The Future of Procurement is self-serve, fueled by innovative AI-powered technology that makes sourcing a smarter, more efficient process. I recently joined Alejandro Schipani, Head of Global Delivery at Aquanima, and one of the most visionary procurement leaders I have had the privilege of working with, during AOP Digital Outcomes 2022 to examine how we’re delivering digital transformation to the global Santander banking group and Aquanima’s global enterprise clients.

On the panel, we discussed how Santander and others experience benefits, including increased efficiency and speed to market, closer collaboration with key business stakeholders, and new insights that improve the ability to anticipate customer needs and gain competitive advantage.

We explored how our technology leverages Natural Language Processing, which is capable of reading and interpreting the way a user will identify needs and requirements, and how the Platform then uses the information it has collected to not only find the best supplier for the user but also to support the user in negotiations with that supplier.

This consumer-like approach offers a seamless experience for those who aren’t experts in procurement because the technology delivers ‘crowd-funded’ expertise. As Alejandro put it: “The Platform helps us to be more accurate in the description of our needs, which benefits the business unit as well as the supplier. Everyone on the supply chain is saving time as a result.”

Specifically, Santander saw results within just 90 days of adopting our Platform. They gained substantial efficiencies by scoping projects in days instead of weeks and by awarding work in less than a month. This freed employees up to focus on more value-driven activities, such as category strategizing and developing relationships with suppliers.

Santander also enjoyed average cost savings of 15%, and users were challenged to explore alternative suppliers for their sourcing needs, including diverse suppliers to support the company’s ESG agenda. This groundbreaking technology identifies opportunities for potential new suppliers, and by using it, combined with data on ESG scores and other important diversity certifications for easy comparison, Santander has been able to successfully prioritize diversity and sustainability during the selection process.

Throughout the procurement journey, AI gets smarter with every project and interaction, as thousands of sourcing events help it learn to drive the best outcomes. We are now working with Aquanima’s global team to further leverage the scale of AI-powered sourcing and to help its clients negotiate even more accurately with suppliers aided by price prediction, receive alerts when inconsistencies are detected, and continuously improve their decision-making based on benchmarking data.

This really will signal that we have delivered the Future of Procurement–as Alejandro himself says: “We are especially excited about the Platform’s ability to predict price and supplier behaviour, which will be extremely important for us in the future.”

Download the White Paper, Aquanima’s Vision for the Future of Procurement, to learn more.