Harbor: Procurement priorities in 2026

Snapshot
Continuous monitoring, centralized governance, and risk-aligned contracting are replacing reactive, intake-only oversight.

Automation, self-service pathways, and integration reduce friction while improving compliance and visibility.

As AI expands across procurement systems, firms need data integrity, human oversight, and clear governance to unlock value safely.

Vendor risk management: From compliance task to competitive advantage

Law firms increasingly rely on shared vendors: cloud providers, AI platforms, research tools, and operational partners. With growing cyber threats, regulatory scrutiny, and client expectations, vendor risk management has become mission-critical.

What firms are doing now

• Centralising vendor governance programs
• Using structured onboarding and automated risk profiling
• Moving toward continuous monitoring across the vendor lifecycle

Common due diligence measures (from the survey)

• IT security reviews: 92%
• Sanctions screening: 73%
• Anti-money-laundering checks: 65%
• Financial health reviews: 58%
• Conflict checks: 58%
• Negative-news monitoring: 50%

Why it matters

Ad hoc, request-driven processes cannot keep pace as continuous compliance becomes the norm.

Workflow modernisation: Scaling procurement without sacrificing control

Procurement volume continues to rise across large law firms, with many teams still relying on fragmented intake and approvals across email and spreadsheets. In 2026, operational improvement is about modernizing the work, not just working harder.

What modern workflows enable

• Capture complete vendor and contract information up front
• Route approvals automatically
• Embed compliance checkpoints earlier
• Provide real-time visibility into contract and sourcing status
• Create defensible audit trails

What’s accelerating adoption

Self-service procurement models using approved vendor catalogs, standard templates, and pre-negotiated terms speed up engagement while preserving governance.

“The firms that succeed in 2026 will be those that treat procurement as a strategic capability, not an administrative function. ” Lee Garbowitz, Managing Director, Vendor Governance + Sourcing at Harbor

AI and digitisation: Governance is the gating factor

AI adoption is accelerating across procurement. More than 80% of firms report using or piloting generative AI tools, yet 90% report concerns, mainly security, privacy, accuracy, and integration.

The opportunity is not adding more tools. It’s connecting the systems you already have so AI can augment professional judgement without introducing new risk.

Where AI is already driving measurable impact

• Contract lifecycle management and clause analysis
• Spend analytics and cost forecasting
• Vendor performance and risk monitoring
• Strategic sourcing and scenario evaluation

What firms are prioritising to unlock sustained value

• Data integrity and centralized governance
• Transparent oversight of AI models
• Human validation of AI-generated insights
• Integration across contract, risk, finance, and vendor systems

Procurement is becoming the engine of operational trust

Procurement now sits at the center of vendor governance, AI adoption, compliance, and financial performance. Firms that embed continuous risk visibility, intelligent workflows, and responsible AI frameworks will strengthen resilience and drive innovation across the enterprise.

Download the full report to explore the findings and recommendations.