The Chartered Institute for Procurement & Supply (CIPS) Southern Africa has called on South African business leaders to heed the findings of a new report detailing the challenges faced by procurement professionals operating in the maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) space. The 2025 Indirect Procurement Report, undertaken by global industrial and electronics stockist RS Components in partnership with CIPS, surveyed 426 procurement professionals in the UK and Ireland. The findings from this year’s report resonate strongly with the realities on the ground in South Africa, Vos says. “Procurement professionals here are contending with persistent rand volatility, high energy costs, logistics disruptions at ports, and a chronic shortage of skilled talent,” Vos says. The fact that 62% of respondents in the Indirect Procurement Report cited inflation and higher costs as the top business challenge will not be lost on South Africans, Vos adds.