金融服务采购：技术驱动的价值创造者

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ProcurementinFinancialServices:ATech-PoweredValueCreator

AI-enabledprocurementsolutionsaregeneratingvalueinfinancialinstitutions.

ByGerryMattios,DiegoBarillà,KarenStansfield,andStefanoSironiPublishedonMay28,2026•7minread

AtaGlance

.AIinnovationandrisingtechspendareelevatingprocurementtoastrategicroleinfinancialservicesinstitutions(FSIs).

.Procurementcanunlocksavingsandimproveperformanceacrosssupplyandoperationsfunctions.

.Technologyisreshapingoperatingmodelstodrivegrowth,efficiency,andresilience.

.Agenticartificialintelligence(AI)cantransformprocurementworkflowsandaccelerateexecution.

Procurementisavitalforceinfinancialinstitutions—buttoday’sbanksaremissingoutonvalueiftheyhaven’t

adoptedatech-focusedvisionforprocuremIftteamprioritizestacticaloperationsoverstrategic

vendormanagement,theylosegroundincoighdnegotiations,leavingthemselvesvulnerableto

savingsleakageandpricehikes.Thepotentialforriskdoesn’tendthere.Whenbanksdon’tintegratetechnologywithprocurement,theymayforgocrucialsavingsopportunities.Forexample,theymaymissoutonanalysesofsoftwarelicenseusageandutilization,thusleadingtomoresoftwarespendthannecessaryinordertoruntheirbusinesses.

Forward-thinkingbanksandotherfinancialinstitutionsareusingadvancementsintechnologytomodernize

procurementandcreatevalue.ButaretheyreadytoseizethepotentialofautomationandagenticAI?Withoutclearlydefinedprioritiesandascaledtransformationstrategy,FSIprocurementfunctionsmaybeindangeroflosing

momentum.

FSIshavetakenamoreagileapproachtogrowthaspost-Covidinterest-rateshiftsandariseintechinvestmentshavereshapedbusinessoperations.Institutionsarereimaginingtheirstrategiesforthird-partyspendtoimproveefficiencyandbuildvalue.Meanwhile,FSIsaredoublingdownontechnologytoimprovecustomerserviceandstaycompetitive;lastyear,80%offinancialservicesfirmssaidtheyexpectedtoincreasetheirITspend,withmostinvestinginanalytics,cloud,cybersecurity,andgenerativeAI.TheindustryhasalsobuiltitsownagenticAIsolutionsasameansof

controllingcostsandreducingdependenceonexternaltechproviders.

AsFSIsexploretheroleoftechnologyinbusinessfunctions,procurementisemergingasanunexpectedsourceofvalue.Inrecentyears,procurementhastakenonamorestrategicrolebyusingtechnologyasacompetitive

INCREASEDTECHSPENDING

differentiator.AIandautomationarereshapingthefunctions,creatingopportunitiestoimproveprocesses,guidestrategicspending,andreducecosts.

TECHNOLOGYASCORECAPABILITY

PERFORMANCEPAYOFF

Technologyascorecapability

•Increasedtechspending

•Performancepayoff

FSIsarestrategicallyfocusingontechnologyasacorecapability

Otherbanks

TechLeaders

16

Techstrategy

Averagepercentageofbankspositioningasatechcompany

2.3

Engineers

Averagepercentageofengineersinworkforce

0.8

9

Thisisapivotalmomentforprocurementandtechnologytobecomestrategicpartnersinthefutureoffinancial

services.Byunderstandingcurrentconditionsandthewaystechnologycanimproveprocurement’sprofile,FSIscancapturevalueingame-changingareas.

Technologyasacoredifferentiator

Infinancialservicesorganizations,procurementhashistoricallyplayedlessofastrategicrolethaninotherindustries.Itmanagessourcing,negotiatescontracts,ensurescompliance,andkeepscostsdown.Butastechnologybecomes

bothastrategicassetandasourceofcompetitivedifferentiation,procurementmustcontinuetobuildonitstransformativebusinesscapabilities.

