Deloitte and Coupa recently published a piece on the “Future of Procurement,” outlining four pillars for CPO success: expand roles strategically, leverage technology and AI, invest in talent, and measure outcomes.
It’s polished. It’s data-rich. It cites their 2025 Global CPO Survey showing 95% of CPOs are involved in digital transformation initiatives.
But here’s what the piece doesn’t mention:
Gartner’s own data shows only 20% of those initiatives achieve ROI.
That means roughly 75% of those 95% are failing. That’s not a transformation success story — that’s a mass casualty event dressed in marketing language.
The Infomercial Problem
Let’s be direct: this is a vendor-consultant alliance running an infomercial.
Deloitte sells transformation consulting. Coupa sells the platform. Together, they’re telling you to deploy faster, measure more, and become a “digital master” — using their services and technology.
This isn’t thought leadership. It’s co-branded demand generation.
And it reminds me of something that happened years ago. A top analyst at a major consulting firm gave me an honest, accurate interview about the real-world effectiveness of a solution provider. Candid. Evidence-based. Exactly what practitioners need.
His company pulled the plug on the piece.
Why? They didn’t want to risk offending an existing or future solution provider client and losing the business.
That moment told me everything about whose interests these firms actually serve. It’s not the practitioner’s.
When the consulting firm and the vendor are co-authoring the “research,” who’s left to ask the uncomfortable questions? Who’s going to tell you that you’re not ready — when both parties get paid only if you proceed?
The Missing Pillar
The Deloitte-Coupa framework focuses on deployment speed. Their “digital masters” are celebrated for deploying GenAI at 2x the rate of peers.
But speed to deployment is not the same as readiness to absorb.
Tricia Miller, Coupa’s SVP of Product Marketing, acknowledges this in the piece: “If you don’t add an investment in people to sustain gains, they won’t grow and may even slide backwards.”
She’s right. But the solution offered? Buy an AI-native platform and track 20 KPIs.
That’s not a readiness strategy. That’s a measurement strategy applied to an unready organization.
What 27 Years and 180+ Cases Tell Us
The pattern is remarkably consistent:
Organizations don’t fail because they chose the wrong technology. They fail because they deployed technology into organizations that weren’t ready to absorb it.
The Hackett Group said it plainly last month: “What’s failing is how organizations focus on tactical adoption instead of developing organizational readiness.”
Gartner’s latest research confirms it: “Technology is more ready than humans are.”
McKinsey documented it in 2023: “The generative AI payoff may only come when companies do deeper organizational surgery.”
This isn’t new insight. It’s a 27-year pattern finally reaching mainstream recognition.
The Question the Framework Doesn’t Ask
The Deloitte-Coupa piece asks: “How do we deploy faster and measure better?”
The question it should ask: “Is this organization ready to absorb what we’re about to deploy?”
That’s the Phase 0 question. And it’s the one that vendor-consultant alliances have no financial incentive to ask — because the answer might be “not yet.”
Digital Masters vs. Readiness Masters
Their framework celebrates “digital masters” — organizations that deploy faster.
The evidence suggests we need “readiness masters” — organizations that know when they’re ready to deploy and when they’re not.
The difference:
- Digital masters measure activity. Readiness masters measure capability.
- Digital masters ask “how fast?” Readiness masters ask “how ready?”
- Digital masters hit milestones. Readiness masters sustain outcomes.
The Counter-Framework
If you’re a CPO reading the Deloitte-Coupa piece, here’s the question to ask before you engage:
What’s your organization’s readiness score — and does anyone in the room know how to measure it?
If the answer is “we don’t have one,” you’re not ready to select a platform. You’re ready for Phase 0.
Technology evolves. Organizational dynamics don’t.
References:
Procurement Insights Archive: 180+ transformation cases, 1998-2025
Deloitte-Coupa: “Future of Procurement” (November 2025)
Gartner ThinkCast: “AI Readiness” (November 2025) — “The odds of an AI initiative actually getting ROI are just one in five.”
