Why artificial intelligence is not only automating procurement processes, but is redefining the buyer’s own value
A shift that is already under way
I have been working in procurement for more than twenty years now. I have seen the profession change from a purely operational function into a strategic role that carries more and more weight in the boardroom. But what has happened with AI over the past two years feels different. Faster. Deeper.
Two years ago we were still talking about pilots and experiments; in 2026, AI is part of the day-to-day procurement practice of forward-thinking organisations. Contracts are summarised, supplier risks monitored, spending patterns analysed — all at a speed that we humans simply cannot keep up with. That is not a threat. It is a fact.
The question on my mind is not whether AI has a role in procurement. That question has already been answered. The question is what is left for the buyer — and what is expected of us in a world where routine work is largely automated.
What AI is already doing in procurement
When I started out as a buyer, a large part of my work consisted of going through contracts, requesting quotes and tracking supplier performance in Excel. Hours a week. Sometimes more. That work is now disappearing. And to be honest, I don’t miss it.
The current generation of AI applications in procurement is already impressive. Spend analyses and reports, drafting RFQs, summarising and searching contracts, flagging supplier risks based on external data sources — it is all being done, and done well.
From insight to action
What sets the next generation of AI apart is the step from analysis to autonomous action. So-called ‘agentic AI’ — systems that not only inform but also carry out actions on their own — is starting to make its way into procurement.
In practice, this means:
- AI that automatically starts a sourcing process based on contract expiry dates it has flagged
- systems that carry out supplier selection for standard categories without human intervention
- Automatic approval routing, where exceptions are escalated and standard requests are processed without anyone stepping in
Research by Capgemini shows that only 10 percent of organisations were using AI agents in 2024, but that 82 percent want to do so in 2027. The wave of adoption has already begun — and it is moving fast.
The gap between ambition and reality
But — and I recognise this from conversations with clients and candidates — there is a big gap between what organisations want and what they have actually put in place. Of all the procurement teams that experimented with generic AI in 2024, only four percent achieved large-scale implementation.
The main reason: data that is not in order. Three quarters of procurement managers say their data is not AI-ready. That doesn’t surprise me. I still see it at organisations where supplier information is scattered across three systems and a shared drive. No AI in the world will give you reliable output then.
What this means for the buyer
For me, this is the heart of the story. AI does not replace the buyer — but it does fundamentally change what a good buyer is worth.
Routine work disappears, judgement becomes more central
The tasks being automated now are exactly the tasks I used to do as a junior buyer: requesting quotes, going through contracts, putting reports together. That was useful work, but it was not the work where you made the difference.
What remains — and what only becomes more important — are the tasks where human judgement is irreplaceable:
- conducting complex negotiations with strategic suppliers
- managing relationships in situations of conflict or uncertainty
- translating business strategy into procurement choices
- weighing the ethical and political dimensions of supplier decisions
Those are things you don’t get out of an algorithm. That is work for people.
The buyer as orchestrator
The buyer’s role is shifting towards that of an orchestrator: someone who decides which goals are pursued, checks whether the system is making the right trade-offs and steps in when needed. That calls for a combination of technical understanding and strong social and strategic skills.
The buyer of the future is not the person who knows the most about procurement procedures. It is the person who is best at reasoning, connecting and deciding in complex situations. That is also what I look for when we place candidates with our clients.
Procurement is becoming more strategic — and that puts teams under pressure
There is another side to this story that I don’t want to leave unsaid. Because if the transactional work falls away and only strategic work remains, the bar rises for the whole profession. That is good news for the status of procurement. But it also creates a new problem.
Historically, most procurement teams have been put together around a mix of operational and strategic tasks. As AI takes over the operational layer, expectations shift to the higher end — while the team has not automatically been staffed for that. Team members who were strong in the hands-on side of the work suddenly face tasks that call for different skills. And managers used to a team with a broad spread of tasks find that the profiles they need now are a lot scarcer on the market.
I see this pattern more and more often at our clients: the pressure on procurement teams is growing, not only in volume but also in complexity. The same people are expected both to keep operations running and to take on strategic questions — without any extra capacity or seniority to match. That is a recipe for overload.
We wrote about this earlier in our article on the hidden costs of a procurement talent shortage. Its conclusion is as relevant now as it was then: a capacity shortage in procurement is not a temporary bottleneck. It is a structural risk that the rise of AI only makes more urgent. Not because AI takes jobs away, but because the jobs that remain are getting heavier.
What this asks of organisations
Organisations that take this shift seriously act on two fronts at once. They invest in AI tooling and data — so that the benefits of automation are actually realised. But they also invest in developing and attracting senior procurement talent, so that the strategic tasks that remain are handled properly.
If you only bet on technology without paying attention to the people who have to work with it, you miss half of the transition. And if you wait until the capacity problems become visible, you pay a higher price for it than you needed to.
The organisational challenge: governance and control
As AI gains more autonomy in procurement processes, organisations also carry a growing responsibility to keep it properly under control. And that is not yet always a given.
Accountability and transparency
When an AI system selects a supplier or approves a contract, it has to be clear which criteria that decision was based on. Organisations that use AI without clear audit trails and approval protocols run legal and reputational risks they are not aware of.
The best-performing organisations build AI governance into the implementation process — not afterwards. It is a lesson I also see in technology procurement: the organisations that put structure in place before the system goes live consistently have fewer problems later on.
The risks of over-automation
AI optimises on the basis of historical data and predefined parameters. What it cannot do is anticipate what falls outside those parameters: a geopolitical crisis, a sudden shift in the market or a supplier that gets into financial trouble in a way that does not show up in the standard signals.
Organisations that lean too heavily on automated decision-making without a human counterweight make themselves vulnerable. And that is exactly the situation you want to avoid.
Conclusion
AI is changing procurement fundamentally — but not in the way many people fear. It is not a replacement for the buyer. It is a shift in where the buyer’s value lies — upwards, towards the strategic.
After more than twenty years in this profession, I see this as an opportunity, not a threat. But it is an opportunity that calls for action. The organisations that invest now in data, governance and the development of their procurement teams are laying the foundations for a procurement function that comes out of the AI transition stronger. Those that wait and see run the risk of falling behind in a way that is hard to make up.
The question is not whether you are ready. The question is when you start.