NowFSIscanturntoprocurementfornext-levelbusinessinfluenceonvendorrelationshipsandtechnologysolutions.Today’sFSIsaremakingsignificanttechnologyinvestmentsthatdirectlyimprovekeybusinessoutcomes,includingmaintainingacompetitiveedgeandexceedingcustomerexpectations.

Tech-savvyFSIsalsocannavigatevendorrelationshipsmoreeasily.Iforganizationsembedprocurementintheirtechstrategies,theyopendoorstolong-termcollaborativevendorpartnershipsthatpromotestabilityandeliminatethe

risksassociatedwithswitchingproviders.WorkingwithleadingtechnologycompaniesalsokeepsFSIsattheforefrontoftransformationandensuresaccesstofutureinnovations.FSIsnolongerneedtobuildcoreplatformsin-house;withexternalvendors,theycandevelopexpert-ledcapabilitiesthatalignwithfirmprioritieswhilepositioningthemselves

ascustomersofchoiceforsizable,cutting-edgetechnologyproviders.ThesepartnershipscansupportservicessuchasgenerativeAI-enabledinsurancedistribution,whichboostefficiencywhilemakingacommercialimpact.

Howwillprocurementdeliverthegreatestvalue?Exploringthreepriorityareascanhelpfinancialserviceskeepupwithdemandwhilebreakingnewground.

Priority1:Realizesavingspotential

Procurementcandeliversavingsforfinancialservicesacrossbank-specificandindirectspending,andAIisexpandingopportunitiestogeneratevaluefromeverydayprocesses.Thetechnologyisalreadychanginghoworganizations

managesuppliercosts,contractcycles,deliverymodels,andin-housesystems.

Astrategicpartnershipbetweenprocurementandtechnologycanamplifysavingsacrossbuyingandspending

categories.Onthebuyingside,AIcanpowercostanalysis,forecastpricingtrends,andhelporganizationsidentifythebestsuppliers.Toimprovespending,FSIscanuseAIasanadvancedoperationstool,predictingdemandand

automatingprocessestoenhanceperformance.Eachinnovationbenefitsprocurementandtheentireorganization.

FSIsshouldconsidernotonlyhowAIhasreshapedspendingsofarbutalsoitsimplicationsonfuturedecisionmaking.AI—particularlyagenticAI—canautomatetacticalworkandcreatemoretimeforhumanexpertstofocusonhigh-

valuestrategicactivities.Withtheseinsights,FSIscanmakedecisionsbasedoninformationthatwouldhavetakentoolongtogathermanually.

Priority2:Transformoperatingmodels

Themostadvancedfinancialinstitutionsarealreadyredesigningtheirprocurementoperatingmodelstomaximizevalue.Organizationsareembeddingprocurementearlierinthetechnologylifecycle,partneringdirectlywithchieftechnologyofficers,CIOs,chiefdataandAIofficers,andproductowners.Categorystrategiesareevolvingawayfromcostsavingstowardinnovation,speed,resilience,andcustomerimpact.

Procurementisforegoingtraditionalrelationshipswithtechnologyprovidersinfavorofongoingcollaborationandinnovation.Thisshiftiselevatingprocurement’srolewithinFSIsasthefunctionmovesfromadministrationto

technologyleadersandlong-termvaluecreators.Asaresult,FSIscanbenefitfromgrowthdrivenbyimprovedcustomerexperiences,operationalefficiency,andresilience.

Thistransformationrequiresprocurementteamstofundamentallychangetheirapproachtoskillbuildingby

developingdeeperexpertiseinAIandemergingtechnologies.UnderstandinggenerativeAImodels,cloud

architectures,cybertechnologies,datagovernance,andSoftwareasaService(SaaS)economicsisbecomingessential.Procurementprofessionalsmustspeakthesamelanguageastechnologyandbusinessleadersandbringacommerciallenstocomplextechnicaldecisions.

