13 Trends. 20 Predictions. 1 Playbook. The CPO’s Definitive Roadmap for the Most Volatile Year in a Generation.

AI is here. Tariffs are permanent. A market correction is coming. This report from Ardent Partners gives you the intelligence and execution framework to stay ahead of all three.

A geopolitical shock will trigger budget freezes by Q4. Front-load your strategy now — this report shows you how.

The 2026 Reality — What’s at Stake

• Tariffs aren’t going away: Dozens of HTSUS changes hit in 2025, and SCOTUS won’t protect your supply chain—build a tariff engineering strategy.
• AI is outrunning your team: Agentic AI can act autonomously, but you have tool budgets without talent budgets—the “silicon ceiling” is real.
• Savings is #1 again: Every dollar saved fuels enterprise valuations, but 2026 requires precision—not price beatings.
• 40% of spend remains unmanaged: Autonomous negotiation and should-cost modeling can capture it—if deployed correctly.
• Friend-shoring is dead: Alliances are splintering into mercenary diplomacy—your supplier footprint must reflect that reality.
• A correction is coming by Q4: Not economic—geopolitical. CPOs who haven’t secured funding and execution will be frozen out.

What’s Inside the Report

13 BIG Trends – From “Permanent Beta Mode” and the Genesis of Autonomy to persistent inflation and the AI talent deficit. Each with a CPO Takeaway.

20 Bold Predictions – SCOTUS tariff limbo. The hourglass job market. A ProcureTech AI shakeout. A geopolitical shock triggering market correction. Each with a strategic recommendation.

5-Wave CPO Playbook – Data Cleanup → Trade Engineering → AI Savings Scale-Up → AI Garage → Talent Realignment. A sequential execution roadmap to make your initiatives “too advanced to stop” before budgets tighten.

“Survive this year and dominate the rest of the decade. The savings and productivity seeds planted during 2026’s AI pilots and trade pivots will manifest as major value in 2027.” – Andrew Bartolini, Founder & Chief Research Officer of Ardent Partners

Who This Is For

• Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and Procurement VPs preparing 2026 priorities
• Heads of Sourcing, Category Management, Supplier Management, and Procurement Transformation
• Finance leaders partnering with procurement on margin protection and cash flow
• Procurement ops / S2P program owners evaluating AI-driven process redesign

About Ardent Partners

Ardent Partners is a research and advisory firm that publishes data-driven insights to help procurement and business leaders improve results through better strategy, process, and technology decisions.

Sponsorship: This report is underwritten by Zycus.