It’s rare to speak with a chief procurement officer who is openly critical of the function’s progress when it comes to artificial intelligence.
Sure, there are conversations about how to get started, how to deliver returns and what the future procurement operating model might look like with the full power of AI behind it. But it’s not every day that an individual CPO points a finger at the function, challenges how seriously their peers are taking the technology, and describes a broad culture of fear and paralysis.
“What I’ve seen from an AI perspective with, I’d say, the majority of procurement people is very much that they are sticking their head in the sand,” the CPO in question told me. “There’s a phenomenal amount of fear out there.”
They went on to say how this was driven by a combination of dynamics. First, the technology has the potential to dramatically impact jobs, which creates an instinctive paranoia.
Second, a legacy of unproven returns from large technology rollouts in procurement has left CFOs sceptical and led the function to fall down the list of investment priorities. Third, the token costs of AI are spiralling. Finally, the misplaced belief that there must be a single, big box that solves every problem CPOs face.
The discussion was refreshing because it didn’t pull any punches. It was frank – brutal, even – and provided a thought-provoking challenge to the function and the discussions I’ve had elsewhere.
But while this conversation offered a fresh perspective, it reminded me of what another Procurement Leaders member, Vodafone CPO Ninian Wilson (pictured above), discussed this on stage at the World Procurement Congress 2025.
“Adopt AI and bring it in,” he told delegates. “I encourage you all to seize the opportunity, seize the day and don’t sit and wait, because you either do it to yourselves or it gets done to you.”
So, if you are putting your head in the sand over AI, now is the time to stop.
Powering the future of leadership in Austin
The Procurement Leaders community will congregate in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday and Wednesday for Tomorrow’s Procurement Leader 2026. With speakers from Flex, Clorox, Meta and Cisco, to name just a few, it promises to be an extremely powerful experience. Safe travels and happy networking to everyone in attendance.
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