PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
“ The value for businesses is not the rapid availability and accessibility of information, but in the information it presents,” says Michelle.
With the help of autonomous AI agents, procurement teams can brief their agentic colleagues to gather stronger, evidence-based recommendations that enable them to make critical decisions with greater levels of confidence.
“ The perception of procurement is changing,” she continues,“ It is now being seen less as a process and boxticking, but as a true strategic value driver that, when done right, can protect margin, improve supplier resilience, reduce risk and help a business respond more effectively to market change.”
Speed vs. control: An onboarding imperative One of the biggest operational hurdles in procurement is the balance of speed with control at the point where sensitive data first enters the business.
During the onboarding process, organisations are collecting high volumes of supplier information, financials, ownership structures and compliance records, often through fragmented systems and manual workflows.
That combination creates real exposure of inconsistent data, limited visibility and risk of insecure data transfer or duplication. At the same time, procurement teams are under pressure to onboard suppliers quickly, which can lead to security checks being applied inconsistently or too late in the process.
76 August 2026