Geopolitical volatility, policy shifts, and macroeconomic headwinds, complemented by the rise of agentic AI, are reshaping outsourcing strategies in real time. With efficiency, agility, and resilience on the line, leaders must keep pace with the rapid transformation of outsourcing. In this webinar, we broke down the outsourcing decision frameworks guiding today’s procurement and sourcing leaders, spotlighting IT services trends as a case in point, and analyzed how the rise of agentic AI and a “permacrisis” environment are rewriting the rules of service placement decisions. Backed by the latest market analysis, we connected the rationale driving today’s outsourcing decisions with the mega forces shaping tomorrow’s strategies – equipping leaders to stay ahead.

Procurement teams seek to streamline sourcing and broader procurement to boost efficiency and value capture in the face of the various challenges such as macroeconomic uncertainties, supply chain volatilities, and geopolitical shocks that enterprises face today. Agentic AI, a configurable layer of autonomous agents, now makes it possible to generate content, derive insights, collaborate with humans-in-the-loop, invoke tools and APIs, and execute decisions end-to-end. Applied across S2P, agentic AI can triage intake, identify and qualify suppliers, assemble events and documentation, administer and monitor events, analyze proposals, support negotiation and awards, resolve PO/invoice exceptions with autonomous three-way match and fraud checks, enable guided tail-spend buying, and continuously sense third-party, ESG, and compliance risks. In this report, we examine agentic AI applications built for procurement and present detailed provider profiles, analyzing capabilities across procurement activities. The report is designed for procurement teams seeking to optimize sourcing and procurement through agentic AI by clarifying where to start and which solutions best fit their operating context.

Procurement organizations prioritize reducing costs, managing risks, and creating business value. Category management helps achieve these goals by optimizing category spend, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and improving operational efficiency. In the face of emerging agentic AI use cases and ongoing uncertainties, life sciences enterprises are accelerating IT adoption, embracing cloud migration, AI/ML for drug discovery, digital twins for manufacturing, IoT for supply chain visibility, and cybersecurity for connected devices. Commercial functions are projected to see the fastest growth (~7% CAGR, 2025-27), while clinical development is expected to grow at 6.0-6.5% CAGR. These trends reflect not only sector-wide digital transformation but also rising momentum in AI adoption. This report equips buyers of life sciences IT services with the market intelligence required to design informed category strategies. It delivers in-depth insights into industry trends, supplier landscapes, pricing structures, and category management best practices. The market intelligence report should be used in tandem with Everest Group’s ready-to-use category strategy tool kit, which helps conduct a thorough internal assessment of the category. Together, the report and the tool kit allow category managers to integrate and align evolving market dynamics with internal priorities, driving effective, actionable, and future-ready category strategies. The report offers detailed coverage of the following areas: Evolving supplier landscape Technology trends and market dynamics Pricing trends and cost structures Insights on key strategic considerations for category managers, including risk factors, supplier diversity, and location-specific insights

The Supplier Risk Assessment Questionnaire is a strategic toolkit designed to help organizations evaluate the resilience and risk posture of their third-party suppliers amid increasing geopolitical uncertainty and operational disruptions. It is centered on two core risk dimensions: Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and geopolitical resilience. The questionnaire is structured to collect actionable insights from suppliers in a clear and organized format. The toolkit is meant to be distributed by clients to their suppliers during elevated regional or global risk, such as conflicts, sanctions, or infrastructure instability. It helps assess how such risks may impact service delivery, staffing, supply chains, or regulatory compliance. It is intended to serve as a diagnostic tool and to initiate transparency and risk mitigation planning between clients and suppliers.

Procurement leaders are navigating an increasingly complex landscape, marked by heightened demands for cost efficiency, sustainability, and risk mitigation. Traditional automation tools are no longer sufficient to meet these challenges. Enter Agentic AI – a transformative technology characterized by autonomous decision-making capabilities that can revolutionize procurement processes. In this webinar, our experts Bhanushee Malhotra, Prateek Singh, and Amit Lad delved into the concept of Agentic AI within procurement. This webinar explored the technological landscape, functionalities, and transformative impact of Agentic AI across various procurement processes. Attendees gained clarity on Agentic AI’s role, potential benefits, and key considerations for successful implementation. What questions did the webinar answer for the participants? What is Agentic AI, and how does it differ from traditional procurement automation tools? Which procurement processes are most suitable for Agentic AI adoption? What are the various Agentic AI use cases currently offered by procurement technology providers? What are the essential functionalities and capabilities to look for in AI agents within procurement solutions?

This Viewpoint provides a structured framework for retained organizations to manage outsourcing partnerships effectively. As enterprises increasingly rely on third-party providers to achieve scale, efficiency, and access to specialized expertise, internal oversight teams must ensure that provider relationships remain aligned with business objectives and deliver long-term value. The report focuses on how retained organizations can design and implement robust governance structures, define clear roles and responsibilities, and apply performance monitoring mechanisms. It addresses key areas such as contract oversight, service-level adherence, escalation protocols, compliance management, and transition planning. A real-world case example illustrates how a leading enterprise successfully applied a three-tier governance model and engagement cadence to resolve challenges, strengthen accountability, and improve outcomes. This guide supports sourcing, vendor management, and operational leaders in strengthening internal capabilities to manage outsourcing environments with clarity, consistency, and a strategic focus.

Procurement leaders today face multifaceted challenges marked by macroeconomic uncertainties, geopolitical turmoil, evolving regulations, cost pressures, and supply chain volatility. Amid these challenges, they are expected to optimize savings, manage supplier risks, ensure compliance, and meet sustainability goals – all while constrained by fragmented, reactive legacy systems. These legacy procurement systems fall short, often leading to reactive decisions, poor visibility, compliance lapses, and operational inefficiencies. This Viewpoint introduces Systems of Execution (SoE) as the next evolution for procurement: an intelligent, autonomous decision-execution framework orchestrating AI agents and operating seamlessly across the Source-to-Pay (S2P) value chain. By overlaying and embedding SoE capabilities into existing systems, procurement organizations can shift from static, reactive processes to dynamic, proactive workflows, enabling an intelligent, autonomous, agile, and execution-oriented procurement ecosystem. Scope All industries and geographies Contents In this report, we explore: SoE-led procurement transformation Functional transformation across the S2P value chain An implementation roadmap for procurement Strategic considerations for chief procurement officers