HFS Horizons: Sourcing and Procurement Service Providers, 2024

The HFS Horizons: Sourcing and Procurement Service Providers, 2024 report is for chief procurement officers and sourcing leaders evaluating third-party S2P outsourcing and managed services partners.

Overview

The HFS Horizons: Sourcing and Procurement Service Providers, 2024 report assesses 11 service providers across the source-to-pay (S2P) value chain, evaluating each on the Why, What, How, and So What of its offering. It applies the HFS Horizons framework, developed by HFS Research, which classifies providers as Horizon 1 Disruptors, Horizon 2 Enterprise Innovators, or Horizon 3 Market Leaders, and covers only multi-year outsourcing and managed services engagements.

Key findings

1. Accenture leads the market with 1,250-plus clients and $1.2 trillion in managed procurement spend, backed by more than 50 S2P partnerships and 158 acquisitions since 2019.
2. GEP manages $350 billion in spend and channels $1 trillion in transaction spend through its GEP SMART platform across 550-plus clients in over 100 countries.
3. IBM oversees $420 billion in managed procurement spend, with nearly $100 billion actively sourced, delivering average sourcing savings of 12% to 14%-plus.
4. HFS names Accenture, GEP, IBM, Infosys, and WNS Procurement as the five Horizon 3 Market Leaders among the 11 providers assessed.
5. Only 6% of S2P engagements leverage generative AI, even though 73% of the 15 procurement leaders HFS interviewed see procurement’s future as an “ecosystem builder.”

HFS assesses that the S2P provider community delivers robust functional execution, reflected in mean ratings of 4.3 out of 5 for service quality and geographic coverage, but has not matched that with strategic thinking, talent retention, or emerging technology adoption, the three lowest-rated areas at 3.7, 3.7, and 3.1 out of 5. HFS finds closing this gap, not expanding scope, will separate the leaders from the field.

The Bottom Line

HFS envisions procurement as the “ecosystem builder” for the enterprise, not just a cost-focused, back-office function. As the role of procurement radically transforms, the client expectations from third-party source-to-pay (S2P) services are also rapidly evolving.

Research methodology

This report draws on briefings with each of the 11 participating providers, reference checks with 30 active clients and 32 active partners via survey and telephone interviews, and separate interviews with 15 procurement leaders, conducted globally in 2024.

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