AI AI investment also an investment in people As machine learning spreads across procurement, the hunt for talent accelerates. Research from Zero100 shows that global procurement and supply chain leaders are recruiting, training and retaining AI experts at pace. Almost half of large businesses now offer incentives to get staff using AI tools. These include bonuses, gamified learning platforms and even fast-track promotion. Walmart, Amazon, Unilever and IBM are all scaling both internal training and external education to raise AI literacy.
Speaking last year in her capacity as Executive Vice President of Sourcing at Walmart, Andrea Albright put it plainly:
“ AI will be a huge enabler for the future of supply chain and operations, and a massive accelerant to the pace of innovation.
“ But, when it comes to guaranteeing genuine returns, leaders can’ t afford to make short-sighted, hype-driven investments – you need a thoughtful strategy to deliver the best value for customers and shareholders.
“ In all the excitement about the technology, we can’ t lose sight of the fact that investment in AI is an investment in your workforce – you need those human elements to really activate that technology in a meaningful way. That’ s why, at Walmart, we’ re ramping up hiring and upskilling for AI and machine learning skills. That knowledge is no longer a nice-to-have; it’ s business critical.”
104 November 2025