AI – A Pragmatic Approach

The notion, increasingly prevalent, that AI will automate procurement to the point where experienced professionals are redundant is dangerously wrong.

That’s not to say that AI (and wider technology) shouldn’t be developed and deployed. Quite the opposite.

Rather it reflects a theme that I return to, which is the folly of thinking that organisations face a binary ‘one or the other’ choice.

Strategic consultation or capacity-building delivery. Automation versus human judgement.

The fact is that the most successful work will often do everything, and the best partners will know how much of everything is required.

At EcoVate we embrace the enormous potential of AI, indeed we built Dotted Line precisely because we recognised the value technology can add to procurement.

AI can accelerate the parts of procurement that are repetitive, or data heavy. It can generate evaluation matrices and tender packs in minutes, consolidate individual assessments automatically, produce compliant award communications, and maintain a consistent audit trail across every procurement.

But it can’t navigate the complicated political dynamics of a major procurement project with multiple stakeholders. It can’t make the nuanced judgement of when to push for better terms, or when to hold back because pushing further could collapse a negotiation.

Frontline experience and the judgement earned from that experience are still essential.

And your best partner should be able to provide it all, end to end. The strategy and the delivery. The technology and the frontline experience.

Put simply, technology makes good procurement professionals more effective. It doesn’t replace them.

Anyone attempting to persuade you that it does may be creating a problem for you, rather than offering a solution.