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In this type of environment, traditional procurement software and manual processes are insufficient – and many procurement teams are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) for answers. Key Takeaways Understand the potential impact of AI – including Generative AI & AI Agents – in procurement.
From sourcing and bid evaluation to warehouse slotting and dynamic routing, AI tools support faster and more consistent outcomes by processing large volumes of operational data and identifying patterns that human decision-makers may overlook. These capabilities are now being integrated into mainstream TMS, WMS, and ERP platforms.
AI is reshaping the way organizations source, manage suppliers, and drive value today. As supply chains become more interconnected and risks more dynamic, traditional procurement tools fall short. AI agents offer a smarter, faster way to manage sourcing, risk, and spend across the entire procurement lifecycle.
AI is reshaping the way organizations source, manage suppliers, and drive value today. As supply chains become more interconnected and risks more dynamic, traditional procurement tools fall short. AI agents offer a smarter, faster way to manage sourcing, risk, and spend across the entire procurement lifecycle.
Reducing dependency on fossil fuels can mitigate these risks and improve operational predictability. Regulatory Demands: Governments worldwide are enforcing stricter emissions standards and introducing carbon taxation schemes, pressuring companies to adapt. Transparent sourcing practices build trust among consumers and investors.
Enterprise procurement leaders are under more pressure than ever—juggling cost control, compliance, supplier risk, and internal complexity, all while trying to modernize outdated systems. AI, automation, and generative tools are redefining efficiency, allowing procurement teams to move from reactive to proactive decision-making.
Enterprise procurement teams face growing pressure to deliver strategic value – managing supplier risk, ensuring compliance, and supporting sustainability – all without sacrificing speed or control. This blog explores the most common challenges in digital procurement and the capabilities that matter most.
Optimizing fulfillment requires a series of steps to get a shipment from its source to the end customer. These steps include sourcing and receiving inventory, storing inventory, order processing, picking and packing an order, shipping the order, and returns management. The ability to meet fulfillment goals is impeded by several issues.
If you’re evaluating procurement technology or exploring ways to drive more value from existing systems, chances are you’re looking beyond tactical fixes – you want a smarter, scalable strategy. Misaligned priorities across finance, legal, and procurement create friction that delays decision-making and reduces impact.
Traditionally, procurement has been a process weighed down by manual tasks, fragmented systems, and endless paperwork. Today, procurement is undergoing a transformation. While procurement teams have long worked to add strategic value, Artificial Intelligence (AI) amplifies their impact.
In a previous post , I made a case for how the Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO) and Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) are smarter together. Accordingly Supply Chain and Procurement will need continuous collaboration. Such sourcing events can be in the context of direct materials or logistics capacity.
As Procurement teams are tasked to do more with less in an increasingly complex and uncertain market, digitization has become a must. Procurement leaders have increasingly turned to Spend and Supplier Management platforms to improve decision-making, efficiency and collaboration.
Ivalua Spend Management Insights [ivory-search] 3 Powerful Ways Procurement will Drive the 2030 Saudi Vision Transformation May 30, 2023 | | Procurement Strategy by Sara Omer What is the Saudi Vision 2030 Program? Procurement and supply chain teams will play a crucial role in making this vision a reality.
GEP and the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Supply Chain Resource Cooperative surveyed supply chain, procurement and IT professionals across a range of industries to gain insight into their priorities and strategies regarding supply chain resilience and optimization. Alex Zhong, Director Product Marketing at GEP.
In the supply chain team analysis, note the 21% gap between procurement and manufacturing teams, the 35% gap between sales and operations and the 21% gap between finance and operations. Layering CRM and SRM on top of ERP made sales and procurement more efficient but less effective in working with trading partners and serving the organization.
They prepare equipment for maintenance, do isolation (disconnect a piece of equipment from the flow of chemicals by closing valves), look at quality or reliability metrics, and do rounds. We needed to model the data in a way that we can do simple searching. Then, another application would be purchased, and another, and another.
Companies often push aside procurement compliance to focus on more pressing issues. No wonder—procurement often gets tedious and burdened with time-consuming processes. However, ignoring procurement compliance is like ignoring a ticking time bomb. Scroll down to find out: What is procurement compliance?
At the same time, the Chief Purchasing Officer (CPO) has taken on a pivotal role by securing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect the workforce and direct materials when primary sources fail. As disruptions become the norm, Supply Chain Planning and Source-to-Pay (S2P) cycles need to be increasingly dynamic and intertwined.
PwC reports that almost half of assets under management are held by investment firms committed to decarbonization. Similarly, UPS has strong commitments to sustainability and invests in many options, such as alternative fuel vehicles, e-cycles in dense cities, and carbon offsets for purchase with shipping. Buffering creates waste.
By embedding analytics across logistics, sourcing, and fulfillment, businesses gain the visibility and foresight needed to stay competitive.Analytics-driven leadership is no longer a luxury; it’s the foundation of operational survival in todays volatile business environment.
The landscape of public sector procurement has undergone significant transformation in recent years, driven by advancements in technology, evolving regulatory frameworks, and an increasing emphasis on sustainability. Predictiveanalytics powered by ML helps organizations anticipate procurement trends and identify potential risks.
