Industry research
Scope
Europe
Companies
44
Table of contents
What does the e-procurement & expense management market landscape look like in Europe?
The e-procurement ecosystem is rather fragmented and divided between large-scale ERP providers and smaller procurement specialists. This market structure stems from the rising complexity and inflexibility of existing ERP platforms provided by large-sized market incumbents. In this environment, new and smaller players gain market share by offering a more dynamic and specialised proposition to clients. Similarly, the expense management market houses a range of deep-pocketed start-ups, competing with neo-banks, payment processors and ERP generalists.
What is the level of investor activity in Europe's e-procurement & expense management industry?
Investor activity in the space is significant, with ~80% of identified assets being sponsor-backed (May 2025). The primary investment drivers for e-procurement & expense management verticals include (i) underlying growth from SME digitalisation and businesses seeking operational efficiencies, (ii) European regulations enforcing invoice digitalisation, (iii) high revenue visibility with recurring subscription fees and a sticky customer base. On the other hand, (i) growing cybersecurity threats, (ii) structural shortage of qualified IT personnel and (iii) AI-driven product cannibalisation risks represent headwinds for investors.
What are the key ESG considerations in Europe's e-procurement & expense management industry?
The ESG agenda in the e-procurement & expense management industry mainly revolves around environmental and governance topics. E-procurement & expense management platforms have a generally positive impact on the environment as they allow users to examine the CO₂ output of suppliers and reduce the use of paper-based documentation. At the same time, incumbents aim to reduce their own greenhouse emissions by means of raising employee awareness and by tracking the footprint of their partners. From a governance perspective, key concerns involve data security aspects given the inherent management of large pools of financial data in the offered platforms. To address these challenges, identified players establish rigorous security management processes and perform recurring security tests and vulnerability assessments.
The global procurement software market was estimated at ~$9.4bn in 2024 and is expected to reach ~$16.1bn in 2029 (+11.3% CAGR 2024-2029; Technavio, January 2025)
The global AP automation market was valued at ~$3.4bn in 2024 and is projected to grow to ~$7.0bn by 2030 (+12.8% CAGR 2024-2030; Basware, February 2025)
Demand for e-procurement and expense management systems remains strong as businesses aim to enhance their operational efficiencies, while the European SME segment retains significant digitalisation potential (Banqup, April 2025)
Favourable regulatory tailwinds in Europe, exemplified by the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (“ViDA”) framework, are expected to make e-invoicing mandatory by 2030-2035, thereby forcing the adoption of e-procurement and expense software by companies across member states (Spendesk, February 2024; Meijburg, November 2024)
E-procurement software supports companies in becoming more “ESG-ready” by increasing supply chain transparency and adapting to nearshoring trends. As a result, rising demand for transparency and resilience amid trade tensions is expected to boost e-procurement sales (Onventis, June 2023; Oliver Wyman, August 2024)
Growing cybersecurity threats will trigger additional costs with no upside given global upward trends in the average cost of data breaches (~$5m in 2024; IBM, May 2025). Data subject to these attacks includes sensitive account information, vendor names and addresses and enterprise tax information (Agio, May 2024)
Structural shortage of qualified IT personnel poses a risk to mid-to-long-term growth prospects. B2B players are especially affected due to the higher technical requirements and more complex product requirements involved (interview by Gain.pro)
AI developments and the incorporation of such advancements into e-procurement tools may lead to the cannibalisation of processes and applications previously requested and paid for by clients, thus rendering some software applications obsolete (interview by Gain.pro)
With the full report, you’ll gain access to:
Detailed assessments of the market outlook
Insights from c-suite industry executives
A clear overview of all active investors in the industry
An in-depth look into 44 private companies, incl. financials, ownership details and more.
A view on all 298 deals in the industry
ESG assessments with highlighted ESG outperformers
