AUTONOMOUS PROCUREMENT
How can organisations ensure a smooth transition to autonomous procurement ?
Lior Delgo : My advice to procurement professionals is , just as you continually develop and nurture your partnerships with colleagues , focus on how to best partner with AI . Consider the types of guidance , instructions and prompts you can develop to unleash machine learning , predictive analytics and Agentic AI ’ s potential within your organisation . Strive to create an impact that is unparalleled and uniquely tailored to you , your company , your creativity and your proprietary data .
Olivier Berrouiguet : We have been in this business e-procument for around 20 years but not even a year ago , more like only months ago , GenAI became a revolution . I think people often forget that it ’ s only recently , because of the hype , that everyone in businesses and outside , believes it is going to change everything in our lives – but I think it ’ s going to take longer than people expect .
We have to define what the right set of tools and technologies to combine together is , in order to solve a specific procurement issue . We have a lot of issues and challenges to address , so the main opportunity for these technologies is for them to be assembled together .
To refine and define strategy , sourceto-pay software enables process execution and proposes the right AI tools . However , AI alone won ’ t solve everything and expectations from stakeholders will grow as AI integrates further . Asking “ How can I use AI ?” is the wrong question . Instead , ask , “ What do I want to achieve ?” Start with your KPIs . Often , clients seek specific tools without clear objectives , leading to inefficiency . Success comes from first defining desired results . For example , if the goal is compliance , take it seriously by identifying KPIs and showing stakeholders and teams that your organisation meets compliance regulations . Defining the “ what ” is crucial before investing time or money .