It seems like much of the business news is filled with talk about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in improving operations. Yet many people, especially some procurement professionals, remain skeptical about AI’s place.
A recent webinar, 3 Things P2P Pros Need to Know About AI, enumerated some of things AI is capable of:
- Understanding tasks
- Analyzing data sets and patterns
- Employing “machine learning”
- Training itself to recognize documents
- Information mining
- Monitoring business processes
Looking at this list, it should be easy for procurement professionals to see how AI can be helpful to them. Unfortunately, procurement at many businesses is still largely a manual process.
AI can analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns and then apply what it has learned to new data. Allowing AI to do this should free-up time for procurement staff to take on a more strategic role, like identifying opportunities to improve operational efficiencies.
AI also can capture data and help make sense of it. It also is capable of integrating with an array of other systems so that the data is easily transferred and visible across the organization. Procurement can use this knowledge as leverage to improve cash management.
Payment fraud is on the rise and there are an increasing number of government mandates that businesses must adhere to. AI can help there, too. There is no way that manual systems can test every piece of data. On the other hand, AI can continuously run in the background to constantly test data and monitor and identify compliance issues.
AI is no threat to procurement. In fact, it will allow procurement professionals to spend more time performing tasks that add value and improve overall efficiency. Smart procurement professionals understand the benefits of forging a symbiotic relationship between human talent and technology as part of the digital transformation process.
