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Survey of 100 public sector procurement professionals finds 74% cite rising costs as a top challenge, while process automation remains the leading priority for the third consecutive year
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ATLANTA & TORONTO — Euna Solutions®, a leading provider of purpose-built, cloud-based software for the public sector, today released its 2026 State of Public Procurement report, finding that government procurement teams face mounting cost, compliance, and capacity pressures while many continue to rely on manual and disconnected systems.
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Based on a survey of 100 public sector procurement professionals across North America conducted June 1-30, 2026, the report found that 74% of respondents identify rising costs of goods and services as a top external challenge. Half are prioritizing streamlined and automated processes, yet 46% still manage procurement primarily through spreadsheets, email, or paper.
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“Public procurement is one of the quiet engines of government,” said Tom Amburgey, CEO of Euna Solutions. “Residents may never see the work behind it, but they feel the results in the quality and reliability of public services. The opportunity ahead is to give procurement professionals the support and technology they need to spend less time navigating workarounds and more time creating value for their communities. With the right foundation, agencies can move into the next era of procurement with confidence, using innovation to strengthen public service and public trust.”
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Five Pressures Shaping Public Procurement in 2026
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The report identifies five pressures affecting how public sector organizations manage procurement:
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- Rising costs remain the leading external challenge. Seventy-four percent of respondents cited rising costs of goods and services as a challenge, followed by budget reductions or flat funding at 55% and economic uncertainty at 48%.
- Compliance demands and unplanned requests are straining internal capacity. Ensuring compliance ranked as the top internal challenge at 46%. Urgent or unplanned procurement requests and managing budgets were each cited by 42%.
- Supplier performance management remains largely reactive. Fifty-nine percent of respondents either do not formally assess suppliers or conduct reviews only when problems arise. Just 5% perform quarterly assessments.
- Procurement’s strategic influence remains uneven. Half of respondents said procurement is viewed as a value driver within their organization. The other half disagreed or were unsure, despite procurement’s responsibility for organizational spending, compliance risk, and supplier relationships.
- Interest in AI is growing faster than organizational readiness. Thirty-nine percent of respondents want or are open to incorporating AI into procurement workflows, but 41% are not confident that their organizations are prepared to adopt it responsibly. Only 17% expressed very or extremely high confidence in their readiness.
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Why Process Automation Remains Public Procurement’s Top Priority
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Streamlining and automating processes ranked as the leading procurement priority for the next 12 to 18 months, selected by 50% of respondents. The same objective also topped the survey in 2024 and 2025. Implementing cost-reduction strategies ranked second in 2026 at 40%.
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Automation’s three-year position as the top priority indicates that agencies recognize the need to modernize but continue to face implementation barriers. Budget constraints remain the leading obstacle to adopting procurement software, cited by 31% of respondents. Resistance to change and the perception that existing tools are “good enough” were each cited by 15%.
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Responsible AI Adoption Requires Reliable Procurement Data and Infrastructure
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The report identifies data quality, legacy system integration, cybersecurity, transparency, bias, and change management as central considerations for responsible AI adoption in public procurement.
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Agencies that still depend on spreadsheets, email, and disconnected systems need to modernize their underlying procurement infrastructure before AI can produce reliable results. Clean, structured, and accessible procurement data provides a stronger foundation for applying AI responsibly while maintaining the human oversight required in public sector decision-making.
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Methodology
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The 2026 State of Public Procurement report is based on survey responses from 100 public sector procurement professionals across North America. It was conducted June 1-30, 2026. Respondents represented municipal governments, higher education institutions, K–12 education organizations, state and federal agencies, transportation agencies, county governments, tribal nations, and other public entities. 58% of lead procurement teams have five people or fewer.
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About Euna Solutions
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Euna Solutions® is the leading provider of purpose-built, cloud-based software designed to streamline procurement, budgeting, payments, and grants management for public sector and government organizations. Euna’s AI-powered features and intelligent automation help organizations make better-informed decisions, ensure compliance, empower collaboration, and reduce administrative burden. Euna’s full-cycle financial suite supports more than 3,600 organizations across North America in building trust, enabling transparency, and driving positive community impact. Recognized on Government Technology’s GovTech 100 list, Euna Solutions is committed to advancing public sector innovation. To learn more, visit www.eunasolutions.com.
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