Is It the ‘Bogeyman’? How Procurement Should Address Fear of AI

Procurement teams are on the front lines of today’s global supply chains. They’re expected to react to fast-changing economic and geopolitical shifts that impact sourcing strategies, even as they struggle to make sense of mountains of data relating to regulation, purchasing patterns and intensifying customer-service demands.

Given the immensity of that challenge, it’s no surprise that artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in global supply chain management, especially for the procurement function. But is AI having the desired effect on that discipline? And, is it poised to supplement the vital role of procurement professionals, or replace them?

Two analysts from Gartner addressed those questions at the consultancy’s recent Procurement Conference in San Diego.

Senior director analyst Fareen Mehrzai noted a 360% increase in procurement roles requiring AI skills over the last three years. Yet along with that surge comes higher levels of anxiety among executives about what the technology will actually do to their jobs.

This story was originally published by SupplyChainBrain. Read the full story at SupplyChainBrain →