Companies that use procurement orchestration tools are closing sourcing deals nearly three weeks faster than those that do not, according to new research from The Hackett Group and ORO Labs.
The 2026 Procurement Orchestration Study found that organizations with formal orchestration programs reduced their source-to-contract cycle time by 20 days. Top-performing companies cut it further to 15 days.
The gains go beyond speed.
The study found that companies using orchestration reported a 30% median improvement in process efficiency and automation. The highest-performing companies saw gains of up to 50%.
Procurement leaders also said that 25% of their total cost reduction and cost avoidance was tied directly to orchestration efforts.
Faster cycles, more automation
Without orchestration, the average source-to-contract cycle time was 40 days. With orchestration, it dropped to 20 days. Top performers brought that number down to 15 days.
The report also found that companies using orchestration were 2.9 times more likely to have touchless purchase orders. On average, 43% of purchase orders were touchless with orchestration, compared to 15% without it. Top performers reached 60%.
User experience improved as well: 93% of procurement professionals who used orchestration rated their experience favorable, compared with 49% of those without it.
Better visibility and supplier collaboration
Beyond speed and automation, companies said orchestration gave them better visibility into spending and pricing.
Seventy-five percent of respondents cited improved data visibility for business users and procurement teams. Sixty-six percent reported better real-time pricing visibility. Another 59% cited stronger supplier collaboration.
“The procurement orchestration market is the first truly new core procurement technology market we have seen in over a decade,” said Nikhil Gaur, Director of Strategic Projects and Research Analyst at Spend Matters. The pain points of procurement organizations have been unaddressed, and legacy tech such as source-to-pay (S2P) has only been partially effective. Orchestration not only patches some of S2P’s holes, but it extends on the value proposition of procurement software by offering rapid time to value via quick implementations, as well as high ROI via its configurability, simplicity, and ability to seamlessly connect both stakeholders and software.
Once limited to intake management, the procurement orchestration market has evolved to include both intake requests as well as the completion of those requests across different systems. The next frontier for the market is AI, as deploying agents that extend beyond the original intake-based scope to deliver even greater efficiencies is a major focus for the market’s leading software providers.
