Procurement teams often describe themselves as enablers of innovation. They talk about value creation, supplier collaboration, and strategic partnerships. Yet speak to many start-ups or SMEs and a very different picture emerges- one where procurement processes feel like barriers rather than gateways. So, is procurement genuinely supporting innovation within your organisation, or unintentionally standing in its way?
The case for procurement: protecting the organisation
There’s no doubt that procurement plays a vital role in managing risk. In large organisations especially, the consequences of supplier failure can be severe, from operational disruption to reputational damage and regulatory breaches. Robust due diligence, financial checks and compliance processes exist for good reason.
Procurement teams are tasked with ensuring stability and continuity of supply. This means assessing whether a supplier can scale, meet contractual obligations and operate securely over the long term. From this perspective, cautious onboarding policies aren’t about blocking innovation, they’re about protecting the business.
In complex organisations, procurement also provides consistency. Standardised processes and approved supplier lists help manage thousands of suppliers efficiently, ensuring legal, ethical and financial standards are met across the board.
The other side: when control becomes constraint
However, this risk-focused approach can come at a cost. Many innovative ideas come from smaller, agile suppliers: start-ups that don’t yet have long trading histories, large balance sheets or enterprise-level insurance. Rigid onboarding criteria can exclude these suppliers before conversations even begin.
Approved supplier lists, while efficient, can become closed ecosystems. Once established, they often favour incumbents and make it difficult for new entrants to break through, even when they offer genuinely novel solutions. As a result, procurement teams may default to familiar suppliers, unintentionally limiting exposure to fresh thinking.
Lengthy procurement cycles can also be a challenge. Innovation moves quickly, but extended tender processes, multiple approval layers and strict frameworks can slow progress to the point where opportunities are missed altogether.
Finding the balance between risk and innovation
The challenge isn’t choosing between risk management and innovation, it’s balancing both. Procurement doesn’t need to abandon due diligence, but it may need to rethink how it applies it. For example, proportional risk assessment allows SMEs and start-ups to be evaluated differently from large strategic suppliers, without compromising governance.
Some organisations are creating innovation pathways within procurement, such as pilot programmes, sandbox environments, or innovation-friendly frameworks that allow smaller suppliers to prove their value before full onboarding. Others are involving procurement earlier in innovation discussions, rather than bringing them in at the final approval stage.
Is your procurement function fit for the future?
If procurement is to genuinely enable innovation, it must evolve beyond rigid processes designed solely for risk avoidance. That means adopting more flexible approaches, empowering teams to make informed judgement calls, and recognising that innovation often comes from outside established supplier networks.
The key question for organisations isn’t whether procurement protects against risk- it absolutely does. The real question is whether it’s also creating the space for new ideas to flourish, or unintentionally keeping them out.
How Accelerate Procurement can help
At Accelerate Procurement, we work with organisations to ensure procurement functions strike the right balance between governance and innovation. Our experienced procurement consultants help teams review and redesign procurement processes so they remain robust and compliant without unintentionally excluding agile, high-potential suppliers. By introducing proportionate risk frameworks, streamlined onboarding approaches and innovation-friendly sourcing strategies, we enable procurement teams to support growth, embrace new ideas and deliver greater long-term value. If your procurement team is under pressure to innovate without increasing risk, Accelerate Procurement can help you move forward with confidence.