The current joint study “Einkaufscontrolling 2025” by BME and the management consultancy entero shows a clear picture. Modern purchasing organizations are becoming increasingly hybrid, focusing more on data-driven analyses and focusing on strategic factors such as quality, price and total cost of ownership (TCO).
The survey is based on answers from more than 100 experts from purchasing, controlling and IT, primarily from industry, with companies with a turnover of ten million euros or more. Around two thirds of the respondents are in management positions and manage companies with a turnover of 275 million euros on average. The study thus clarifies the perspective of experienced decision makers who use purchasing as a strategic lever in the company.
A key finding of the study is the increasing hybridization of purchasing organizations. Centralized structures are represented at 48 percent; the combination of centralized and decentralized models is almost equally strong at 45 percent. This development shows that companies increasingly prefer flexible models that enable local decisions without losing strategic control.
Purchasing controlling is also experiencing an upward trend. After the proportion of companies with established controlling fell by 2023, it will return to 52 percent in 2025. At the same time, the share without controlling is declining, which points to the growing strategic importance and professionalization of purchasing. The focus is on quality, price and TCO, while the risk assessment decreases slightly compared to 2023.
The preferred purchasing strategies remain bundling by product group and framework agreements, with part sourcing becoming more relevant. The most important KPIs are purchasing volume, savings as a percentage of the total volume and price development of materials. ERP landscapes are becoming more heterogeneous, with large software providers such as SAP and Microsoft continuing to dominate, while self-developed solutions are declining.
The study confirms that artificial intelligence and sustainability are the central trending topics in purchasing 2025. AI is increasingly moving from theoretical discussion to concrete application scenarios. Sustainability is experiencing a significant boost in implementation in processes and management variables and is increasingly being used as a strategic management tool.
For 2026, companies expect an even stronger focus on expanding AI use cases, digitizing purchasing processes, improving data quality and strengthening sustainability and risk management activities.
Indirect procurement in particular benefits from these developments. Structured purchasing controlling creates transparency about one-time requirements, special orders and operational processes. This is where Pedlar comes in: With a 1-creditor model, indirect purchases can be bundled centrally, risks reduced, compliance ensured and processes can be made measurable. This not only makes indirect procurement more efficient, but also strategically valuable.
The results of the study clearly show that companies that consistently implement modern controlling approaches can make their purchasing organization fit for the future and at the same time measurably increase the value contribution of purchasing. Pedlar provides support precisely at this point by bringing transparency, efficiency and controllability to indirect procurement and thus actively making use of the 2025 trends.
Source: Joint study by BME and entero: Purchasing Controlling in Germany 2025
