Is Artificial Intelligence Gaining a Bigger Foothold in Procurement?
There was a time when it would have been pretty difficult to envision a procurement professional utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in his or her line of work. Autonomous cars, interactive robots, and IBM’s Watson computer, after all, were just far-out examples of how computers could be taught to think, act, and operate like humans.
Fast-forward to 2018 and it looks as if AI—defined as technology that makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs, and perform human-like tasks—is making its way into the procurement department. In Investors bet on AI in procurement, Rich Weissman explains how companies like Suplari, IndustryBuying, and Power2SME are utilizing AI to transform various aspects of the supply chain, including procurement.
Take Suplari, for example. An AI-driven insights platform for procurement, the firm recently attracted $10.3 million in funding to develop its cloud-based platform. That platform “enables procurement and finance teams to find hidden cost savings and unidentified supplier risk by analyzing millions of enterprise data points and interactions across disparate enterprise systems,” James Henderson writes in AI-driven procurement platform, Suplari, attracts $10.3mn in funding.
Those data points include contracts, purchasing, product usage, accounts payable, travel and expense, and corporate card accounts, Henderson writes. “Suplari uses advanced AI on top of existing enterprise systems to proactively uncover the highest-value opportunities and empower CFOs or chief procurement officers to unlock savings and increase profit, which can then be invested in growth, innovation, and their people,” Nikesh Parekh, CEO, told Supply Chain Digital.
Click here to read further