Why the Nordics Are Setting the Pace for Modern Procurement, and Why We’re at CPO Nordic
The Nordics have a habit of turning “next” into “now.”
Whether it’s digital adoption, transparency expectations, or sustainability standards, procurement teams across the region are often asked to operate with a sharper edge: move fast, stay compliant, prove value, and build resilience—without slowing the business down.
That’s why events like CPO Nordic matter—and why Zycus is showing up. The 2026 Stockholm (hybrid) edition brings together hundreds of procurement leaders to exchange what’s working, what’s next, and how to turn priorities like AI, governance, and resilience into measurable outcomes.
Why the Nordics are an important bellwether for procurement
While every region is experiencing change, the Nordics often sit at the intersection of three major procurement pressures:
1) Governance expectations are higher and less negotiable
Stakeholders want fast execution, but they also expect the “right” decisions: compliant buying, better auditability, clear supplier accountability, and stronger policy adherence. The procurement operating model has to support governance by design, not through manual policing.
2) Sustainability and supplier accountability are not optional
Supplier selection, supplier performance, contract compliance, and risk monitoring all have to work together. Sustainability commitments are increasingly shaped by what happens in supplier ecosystems—and procurement is where those commitments become operational.
3) The business wants self-service, without the “procurement maze”
Users don’t want to learn procurement. They want to buy what they need quickly, in the right way, with minimal friction. If the experience is slow or unclear, people bypass it.
These realities drive one big question: How does procurement deliver outcomes faster, without losing control?
How Zycus helps: from “requests” to measurable outcomes
Zycus’ position is clear: procurement needs to move beyond workflow automation to a model that connects guided intake with autonomous execution, so results are measurable and repeatable.
On the Zycus platform, this is framed as: “Intake to Outcomes with Agentic AI”—connecting “guided intake with autonomous execution,” with outcomes measured across every request.
What does that mean in practice?
Instead of treating intake as a ticketing layer, Zycus focuses on an operating model that brings together:
- Merlin Intake — a built-in, AI-powered guided procurement experience (including within Microsoft Teams) that improves policy control and request visibility.
- Merlin Agentic Platform — a DIY, low-code orchestration layer where teams can configure intelligent agents to automate procurement workflows, supported by a large API foundation and autonomous negotiation capabilities.
- Core Source-to-Pay modules — an “organically built” S2P platform designed for seamless automation and collaboration across procurement.
The goal isn’t “more tools.” It’s a connected procurement operating system that turns requests into outcomes that stakeholders can feel: speed, savings, compliance, and risk reduction.
Meet us at CPO Nordic: Casper Høholt will be there
We’re also excited to share that Casper Høholt, Regional Sales Director – Nordics at Zycus, will be on-site at CPO Nordic. Casper works closely with procurement teams across the region to support transformation initiatives and help organizations adopt outcome-led operating models.
If you’re attending CPO Nordic, we’d love to connect.
Let’s talk about what procurement outcomes should look like in 2026—and what it takes to operationalize them in the Nordics.
Attending CPO Nordic? Meet the Zycus team and connect with the Zycus Team onsite.
Related Reads:
- Success Story: European Hotel Group Experiences Increased Productivity Through A Stable And Scalable Zycus P2P Solution
- Watch Video: Driving procurement resilience amidst economic downturn & uncertainty: A European Perspective
- Research Report: Ten Megatrends and insights for the European CPOs
- Source-to-pay vs Procure-to-pay: A Guide
- How S2P Applications Supercharge Your Bottom Line
- Source To Pay Optimization in Procurement: Benefits and Best Practices
- Your Guide to Source-to-Pay
- You Can’t Miss these 7 European Procurement Best Practices
