From Spreadsheets to Platform: How R1 Universities Are Modernizing Procurement in 2026

A unified procurement platform can absorb the spreadsheet-and-email chaos most research universities still run on, without tearing out the ERP underneath it. That patchwork breaks down fastest at R1 scale. The Carnegie Classification’s Research 1 designation requires institutions to spend at least $50 million on research and award 70 doctorates a year, a bar 187 U.S.