Priority3:Leadthewaywithnext-levelprocurementhubs

Considertoday’soffshoresourcinghubs:Withtheneedforongoingoperationaloversightandhumancapital

management,suchprocurementsolutionscaneasilybecomesourcesoflogisticalcomplexity.HowcanFSIsleveragetechnologytomakethesehubsmoreefficient?WithagenticAI,financialinstitutionscanreshapethefutureoftoday’scoreprocurementfunctionswithinnovationandspeed.Technologycansupporteveryaspectofthesupplier

relationship,andbyincorporatingagenticAIintoexecutionplanning,procurementcantakeonamorestrategicrole.

AIcantransformprocurementprocessesinwaysthatreshapebusiness.WithAI-enhancedsourcing,organizationscanmakebetterdecisionsaroundsupplierdiscoveryandselection.Thetechnologywillgeneratenewopportunitiesin

buying,invoicing,andcontractmanagementwhileautomatingtime-intensiveaspectsofsuppliertransactions.Italsogivesprocurementapathtogreatersustainability,usingforecastingcapabilitiestoamplifyimpactwhilereducing

third-partyrisk.

Automated.Augmented(humanintheloop)wNotautomated

Extracts

metadatato

trackcontract

overlifecycle

Signscontract

Issuespurchaseorder(s)

Analyzesandnegotiatescontract

deviations

Authorcontract

Selectsasupplier

Business

Identifiesaneedtobuy

Triagestorightchannel/process

Conductsrisk

evaluationand

validates

compliance

Establishesa

sourcingstrategy

Onboards

newsuppliers

(ifneeded)

Sendstendertosuppliers

Collects

receipt

confirmation

frombusiness

Collects

feedbackfrom

business

Negotiates

withsuppliers

and

recommends

winner

Creates

negotiation

scripts

Three-waychecks

supplierinvoices

andconfirms

payment

Goods/services

received,performance

checkedandpaid

Setsbest-in-

class

comparison

criteria

Structuresyour

needs/drafts

needs

Supplierssend

questionsand

offers

Agent1:

Procurementfrontdoor

Recommendsalternativesuppliers

Recommendspreferred

suppliers

Agent6:

Operationalbuyer

Createspurchaserequisition

Validates/

approves

budget

Agent3:Tender

manager

Agent5:Contractmanager

Agent2:

Tenderissuer

Manages

inconsistencies

Manages

supplierQ&A

Agent4:

Negotiator

Comparesquotes

Gets

approved

Scoressuppliers

DraftstheRfX

Source:Bainanalysis

HowshouldFSIsbegintheirprocurementtechnologytransformations?

FSIsshouldtakeanambitious,analyticalapproachtoembeddingvalueintech-forwardprocurement.Withaclearunderstandingofexternalspendandoperatingcosts,leaderscandevelopatwo-tothree-yearstrategyrootedinsequencedusecases—onesthatguidetransformationacrosstheprocurementvaluechain,fromdemandintaketocontractexecution.

Asuccessfultransformationplanincludesthreeessentiallevels:

•Definefutureambition:ProcurementcansetavisionforimplementingAIandautomationintherequestprocess,commercialnegotiation,andcontractgeneration—andestablishingagentic,multistepworkflowsthatsetthe

businessupforsuccess.

•Analyzepresent-daygoals:Institutionscananalyzetheircurrentcapabilitiesintermsoftechnologyand

automationrelatedtospending,contracts,andsupplierstoensureAIstrategieswillbegroundedandscalable.

•Identifypathsforward:Byinvestinginasmallnumberof“bestbet”usecaseswithhighnear-termreturnoninvestment,procurementcanmapwaystooptimizeAIacrosscrucialchannelsanddeals.

Withthisapproach,FSIshavebeenabletomovefromincrementalsavingstotransformativecostssavings.

Procurementteamshaveincreasedstaffefficiencybyover30%andevenupto50%;consistentlysaved5%–8%on

addressablethird-partyspend;andchangedthetrajectoryofvaluecreationbyusingastrategic,integratedapproachtotechadoption.

BainpartnerswithFSIsendtoendonthisagenda.Theseorganizationsfaceuniqueopportunitiestomodernizetheirprocurementfunctions.Bybuildingafactbaseandcostbaseline,exploringtransformationpotential,anddesigninguse-caseportfoliosandroadmaps,theycanrealizevalueandsustainchange.