We would like to extend our thanks to all the guests who attended and contributed to the engaging conversations. A special mention goes to Rhea Rooprai from Diageo, who delivered an insightful talk on the use of autonomous sourcing platforms and their impact on a business’s tail spend. Rhea highlighted the limitations of these AI applications and provided valuable insights on how they can be leveraged to unlock significant value for businesses.
Key Takeaways
1. Get the data right: The quality of AI output is only as good as the data input. Clear and accurate data sources are essential. However, AI can also assist in transforming raw data into a usable format, ensuring that the information fed into the system is reliable and actionable.
2. Start small, think big: AI excels in handling isolated, specific, and repetitive tasks. Starting with small, manageable projects allows businesses to see immediate benefits and build confidence in AI’s capabilities before scaling up to more complex applications.
3. Clear business case: It’s essential to ensure that the AI application delivers value to the business rather than creating additional work or unnecessary outputs. A clear business case helps in aligning AI initiatives with business goals and demonstrating tangible benefits.
4. Driving digitalisation: AI is an excellent tool for digitalising business processes. A prime example is using AI to review and summarise contracts, which helps in building a comprehensive contract database. This digital transformation enhances efficiency and accessibility of information.
5. It will not replace people anytime soon: While AI can perform tasks much faster and with greater accuracy than humans, it won’t replace procurement professionals anytime soon. Human oversight and insight are still crucial for making informed decisions and managing complex scenarios that AI alone cannot handle.
6. Freeing up time for strategic work: By leveraging AI for repetitive and time-consuming tasks, procurement teams can free up valuable time to focus on more strategic activities. This shift allows professionals to engage in higher-level decision-making, relationship building, and innovation, ultimately driving greater value for the organisation.
7. Bring people on the journey: AI is constantly evolving, with its capabilities improving daily. It’s important to bring stakeholders on board and ensure they understand that implementing AI is a journey, not a one-time fix. Continuous engagement and education are key to successful adoption.
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