Tropic

What happens when you put the Procurement Guy, a seasoned CFO, and a startup founder in a room to talk about budgeting? Fireworks. Not actually, but definitely some spicy moments with Russell Lester and Michael Shields. We're debuting our inaugural episode of The Spend Table, and this month is all about budget season. I got to unpack something I'm seeing across our customers - the move to contract-driven budgeting, and how teams are taking much more proactive stance. But wait, there's more: ➕ Whether budgets should happen on shorter/more iterative cycles vs. of rigid 12-month plans ➕ Why procurement's "annual humiliation ritual" exists ➕ How zero-based budgeting is ideal state but reality requires a lot of trade-offs ➕ How only 15% of AI decision makers reported an EBITDA lift in the past 12 months And of course: how procurement can show up with data and intelligence that department leaders can't access themselves - supplier landscape, benchmarks, proactive insights All to help make real cost trade-off decisions. This was super fun, and jam-packed with lots of goodness. Check out comments for the podcast, and subscribe to the get newsletter in your inbox!

Like CJ Gustafson said in his latest finance tech stack report: “Agentic tools are only as good as the information available.” Always remember that your data foundation is a non-negotiable when purchasing your next agentic finance tool. No where is this clearer than in procurement. If your vendor contract data (pricing, SKUs, terms, dates, etc.) is scattered, disorganized, and not tracked centrally… …then how can AI agents do their job to match invoices, detect duplicate tools, flag non-compliance terms, etc? It’s why we emphasize visibility so much and help new customers maximize this area during implementation. Similarly, if the market data you’re using is biased, not robust enough on pricing and SKUs, not updated in real-time frequently, or lacks longevity… …then how useful (and accurate) can AI agents be at surfacing price benchmarks, price variability, negotiation intel + recommending your next action relative to the context of your pricing and terms? Your vendor contract data needs to be organized, clean, and tracked in one place. Your third-party provider’s market data needs to be unbiased, robust, and updated frequently from actual negotiations in the field. I cannot urge this point enough. Free or second or third-hand data is a far cry from first party data gleaned from real live negotiations. Your agentic finance tool is only as good as the data that feeds it, so make sure it is fed well! It’s an exciting time in procurement. Many great solutions are changing this industry for the better and I’m so proud that Tropic is a part of it.

Every CFO needs to bookmark this data right now. Pricing variability for some of the top suppliers. In other words: 1. How much wiggle room there is to negotiate on price 2. Which suppliers are worth your attention and effort to negotiate with Chances are, your team uses one, few, or many of these suppliers to run your business. Very useful as you engage in year-end budgeting and planning right now. Justin Etkin always says, “Many successful negotiations are actually mediocre deals in disguise.” Don’t let a done deal make you think you got a good deal. Reliable benchmark data is a nonnegotiable for doing financial stewardship in 2025 and beyond.

Hunting for context is one of the hardest tasks for a CFO or any spend approver. It represents the bulk of procurement work for someone in my seat who runs a lean team. Check out how I’d leverage Tropic's new AI assistant to get the lay of the land (context, data, and recommendations) on all my upcoming renewals. I get a quick, data-backed sense of priority over which contracts are worth my team’s time vs. which I can fast track. And for the renewals that need my attention - price benchmarks, compliance checks, usage sentiment, and contextual negotiation playbooks are all surfaced in seconds. Going forward, this is how I’m letting AI handle renewal work. It’s one significant use case where AI can deliver strong cost savings and efficiency gains for folks in my position. DM me if you’d like to learn more!

Big news: We’re launching a new AI assistant called Purchase Prep. $15B in supplier intelligence instantly accessible. 75% of procurement work is related to renewals. It’s tedious, manual work finding dates/terms, prioritizing which contracts matter most, and hunting for the right data. Purchase Prep delivers a coordinated team of AI agents running for you, making this renewal work happen in seconds, not hours: - AI scans your contracts and flags the high savings opportunity renewals - Surfaces auto-renewal traps and compliance gaps before they cost you - Benchmarks your pricing - if you're in the 80th percentile, you're overpaying and we'll tell you by exactly how much - Delivers vendor-specific negotiation tactics proven across thousands real of deals Data access should be immediate - there’s no reason time should get in the way Purchase Prep gives buyers the map to plan which contracts to prioritize + the action plan for saving money, served up on a silver platter. Whether you're a solo practitioner or running a full team, procurement should support the pace your business moves - this is a major step towards that. Check it out via link in the comments ⬇️

Clari + Salesloft - power move or desperation? You can argue either way. But the data is revealing. Here are some facts: - Salesloft adoption has fallen ~30% over the past two years - Clari has been dead flat, stuck around 7% - Gong is inflecting, and leading the pack at 27% Why Clari had to make this move: Based on our data, Clari dominates its core forecasting products, winning ~70% of competitive deals. But Groove? It's getting crushed - winning just 5-10% of the time against Outreach, Salesloft, and Apollo. I think Clari's leadership deserves credit here. They could have kept throwing good money after the failed Groove acquisition. Instead, they're pushing their chips in and being aggressive with sales engagement. Salesloft is by no means the high-flying company it once was, but it has a sizable base of entrenched enterprise customers. So what does this mean for Gong? They’ve been on a heater. Gaining confidence as their competitors stumble. Now the calculus changes: Do they push harder on engage? Or double down on their sweet spot of sales intelligence + forecasting? This market is consolidating fast, and kudos for being decisive.