The Hackett Group: “What’s failing is tactical adoption instead of organizational readiness” (April 2025)
McKinsey: “The generative AI payoff may only come when companies do deeper organizational surgery” (June 2023)
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Procurement Insights
Digital Masters or Digital Casualties? What the Deloitte-Coupa “Future of Procurement” Piece Doesn’t Say
Posted on November 25, 2025
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Deloitte and Coupa recently published a piece on the “Future of Procurement,” outlining four pillars for CPO success: expand roles strategically, leverage technology and AI, invest in talent, and measure outcomes.
It’s polished. It’s data-rich. It cites their 2025 Global CPO Survey showing 95% of CPOs are involved in digital transformation initiatives.
But here’s what the piece doesn’t mention:
Gartner’s own data shows only 20% of those initiatives achieve ROI.
That means roughly 75% of those 95% are failing. That’s not a transformation success story — that’s a mass casualty event dressed in marketing language.
The Infomercial Problem
Let’s be direct: this is a vendor-consultant alliance running an infomercial.
Deloitte sells transformation consulting. Coupa sells the platform. Together, they’re telling you to deploy faster, measure more, and become a “digital master” — using their services and technology.
This isn’t thought leadership. It’s co-branded demand generation.
And it reminds me of something that happened years ago. A top analyst at a major consulting firm gave me an honest, accurate interview about the real-world effectiveness of a solution provider. Candid. Evidence-based. Exactly what practitioners need.
His company pulled the plug on the piece.
Why? They didn’t want to risk offending an existing or future solution provider client and losing the business.
That moment told me everything about whose interests these firms actually serve. It’s not the practitioner’s.
When the consulting firm and the vendor are co-authoring the “research,” who’s left to ask the uncomfortable questions? Who’s going to tell you that you’re not ready — when both parties get paid only if you proceed?
The Missing Pillar
The Deloitte-Coupa framework focuses on deployment speed. Their “digital masters” are celebrated for deploying GenAI at 2x the rate of peers.
But speed to deployment is not the same as readiness to absorb.
Tricia Miller, Coupa’s SVP of Product Marketing, acknowledges this in the piece: “If you don’t add an investment in people to sustain gains, they won’t grow and may even slide backwards.”
She’s right. But the solution offered? Buy an AI-native platform and track 20 KPIs.
That’s not a readiness strategy. That’s a measurement strategy applied to an unready organization.
What 27 Years and 180+ Cases Tell Us
The pattern is remarkably consistent:
Organizations don’t fail because they chose the wrong technology. They fail because they deployed technology into organizations that weren’t ready to absorb it.
The Hackett Group said it plainly last month: “What’s failing is how organizations focus on tactical adoption instead of developing organizational readiness.”
Gartner’s latest research confirms it: “Technology is more ready than humans are.”
McKinsey documented it in 2023: “The generative AI payoff may only come when companies do deeper organizational surgery.”
This isn’t new insight. It’s a 27-year pattern finally reaching mainstream recognition.
The Question the Framework Doesn’t Ask
The Deloitte-Coupa piece asks: “How do we deploy faster and measure better?”
The question it should ask: “Is this organization ready to absorb what we’re about to deploy?”
That’s the Phase 0 question. And it’s the one that vendor-consultant alliances have no financial incentive to ask — because the answer might be “not yet.”
Digital Masters vs. Readiness Masters
Their framework celebrates “digital masters” — organizations that deploy faster.
The evidence suggests we need “readiness masters” — organizations that know when they’re ready to deploy and when they’re not.
The difference:
The Counter-Framework
If you’re a CPO reading the Deloitte-Coupa piece, here’s the question to ask before you engage:
What’s your organization’s readiness score — and does anyone in the room know how to measure it?
If the answer is “we don’t have one,” you’re not ready to select a platform. You’re ready for Phase 0.
Technology evolves. Organizational dynamics don’t.
References:
Procurement Insights Archive: 180+ transformation cases, 1998-2025
Deloitte-Coupa: “Future of Procurement” (November 2025)
Gartner ThinkCast: “AI Readiness” (November 2025) — “The odds of an AI initiative actually getting ROI are just one in five.”
The Hackett Group: “What’s failing is tactical adoption instead of organizational readiness” (April 2025)
McKinsey: “The generative AI payoff may only come when companies do deeper organizational surgery” (June 2023)
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