you chase down those famous Florida red snappers and Kin Bursa. Always a pleasure. I'll tell you what I learned from both of you all here today. Thanks for being here.

[Corinne Bursa]

Oh, thank you. I really enjoyed the conversation. I think this is an important topic.

[Scott Lewton]

It is. It's a critical topic. And unfortunately, we still see a lot of folks sleeping on the opportunity of the incredible role that modern day procurement can play in your supply chain and your business enterprise and ecosystems. Mark and Corinne both really laid out some actionable expertise here today, driven by research, driven by data, driven by what's going on in reality. Not what we want to think, but reality. What's going on out there in our industry. You got to take one thing you heard here from today from Mark and Corinne and do something with it. These not words. And with that said, on behalf of the whole Supply Chain now team, Scott Luton, challenging you do good, get forward. Be the change that's needed. We'll see you next time right back here on Supply Chain Now.

[Mark Schnecker]

Thanks everybody.

[Scott Lewton]

Join the Supply Chain now community. For more supply chain chain perspectives, news and innovation, check out supply chain now.com subscribe to Supply Chain now on YouTube and follow and listen to Supply Chain

[Mark Schnecker]

now wherever you get your podcasts.

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