If Instead of Trying to Replace, You Redeployed People — What Could You Accomplish?
The article argues that the AI hype in procurement overlooks the proven power of traditional AI and RPA to automate routine tasks. By eliminating up to 80% of tactical work, organizations can free staff to focus on strategic sourcing, demand shaping, and value creation. It cites IKEA’s experience, where AI deflected 47% of calls and the company retrained agents as interior designers, generating roughly $1.09 billion in new revenue. The piece urges leaders to redeploy, not replace, human talent to capture these gains.
A Buyer Is NOT a Buyer — Exact Purchasing Makes That Clearer than Ever!
The article argues that a buyer is not a generic role but a set of distinct functions across physical supply chains, information chains, stakeholder services, and retail merchandising. It introduces the Busch‑Lamoureux Exact Purchasing framework, which segments buyers based on...
Can You Truly Have Structured Risk Conversations without Exact Purchasing?
The article argues that effective supply‑chain risk management hinges on the Busch‑Lamoureux Exact Purchasing model, which classifies spend by criticality rather than generic risk categories. By aligning risk identification with procurement‑defined importance, companies avoid chasing low‑impact alerts and focus on...
Four Broken Procurement Processes You Wouldn’t Have With Exact Purchasing
Gaurav Sharma’s LinkedIn post highlights four legacy procurement practices that waste time and money. He argues that static year‑end budgets, manual approval chains, PowerPoint‑based category plans, and activity‑driven KPIs are obsolete. Using Busch‑Lamoureux Exact Purchasing, companies can replace these with...
It’s Never Good News for the Oompa Loompas
Hershey announced a $250 million supply‑chain modernization effort that it expects to generate roughly $300 million in annual savings. The initiative reflects a broader push toward automation and digitalization in large confectionery firms. However, the promised efficiencies have not translated into job...
Why Do You Need Frameworks and Systems for Sourcing Excellence?
Procurement thought leader Paul Martyn argues that tomorrow’s demand for creative, crusading sourcing cannot rely on intuition alone. He stresses that measurable, repeatable outcomes require decision‑making systems built on multi‑objective optimization and analytics. The article recommends embedding these tools within a...
You Need Automation. But You Don’t Always Need Agentic and You Almost Never Need Gen-AI!
The article argues that modern procurement should rely on proven robotic process automation (RPA) and adaptive RPA with modest machine‑learning, rather than experimental agentic or generative AI. It notes that 95%‑99% of source‑to‑pay documents can be processed end‑to‑end without human...
Roll Up The Space To … Lose!
Over the past decade private‑equity firms such as Vista, KKR and Thoma Bravo pursued a roll‑up strategy, acquiring dozens of procurement‑software assets to create mega‑suite platforms. These bundles command seven‑figure annual licenses, banking on market dominance within corporate source‑to‑pay functions. However,...
Maybe If Procurement Had Embraced Magic and Logic Decades Ago …
Jeanette Hübsch, a global procurement leader, argues that agility is essential in marketing procurement, which must evolve from a cost‑center to a business‑enabler. She stresses building an adaptable supplier ecosystem with modular contracts, multi‑sourcing and scenario planning to respond to...
Today’s Procurement Leaders Aren’t Enough for Tomorrow
Matthew Buckingham argues that today’s top procurement leaders rely on curiosity, courage and clarity, but those traits alone won’t survive the accelerating volatility of supply chains and AI‑driven technology. He adds two critical capabilities: colossal creativity to redesign networks on...
AI Doesn’t Drive Savings, Innovation, or Performance. Sourcing Excellence Does.
Procurement leaders are confronting a hype‑driven belief that AI, dashboards, or better data will automatically cut costs and boost performance. Paul Martyn, a veteran sourcing strategist, argues that only structured, model‑based decision making—what he calls Sourcing Excellence—delivers real savings. This...
Sourcing Excellence Is Predictability in Tough Times
The article warns that poor purchasing—dubbed "bad buying"—drives cost spikes, delivery uncertainty, and operational risk across utilities, workforce benefits, and AI deployments. It argues that strategic, end‑to‑end sourcing excellence stabilizes expenses, guarantees supply continuity, and mitigates legal exposure. By selecting...
Sourcing Excellence IS Optimization!
The article argues that true sourcing excellence hinges on rigorous optimization rather than emerging AI tools. It highlights a dwindling pool of seasoned professionals capable of delivering such optimization, naming Paul Martyn as one of the few remaining masters with...
Another Reason To Avoid AI: NO ECONOMIC GROWTH COMES FROM AI!
Goldman Sachs’ latest study, cited by Fortune, finds no measurable link between AI spending and economy‑wide productivity gains. In 2025, corporations poured roughly $450 billion into AI projects, yet the macroeconomic impact was effectively zero. The analysis argues that the same...
Analytics Must Drive Source-to-Pay, but Not Necessarily Gen-AI
Xavier argues that P2P analytics must evolve from static, descriptive reporting to diagnostic, predictive, and ultimately prescriptive capabilities. By identifying root causes of delays, forecasting invoice payment risks, and recommending automated routing, analytics can drive end‑to‑end source‑to‑pay automation. He emphasizes...