THE PROCUREMENT INTERVIEW
“ I think the human in the loop in procurement is a critical piece of the capability”
Tricia Miller, SVP Product Marketing and Chief Evangelist, Coupa
Focusing on specific agents that can deliver concrete outcomes allows teams to build confidence and demonstrate value before scaling up investments.
Using AI to support decisions rather than replace them represents another key principle. An agent that summarises RFI responses, for example, can quickly assess all submissions against defined criteria, enabling procurement professionals to demonstrate how they have identified the supplier that will drive most value.
Finally, organisations must build what Tricia calls a“ sandbox culture” to adapt to rapid technological innovation.
She emphasises that the era of change happening only during massive, point-intime transformation programs is over; moving forward, change will be a constant reality.
To extract the most value from this evolution, business functions must stay closely connected to new capabilities.
This requires a specific skills mix, as Tricia explains:“ We have to have our operators within the function, we have to have AI within the function, and then we have to have people partnering with IT who understand where the tech is going, and how those enhancements can be leveraged to make the organisation better.”
32 March 2026