Deloitte Research: Only 24% of B2B Suppliers Have Adopted Agentic AI -- ERP Upgrades Create a Structural Bottleneck

B2B Supplier Agentic AI Adoption Falls Far Below Expectations

Deloitte Digital: B2B suppliers lag on agentic AI as ERP upgrades slow adoption

B2B suppliers' agentic AI adoption is slower than many executives assume, according to research from Deloitte Digital.

On February 17, 2026, Deloitte Digital, the digital division of consulting giant Deloitte, released the results of a large-scale study on digital maturity and AI adoption in B2B commerce. The study surveyed 530 U.S. B2B suppliers and 530 B2B buyers between August and September 2025.

The findings revealed that while 45% of B2B suppliers use AI in sales, the adoption rate for agentic AI -- the core technology behind agentic commerce, where AI agents autonomously make decisions and take actions -- stood at just 24%. Paul do Forno, Managing Director at Deloitte Digital, commented that the figure was "below expectations, but not surprising given B2B's historical pattern of lagging behind in new technology adoption."

Industry Context

Agentic AI is rapidly gaining attention in the commerce space. This technology enables AI agents to autonomously execute business processes such as product search, price negotiation, ordering, and inventory management. Major companies including Salesforce, Adobe, and Mastercard have been rolling out compatible products and services in quick succession.

Forrester's 2026 predictions forecast that one-third of B2B transactions will involve AI agent-driven invoicing, reconciliation, and spend management, and that one in five B2B sellers will face discount negotiations from buyer-side AI agents. The buyer side is already in motion.

Deloitte's research confirms this trend: buyer-side AI adoption significantly outpaces that of suppliers. 61% of B2B buyers reported using AI in purchasing, with 38% using agentic AI -- a 14-point gap over the supplier-side rate of 24%. This "digital gap between buyers and sellers" is a structural problem that reduces the efficiency of commerce as a whole.

ERP Upgrades as a Structural Bottleneck Blocking AI Adoption

The most critical challenge revealed by this research is the reality that ERP (enterprise resource planning) system upgrades are consuming the resources needed for AI investment.

According to Deloitte's survey, 87% of suppliers are currently upgrading their ERP systems or plan to begin within the next year. Do Forno pointed out that "these upgrades cost millions of dollars and affect every process in the company."

Behind this lies the approaching end of support for SAP's ECC (legacy ERP) in 2027. According to Computer Weekly, migrating to SAP S/4HANA takes 12 to 24 months or more, with consulting costs expected to rise 30-50% in 2026-27. Using a $500 million-revenue chemical manufacturer as an example, Do Forno stated: "With lean IT departments, they're in the middle of a once-in-20-years ERP overhaul. AI simply isn't getting the attention it needs."

The core issue, then, is not a lack of interest in AI, but rather a "structural bottleneck" where limited IT talent and budgets are being absorbed by ERP upgrades, leaving no resources for agentic AI. In fact, approximately two-thirds of suppliers that have not yet adopted agentic AI reported having plans to do so, indicating that intent is high.

Digitally Mature Companies Are Delivering Overwhelming Results

Meanwhile, companies that have already advanced their digital transformation are seeing clear results. Suppliers classified by Deloitte as "digitally mature" exceeded annual revenue targets by 110% compared to their less mature competitors. The average revenue growth rate for high-maturity companies was 6.1%, versus 2.9% for low-maturity companies.

Furthermore, high-maturity suppliers were five times more likely to be actively using AI and five times more likely to have adopted agentic AI compared to low-maturity companies. The picture is clear: digital pioneers are creating a virtuous cycle of "digital investment -> AI utilization -> revenue growth," while the gap with lagging companies continues to widen.

The areas where suppliers are currently applying AI center on practical use cases such as chatbots for service cost reduction, lead prioritization, account research, automated proposal generation, and demand forecasting.

Impact and Implications for E-Commerce Businesses

Deloitte's research sends a clear message to e-commerce businesses, particularly those operating in the B2B space.

Do not treat ERP upgrades and AI strategy as separate initiatives. If ERP modernization is positioned as a "prerequisite for AI," it creates a multi-year AI gap. Deloitte's research found that companies that had completed front-office and back-office integration exceeded revenue targets by roughly twice the margin of those that had not. It is essential to incorporate AI adoption planning into the ERP upgrade process.

Prepare for accelerating AI adoption on the buyer side. The 2025 AI Agent Index published by researchers at MIT and Cambridge University reports that AI agents are beginning to autonomously execute actions in browsers and enterprise software. Given that buyer-side AI adoption already exceeds that of suppliers, companies unable to handle quote requests and orders from AI agents risk losing business opportunities.

Start with small AI investments. Building a large-scale agentic AI infrastructure is unnecessary. Starting with high-ROI areas such as service chatbots, automated quote generation, and lead scoring, and building on early wins, is the most realistic approach. With 62% of suppliers citing "securing technology investment budgets" as their top challenge, a strategy of building executive confidence through small, visible results is essential.

Conclusion

Deloitte Digital's research demonstrates with data that the delay in B2B supplier agentic AI adoption is "a resource problem, not a willingness problem." With 87% occupied by ERP upgrades and 62% struggling to secure budgets, the buyer side is already moving ahead with AI -- and delays in response directly translate to lost revenue opportunities.

What stands out most is the remarkably clear correlation between digital maturity and business performance. The key going forward is whether companies can reframe ERP modernization not as "a barrier to AI" but as "an opportunity for AI integration." The world Forrester predicts -- where AI agents transact with each other -- is fast approaching, and the window of preparation for B2B suppliers is not long.