Procurement Magazine February 2023 | Page 14

TIMELINE

HOW AI

WILL IMPACT PROCUREMENT

Achieving extreme efficiency
Since the ancient Egyptians used scribes to manage the supply of materials when building the pyramids as far back as 3,000BC , procurement aimed to be efficient . But human error and lack of data meant errors and waste .
AI translates into extreme efficiencies that stone , papyrus and rolodex don ’ t allow for .
Identifying new fiscal opportunities
Do you remember the invisible gorilla test ? Participants were asked to watch a video of a basketball game and count the number of passes . Most of them missed the huge dancing gorilla that did a jig on the court .
AI has the power to solve this human ‘ inattentional blindness ’ by casting a wider cognitive net , creating revenue and savings opportunities .
Automating manual skills
Let ’ s be honest , procurement is full of so many mundane and time-consuming tasks such as monthly process detailing , performance reporting and yawn-a-yawnyawning .
AI can automate most of these processes so that teams can preserve their zest for more engaging tasks , putting their skills to better use .
14 February 2023