Respondents to the latest Acxias online survey are unanimous:Artificial intelligence (AI) “generative” already has or will have an impact on the purchasing function in the coming years. On the other hand, when asked about the depth of this impact, opinions differ. If 45% believe it will be a “simple” additional tool to help teams operate more effectively, others expect much greater impact. Nearly half of the panel (48%) imagine a transformation of the purchasing profession, and 6% simply foresee its disappearance. Companies could indeed use theGenerative AI to automate their supplier sourcing and risk identification, or to define their purchasing strategy and monitor their performance. In the most ambitious scenarios, it could be responsible for the production of purchasing documents (call for tenders, contracts, etc.) and even the coding of new features in the solutions.
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According to the results of the latest online survey conducted by Acxias, it is undeniable that “generative” Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already revolutionizing the field of purchasing, or will do so in the near future. However, when we dig deeper to assess the precise scope of this impact, it becomes clear that opinions differ greatly within the community of purchasing professionals.
Among respondents, a significant proportion, i.e. 45%, consider that generative AI will only be a “simple” additional tool intended to help purchasing teams operate more efficiently. For them, this technology is a way to optimize existing processes, facilitate decision-making and improve productivity, without necessarily radically transforming the purchasing profession.
However, a notable proportion, representing 48% of respondents, see things differently. For them, generative AI is much more than a simple tool: it is the catalyst for a profound transformation of the purchasing profession. They imagine a future where this technology will automate in an advanced manner the activities linked to the search for suppliers, the identification of risks, the definition of the purchasing strategy and the monitoring of performance. In their most daring scenarios, generative AI could even support the production of complex purchasing documents such as calls for tenders, contracts, and many others. Some even envisage that it could contribute to the design and coding of new functionalities for purchasing solutions.
However, it is worth noting that while this vision may seem exciting and promising to some, a small minority of 6% of respondents express more radical concerns. They quite simply envisage the disappearance of the profession of buyer as we know it today. For them, generative AI could potentially reach a level of autonomy and sophistication such that it could perform all procurement-related tasks autonomously, making the need for dedicated human staff for this function obsolete.
Ultimately, the future of generative AI in procurement remains up for debate, with prospects ranging from improving existing processes to completely revolutionizing the profession. Companies must therefore remain vigilant and anticipate possible developments to make the most of this emerging technology.