If you ask Marketing leaders and Procurement leaders whether their teams should work more closely together, the answer will almost always be yes.

So why does the relationship still feel strained in so many organisations?

Part of the problem is perception.

Marketing is often associated with creativity, speed, and ambition. On the other hand, Procurement is associated with cost, governance, and control. Over time, these different priorities have created a narrative that the two functions are naturally at odds.

But that doesn’t reflect the reality.

Both teams have a role to play in helping the organisation perform better, but the difference is how they approach that goal.

Different perspectives can strengthen decision making

Marketing brings an understanding of customers, audiences, brands, and growth. Procurement brings commercial expertise, supplier insight, and a focus on long-term value.

Those perspectives don’t need to compete—they actually complement each other.

Marketing can help Procurement understand why a particular investment matters to the customer or the brand. And Procurement can help Marketing understand the commercial implications of different approaches and challenge whether there’s a more effective way to achieve the same outcome.

The value comes from having both perspectives in the room.

The question, then, isn’t whether Marketing or Procurement should have the greater influence, but how organisations can make better use of both.

Where the relationship starts to break down

A recurring theme from our recent Spendshift webinar was that a lot of the frustration between Marketing and Procurement comes from the way the two functions interact, rather than from any fundamental disagreement about what they’re trying to achieve.

Marketing can see Procurement as a barrier when a commercial review is introduced late in the process. Meanwhile, Procurement can feel frustrated when it’s expected to assess decisions without having had the opportunity to understand how they were reached.

Neither perspective is particularly surprising.

When teams are brought into the process without the context they need, it becomes much harder to contribute constructively. Questions can be interpreted as challenges, which can be interpreted as resistance. Before long, a difference in perspective can lead to unnecessary friction.

Neither function needs to step back. Instead, more opportunities need to be created for them to understand the decisions being made and the pressures each team is working under.

Success looks different to each team

There’s also a practical reason why Marketing and Procurement approach the same decision differently: they’re often measured differently.

Marketing may be focused on campaign performance, customer response, brand impact, or speed to market, while Procurement may be looking at value, risk, supplier performance, and commercial sustainability. These measures can pull the conversation in different directions, but they don’t have to.

A marketing investment that delivers better creative or faster production may have a commercial benefit. Equally, a more efficient supplier model can create opportunities for Marketing to do more with the resources available.

Looking beyond individual departmental measures makes it easier to understand the wider impact of a decision. Instead of asking whether something is good for Marketing or good for Procurement, the better question is whether it is good for the organisation.

Collaboration doesn’t mean thinking the same way

There’s a danger in talking about collaboration as though it means everyone agreeing with each other.

It doesn’t.

Marketing and Procurement should bring different expertise to the table. They should ask questions, test assumptions, and offer alternative perspectives. That’s part of good decision-making.

The important thing is how those conversations happen. If Marketing understands the commercial considerations behind a decision, and Procurement understands the marketing objectives behind an investment, it becomes much easier to have productive discussions.

The challenge doesn’t need to be removed; it just needs to lead somewhere useful.

Designing a better relationship

Improving the relationship between Marketing and Procurement doesn’t necessarily require a major organisational change, it starts with creating better opportunities to work together.

That could mean involving both functions in planning and decision-making rather than bringing one in to review the other’s work. Or it could mean sharing objectives and performance measures so that each team has a clearer understanding of what the other is trying to achieve. It could also be as simple as creating more space for teams to understand each other’s priorities.

The more context each side has, the easier it becomes to move from “Why are they making this harder?” to “How can we make this work better?”

A relationship built around the bigger picture

Marketing and Procurement will always look at the organisation through different lenses.

That isn’t something that needs to be fixed; it can be one of an organisation’s greatest strengths.

Marketing brings the customer and brand perspective while Procurement brings the commercial perspective. When those views are combined, organisations have a better chance of making decisions that work for specific projects in the short term, while also delivering long-term value for the business as a whole.

The future isn’t about Marketing and Procurement becoming the same. It’s about recognising what each function brings to the table and creating the right environment for those strengths to work together.

Want to hear the discussion firsthand?

This article was inspired by insights from our recent Spendshift webinar, where Tina Fegent, Anne-Sophie Guyader, Austen Donnellan, and Bérangère Fond explored how Marketing and Procurement can work more effectively together.

If you’d like to hear the conversation in full, you can watch the complete webinar on our YouTube channel.

▶️ Watch the full Spendshift Webinar now