Businesses often use it in retail and purchasing. Category management isn’t just another procurement trend. It’s a way for companies to group similar goods or services (like IT infrastructure, facilities, or raw materials) and manage them holistically instead of handling every purchase in isolation.
This technology allows businesses to unify their procurement, expense management, invoicing, payments, sourcing, contract management, and spend analysis processes and reporting. This solution provides for purchase order collaboration. The idea of community was there from the beginning.” What an opportunity!”
The best way to understand the difference between procurement and purchasing in a business is to consider the process involved in buying a car, says Logistics Bureau’s procurement specialist, Trent Morris. Procurement First, Purchasing Follows. But all of those things become purchasing as opposed to procurement.
Improve cross-government data sharing and analyze resilience. Source: Supply Chain Insights ASCM defines resilience in the SCM Supply Chain Dictionary as the ability of a supply chain to anticipate, create plans to avoid or mitigate, and to recover from disruptions to supply chain functionality.
How Intake and Orchestration AI Are Reshaping Procurement If youve been paying attention to technology developments in procurement, youve probably come across the term Intake & Orchestration. These could be service requests, inquiries, demand planning, or purchase needs. So, whats it all about? And why should you take note?
” I do not believe in big government and I hate politics. Value networks do not interoperate and the business leader trying to track shipments must manually sync multiple data sources to get to answers. Truck drivers report that maintenance issues are a constant nightmare. I expect disruption. Why I Am Worried.
Procurement, activities such as strategic sourcing, are one of the main processes in the supply chains that can generate a positive impact on companies by giving them a competitive advantage in the market. Strategic sourcing can help supply chain leaders identify potential risk factors and develop procurement mitigation plans.
A comprehensive Source-to-Pay platform is a critical component of an organization’s IT environment. It is a crucial process for organizations that are looking to streamline their procurement activities, better manage spend and suppliers and increase operational efficiency. What is Source-to-Pay?
Small companies may also lack the resources to create a dedicated procurement team for proper sourcing and supplier vetting. Group purchasing organizations can be the perfect way for these companies to increase cost savings. Keep reading to learn: What is a group purchasing organization?
Supply chain management typically does not fit very well with procurement, which is a challenge at the best of times, and can be a disaster in difficult times. The success of this globalized model rested on three assumptions, the first of which was that governments would act in a rational manner to ensure frictionless trade.
The IT taxonomy for visibility is supply chain analytics. As you implement supply chain analytics and use control theory with well-defined reference data with clear bands for control, process improvement ensues. These sources while functional are difficult to connect. The team was seeking analytics to monitor process compliance.
In todays complex and often volatile global environment, procurement leaders face mounting pressure to cut sourcingcosts while navigating geopolitical instability, inflation, tariffs and talent shortages. The truth is, sourcing smarter isnt just about softwareits about strategy, support, and best practices.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are no longer aspirational—they are essential. For AFFLINK's partners and affiliates navigating complex procurement environments, ESG integration reshapes how supply chains are built, evaluated, and optimized.
What does Procurement mean? An organization’s Procurement function is responsible for managing spend, in other words the buying goods and services that are used to make the products sold to customers as well as the purchasing of products and services used to run the organization on a day to day basis.
Why should Procurement own Scope 3 Emissions? For most procurement (and supply chain) professionals, the topic of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions should be coming at you from every direction. In the diagram below, it’s clear that the main area of impact for Procurement is upstream Scope 3 emissions. POs, and invoices).
Why should Procurement own Scope 3 Emissions? For most procurement (and supply chain) professionals, the topic of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions should be coming at you from every direction. In the diagram below, it’s clear that the main area of impact for Procurement is upstream Scope 3 emissions. POs, and invoices).
The chief procurement officer (CPO) is a senior executive responsible for developing and implementing their organization’s procurement policies, procedures, and strategies. Making sure these purchases are of high quality and compliant with relevant laws and regulations also falls under the CPO’s responsibilities.
Suppliers are facing increasing pressure from the buyers of their goods and services to report their environmental, social, and governance data. Increasingly, companies will take sustainability criteria into account in their purchasing decisions. In short, the reported supplier data ripples up to a buyer’s Scope 3 calculations.
To enhance their competitive edge, companies across industries are adopting a key tactic: strategic sourcing. Strategic sourcing is a holistic approach to supply chain management that includes tactics for optimizing the total cost of ownership, improving supplier relationships, and ensuring long-term value creation.
Here are key strategies to take you there: Utilizing technology platforms : Next-generation source-to-pay (S2P) platforms should offer integrated—not isolated or siloed—supplier management capabilities to make supplier information available across all business functions.
I am a big believer in procurement getting involved as early as possible in new product development based on all the market knowledge available. The worst-case scenario is product engineering developing a new product, selecting a supplier and then telling procurement to get on with negotiation. How often do your purchase orders change?
Bowman, SupplyChainBrain The European Union is on the verge of rolling out a reporting regulation that promises to have a huge impact on businesses selling into the region. The DPP “represents a significant advance in product transparency and sustainability,” according to an EU report published in September of 2024. “As
It takes planning, dedication, and a data-driven approach to decision-making to not only reach but perpetuate your environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. And it all begins with sourcing. You can’t manage your sourcing without data, and that requires a single source of truth – a repository for all types of audits and scores.
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