When you think of procurement, the first association is not necessarily ‘cool’. But here’s a radical thought: AI is making procurement one of the coolest functions in the enterprise! I previously led an AI development team at Microsoft’s Xbox, so I know what cool tech is, and I passionately believe that procurement + AI is not only cool, it is, in fact, glamorous and the cutting-edge of every global corporation.

First, we need to agree with the premise that ‘cool’ is a function of creativity, innovation, impact, personal brand and, as my Globality co-founder Joel Hyatt argued in a recent Forbes article, purpose. AI is enhancing all of these attributes across procurement and helping transform the function into a place where the brightest and best want to make their mark.

There’s a very serious point here in the context of the current skills shortage. A recent Gartner study found that only one in six procurement teams believe they have “adequate talent” to meet their future needs. Companies seeking to recruit the best talent and use procurement strategically must have an edge – and that edge is AI. 

So, let’s break down those cool factors: 

Creativity – Fairly or unfairly, procurement’s image is tainted by its association with box-ticking. When many people think of procurement, they think of compliance, regulations, and bureaucracy. This necessary emphasis on processes and controls can give the impression that procurement lacks creativity or flexibility. The good news is that democratizing data access and handling routine processes is exactly what AI does most efficiently, freeing up procurement people to be more imaginative and creative. 

That creativity will look different in every company. It might focus on driving sustainable and ethical practices that positively impact the brand, society, and the environment. Or it could involve collaborating more closely with various departments, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Or running campaigns to raise awareness internally and externally to promote the ways that procurement is having a positive impact through measures like cost savings, risk management, innovation, and sustainability. Or simply staying on top of market trends and being more strategic. 

Innovation – Using AI-driven technology is innovative by definition. However, procurement stands out as one of the best corporate use cases for Gen AI in particular. Gen AI in procurement can analyze and synthesize huge volumes of complex, unstructured text-based documents to help specialists in all types of sourcing scenarios – from scoping RFPs to making buying decisions. 

The key here is learning to “partner” with AI. Complex, high-stakes spend categories are the most difficult to procure – and until now, to automate. Today, instead of investing hours or days writing a long, detailed brief that covers every possible scenario, anyone can “converse” with Gen AI. They can convey what we call “complex intent” at different stages in the procurement journey using natural language. This not only saves considerable time but achieves much better outcomes because the AI is drawing on a massive body of accumulated knowledge and intelligence from huge number of buyer and seller transactions. 

The bottom line here is that AI-powered innovation is doing much more than simply automating simple procurement tasks. It’s transforming a complex process that has never been humanly possible to do efficiently, optimally, and personally, with a realistically sized team of procurement specialists. 

Impact – What’s cooler in today’s lean, cost-conscious business climate than being able to make a positive impact on productivity? As Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Chief Product Officer and board member of Globality, says in his Substack Implications: “As smaller companies modernize using a new AI-native stack of technology, they no longer need to grow their team to scale their ambition.” 

Procurement’s reputation has suffered in the past due to productivity issues. Activities like data entry, invoice processing, and purchase order processing were very manual and error prone. Systems were fragmented and siloed, leading to inefficiencies. Supplier management was inconsistent and unstructured. AI-based procurement addresses all these issues. 

Of course, the other huge impact of AI-based procurement is its ability to source more intelligently and save companies huge amounts of money. Matt Prichard, Fidelity Investments’ CPO, reported seeing a 20% price improvement by using AI-based autonomous sourcing, for example. 

Personal Brand – The inherent stress of working in procurement with its complexity, tight deadlines, and cost targets makes work difficult enough. But the negative stereotypes about procurement as an obstacle to ‘get around,’ which causes friction and complications, can feel demoralizing. 

Procurement people I’ve met genuinely want to make a positive difference in their companies. But if specialists lack the tools and technology to do their jobs productively, at the pace of business, they are set up to fail, which grinds down morale. 

By liberating people from the drudgery in procurement, making every step of the journey faster, and delivering better outcomes, AI improves every aspect of the function and the lives of those who deliver it. 

To conclude, it is worth reiterating that procurement drives the trade of trillions of dollars around the world. With the power of AI-driven sourcing technology, procurement teams will be participating in the creation of the largest economic engine of our lives, something which glues the world together. I think we can all agree that’s pretty cool!