Agiloft Named Contributing Partner in PwC Global Digital Procurement Survey Report Marking CLM's Rise as a Standalone Investment Priority

New PwC research identifies contract lifecycle management as a standalone procurement investment priority for the first time, while Agiloft's research reveals the gaps in tracking contract risk and value after signature that help explain why

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Agiloft, the global leader in data-first contract lifecycle management (CLM), today announced its role as a contributing partner in the PwC Global Digital Procurement Survey 2026. The global survey, compiled from procurement executives across Europe, Asia and Oceania, the Americas, and Africa, indicates that CLM has become an independent strategic priority for procurement departments managing regulatory compliance and operational risk.

"When 66.5% of organizations say procurement or sourcing sponsors CLM, it's clear contracts are no longer just a legal system of record," said Eric Laughlin, CEO of Agiloft. "They are becoming part of how procurement manages risk, obligations, and supplier performance. The opportunity now is to make contract data usable in the moments that matter, so teams can move faster with answers they trust.

The report states that risk management outranks efficiency as the primary value driver for enterprise CLM deployment. Additionally, 56% of surveyed procurement professionals cited cross-business engagement across Legal, Finance, and Technology units as the single most critical success factor for digital procurement transformations.

The 6th Edition of the report highlights distinct investment priorities and operational bottlenecks across global enterprise sectors, emphasizing why a unified data layer is required to capture bottom-line value:

• Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals Compliance Imperative: The healthcare sector reported the highest demand for process acceleration, with 84% of respondents citing efficiency and simplicity as their primary transformation driver. Despite this pressure, supplier management remains a critical low-maturity bottleneck, with 45% of healthcare respondents operating at a "Very Low" level of digital maturity. Furthermore, 47% of organizations in this space report unknown future investment levels, exposing widespread budget uncertainty.
• Manufacturing Under Cost Volatility: In the manufacturing sector, global multi-tier supply networks face significant pressure from nearshoring trends and raw material cost fluctuations. While 45% of manufacturing respondents cite procurement savings as a key driver for transformation, actual tool maturity remains low. Only 37% of respondents have reached a "Medium" level of maturity in data analytics, and 35% expect to invest less than USD 0.5M over the next three years, lagging behind the broader market capability curve.

According to Agiloft's 2026 procurement research report, "The Confidence Paradox: What Procurement Leaders Reveal About the Gap Between Negotiated and Realized Value," 52% of organizations failed to collect a contractual remedy in the past year because it wasn't tracked or triggered in time, and only 36% automatically link sourcing outcomes to the resulting contract, with the majority relying on manual re-entry between systems. Procurement leaders are also estimated that at least 15% of supplier spend flows outside contracted agreements entirely, illustrating the disconnect between sourcing, contracts, and purchasing that PwC's report identifies as an opportunity for CLM.

"The data collected by PwC confirms that while sectors like manufacturing focus heavily on structural savings to combat margin erosion, their digital foundations remain fragmented, leaving substantial value trapped in unmanaged supplier agreements," said Jason Barnwell, Chief Product Officer at Agiloft. "Similarly, the extreme demand for efficiency in healthcare cannot be addressed while nearly half of the industry operates on low-maturity supplier management infrastructure. Modern CLM closes these gaps by automating cross-functional workflows and securing the post-signature compliance needed to protect margins."

The full report details investment data, AI adoption maturity, and deployment roadmaps across 15 distinct industry segments. A hosted copy of the survey report is available via Agiloft's resource center.

About Agiloft 

Agiloft is a global leader in data-first contract lifecycle management (CLM), helping businesses improve outcomes. Its no-code CLM platform with embedded AI centralizes, automates, and governs contracts from request through renewal, reducing review times and integrating with 1,000+ of systems for real-time visibility. Astra, Agiloft's contracts AI platform, unlocks post-signature data to drive better decisions across legal, procurement, sales, and finance teams. Backed by KKR, JMI Equity, and FTV Capital, Agiloft delivers strong performance with high implementation success and customer renewal rates, enabling organizations to create, control, and capture more value across industries today. Learn more at agiloft.com.

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SOURCE Agiloft