AI and automation can add a huge amount of value to your organisation across all stages of the procurement process . Asked about the specifics , David Doyle , CEO and Co-Founder of Forestreet , says : “ Firstly , AI can act as a force multiplier to the procurement team , shortening sourcing cycles and freeing up time to accelerate other activities .” Forestreet ’ s AI-driven SaaS platform enables realtime market and vendor discovery across geographies and languages , and Doyle is an expert in the field .. “ The ability to rapidly identify and onboard an alternative vendor also provides the best defence against continuing disruptions . AI also helps de-risk the supply chain by surfacing anomalies and problems with vendors earlier in the process , before time has been invested researching these options or before supply challenges occur .” Of course , all of this leads to better , datadriven decisions made at pace , as well as reduced inefficiencies and boosted innovation .

� SKYWAY Unified Traffic Management ( UTM ) and Altitude Angel – alongside BT , EE and numerous other UK tech start-ups – to create procurement game-changer

� EUROPEAN UNION EU establishes deforestation commodity due diligence rules , with palm oil , soy , wood , cocoa , coffee , beef and their derivatives to be tracked to reflect on company reputations

� THAILAND ’ S COCONUT INDUSTRY Following their third investigation into Thailand ’ s cruel coconut harvesting practices using monkey labour , People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ) is calling on consumers to boycott companies who source coconut products from Thailand .

� THE UK GOVERNMENT According to a recent article by Supply Management , the UK government is spending around £ 400,000-a-day to store unused personal protective equipment ( PPE ) bought during the COVID-19 pandemic .

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