Procurement in South Africa is evolving. No longer just a tool for cutting costs, it is now a strategic lever for economic inclusion, ethical governance, and long-term social impact.

According to Paul Vos, Regional managing director of the Chartered Institute for Procurement & Supply (CIPS) Southern Africa, organisations are increasingly using procurement to strengthen resilience, transparency, and responsible sourcing.

From cost-cutting to impact

“Historically, procurement was seen primarily as a mechanism to reduce costs. Today, organisations recognise their power to influence resilience, transparency and responsible sourcing. Procurement is increasingly being used deliberately as a lever for social change,” says Vos.

Leading banks and telecoms, including Absa, Vodacom, and MTN, run enterprise and supplier development (ESD) programmes that help small suppliers become production-ready and compliant. These initiatives often include access to finance, mentorship, technology upgrades, and guaranteed offtake agreements, improving supply continuity and strengthening local economies.

Three key shifts in procurement

Vos identifies major changes reshaping the profession:

• Moving from compliance-focused processes to impact-driven outcomes.
• Integrating ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), B-BBEE, and ethical standards into procurement frameworks.
• Professionalising procurement to align with international best practice.

Prioritising responsible suppliers

Procurement teams are adopting holistic sourcing strategies, rewarding suppliers who contribute to socio-economic goals. Tools such as weighted evaluation criteria, life-cycle costing, ESG-aligned RFQs and RFPs, and adherence to the CIPS Global Standard help organisations select suppliers aligned with national development priorities.

“Economic inclusion becomes meaningful when selection decisions deliberately favour suppliers who support national development goals,” Vos says. “Supplier diversity is not charity but sound business practice.”

Diverse suppliers offer local knowledge, reduce concentration risk, and strengthen supply chain resilience.

Organisations are setting deliberate spend targets, streamlining onboarding for emerging enterprises, and partnering with development institutions to uplift historically disadvantaged and township-based suppliers.

Procurement as a tool for sustainability

Responsible sourcing is increasingly non-negotiable, with organisations embedding transparent governance, ethical frameworks, environmental performance assessments, and digital tools to improve visibility into supply chain risks.

Vos emphasises that tackling South Africa’s inequality challenges requires collaboration between sectors. “Joint standards, shared expertise and co-investment in supplier development can transform entire value chains,” he says.

Linking procurement to global goals

Procurement is uniquely positioned to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Organisations are mapping spend to SDG indicators and embedding sustainability metrics into scorecards, reporting, and supplier audits.

“Procurement can materially move the dial on SDG progress when decisions are intentionally aligned to sustainability objectives,” Vos notes. “Professionalisation at scale, aligned standards across sectors, digital transformation and regional integration can unlock procurement’s full potential to drive social change. The opportunity exists – if capability, ethics and governance keep pace with ambition.”