As we wrap up a bustling summer of industry events, I can’t help but reflect on the fascinating conversations I’ve had and the trends that have emerged. 

Zip was present at over a dozen major events this year, from SIG to SuiteWorld, ProcureCon Indirect East and DPW Amsterdam, BizClick, Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference, and so many more—not to mention our very own Zip Forward in San Francisco. 

This season offered a glimpse into the future of procurement and spend orchestration, and revealed to me four key themes that are already reshaping our field. Here’s what I took away from this summer’s major industry events.

1. Intake and orchestration is 100% mainstream

Just a year ago, procurement orchestration was a nascent concept, with many event attendees asking, “Why do I need that?” Today, it’s clear that orchestration’s time has arrived. 

I had numerous conversations at our booth this year where people told me things like, “a friend told me I had to come see what you’re doing.” This year, orchestration is no longer a buzzword being whispered about in the halls of trade shows; it’s the heart of procurement innovation. 

Yet even though Zip pioneered this new category, it’s still our responsibility to prove why we’re a leader.

2. The next challenge is differentiation

As orchestration is now cemented as a must-have, I’ve noticed a shift in the questions I’m asked at the Zip booth and even during live sessions. 

People want to know “How are you different from other vendors?” or “My current provider says they are moving into orchestration—what sets you apart?”

The excitement and potential around orchestration has created an influx of competitors and, with that, market confusion. In the year ahead, vendors will strive to carve out unique niches and build competitive moats that offer tangible value, even to those still operating with traditional models like Source to Pay.

3. Spend management is becoming spend orchestration

It’s clear that the evolution of procurement is challenging traditional S2P frameworks. 

At DPW Amsterdam, I attended a panel session where leaders from major S2P suite providers tackled these ideas around the future of S2P head-on. The consensus? Modernizing their approach to intake is now essential to delivering adoption of S2P solutions, and cross-platform integration of data and processes will require an orchestration-based approach. The days of siloed S2P are numbered, and those who don’t adapt will fall behind.

However, there is another way.

4. Orchestration offers a ‘Third Way’ for S2P

As procurement’s scope grows, organizations are caught between a desire for simplicity and the need for specialized, best-of-breed solutions. Enter orchestration, which bridges this gap by offering a “virtual suite” that integrates the best tools into a cohesive process. 

At Zip Forward 2024, Brad Pittman from Dollar Tree shared how his team leverages Zip to orchestrate procurement across their own suite of enterprise systems, enabling flexibility and choice while maintaining their operational infrastructure. It was a fascinating experience to observe how a company like Dollar Tree, with over $8B in yearly spend, integrates Zip with its incumbent S2P stack and other tools that their company depends on.

Orchestration, therefore, actually empowers the future of S2P by allowing teams to evolve the scope of an evolving process without being locked into a single tool or way of working.

Final takeaway

This summer, it became evident that orchestration is the key force behind innovation in our industry. 

When I speak to procurement leaders looking towards the future, by and large they have come to fully recognize the power of orchestration to streamline operations, reduce redundancies, and unlock value in ways traditional source-to-pay solutions simply cannot achieve alone.

At Zip, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this movement. As we evolve our own offerings to meet our customer’s unique and growing needs, we’re committed to driving innovation that both aligns and also anticipates these sorts of industry shifts.

Our goal is to enable companies to work smarter, adapt faster, and ultimately achieve their own vision for procurement’s role in the organization. We look forward to continuing to work with our customers and partners as we innovate and shape the future of procurement together.

We hope to see you this fall and next year!