Compliance Is Not Enough: How Procurement Leaders Can Turn the Confidence Gap into Competitive Advantage

Compliance and confidence are not the same thing — and a new survey makes that gap uncomfortably clear. A year after the UK Procurement Act 2023 came into force, Procurement Hub’s Pulse Report, drawn from 107 public sector organisations, finds that 71% are already procuring under the act, yet only one in ten procurement teams feel confident applying it day to day. Nine in ten say they would benefit from further guidance. The finding resonates beyond Britain: in Ireland, where the OGP is finalising the country’s first National Procurement Strategy and the the OECD has identified gaps in digital tools and data use across the procurement lifecycle, the confidence-versus-compliance challenge is equally live.

The UK act represents a genuine structural improvement. It consolidates four procurement regulations into one, streamlines procedures from six to two, and gives contracting authorities more discretion over competitive process design. It requires organisations to formally weigh social value alongside cost and quality — embedding local jobs, community outcomes, and environmental improvements as standard criteria. Supplier performance is now publicly rated on a five-point scale, and a central digital platform lowers barriers for SMEs throughout the supply chain.

The Pulse Report identifies three pressure points. Around 27% of respondents cited increased administrative workload, 18% greater regulatory complexity, and 16% transparency and reporting requirements. A further 12% highlighted resource constraints and 9% flagged skills gaps. These are practical, solvable challenges. As Procurement Hub’s managing director Alan Heron observed, compliance is high but confidence is not — and addressing that gap is the defining task for procurement leaders in 2026.

The confidence gap is an opportunity. Organisations that invest now in upskilling teams, embedding flexible procedures into standard practice, and engaging suppliers early through preliminary market engagement will move from compliance to competitive advantage. Transparency requirements, though initially burdensome, create an environment where strong performers are visibly rewarded — a dynamic that benefits high-performing buyers and supply chains alike.

Three actions apply on both sides of the Irish Sea. Procurement leaders should prioritise training on new flexible procedures, which open real possibilities in how contracts are designed. Contract management teams need briefing on KPI and transparency obligations, since supply chain accountability is now a compliance requirement. CPOs should treat social value requirements as a strategic lever, aligning procurement outcomes with organisational purpose and community impact.

For Ireland, the lessons are instructive. As the OGP builds its National Procurement Strategy and digital procurement roadmap, the UK experience confirms that regulatory reform alone does not close the capability gap — investment in skills, confidence, and governance must follow. Organisations on both islands that treat this period as investment in capability rather than compliance burden will be better placed to deliver outcomes that matter. The confidence gap is real — and it is closeable.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)