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The concern that AI will replace jobs is based on real figures, but studies by Forrester, the European Investment Bank, and the IAB show that AI primarily changes tasks, and overall employment hardly declines. In procurement, where tasks have been growing faster than teams for years, automation frees up time for strategic topics such as supplier development and risk assessment. At the same time, a new task arises, because AI agents need specialists to set them up, monitor them, and decide on human approvals.

Procurement is often seen as a bottleneck in many companies because delays become apparent there, even though they usually originate in earlier stages due to late involvement. The first article in our series "Purchasing Made Plain" shows how this prejudice affects both operational and strategic procurement and what value a company misses out on when it views procurement merely as a process operator. You will also learn how early involvement and the right key performance indicators (KPIs) can transform procurement into a proactive partner.

A single jar of Nutella is enough to illustrate just how complex EUDR due diligence really is in practice: this one product alone contains three EUDR-relevant raw materials, cocoa, palm oil, and soy, for which different compliance obligations apply depending on the sourcing method. Using this example, the article demonstrates what the EU Deforestation Regulation will specifically require from December 30, 2026, and how procurement teams can structure their procurement processes now.

Supply chain risk management typically assesses suppliers, materials, and equipment individually, even though many disruptions arise from shared dependencies between seemingly independent resources. The Resource Interaction Approach demonstrates why relationships between companies should themselves be considered resources and how hidden risk concentrations within the supplier network can be uncovered.

The cheapest supplier is not automatically the most economical choice if their risk of failure is not factored into the price. Risk-based cost analysis therefore additionally evaluates resilience measures based on the probability of a disruption and the resulting damage. This makes the economic value of resilience visible and allows it to be jointly justified at the purchasing, CPO, and management levels.

Geographically distributed suppliers do not automatically create a resilient procurement network if they depend on the same transport routes, infrastructure, or geopolitical risks. Near-scoring therefore additionally evaluates suppliers based on operational proximity, responsiveness, and structural independence. This allows hidden dependencies to be identified and global supplier portfolios to be strategically supplemented with robust regional alternatives.

Procurement only becomes truly resilient when it no longer merely absorbs disruptions, but changes the structures that repeatedly allow such disruptions to become critical. The crucial factor is therefore the shift from short-term recovery to a procurement architecture that permanently enables alternatives, flexibility, and faster decision-making.

This article explains why real-time transparency alone does not improve procurement decisions and shows how common risk thresholds, the visualization of supply chain dependencies, and predefined decision paths help companies reduce uncertainty and react faster.

Supply Chain Resilience evolves from historical transparency to real-time visibility and scenario-based decision support, enabled by the integration of data, systems, and processes across the organization.

Planning to implement a new procurement tool? This guide walks you through the practical steps to structure your initiative, align stakeholders early, and build the internal buy-in required for a successful implementation.

Purchasing teams already know: Compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is not optional.

It creates a new reality for purchasing teams: Every purchase must be reviewed – for all raw materials such as beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy, timber, and rubber, as well as all products containing them.

At IvaluaNow 2025 in Paris, we gained exclusive insights into Ivalua's roadmap—including not-yet-communicated developments that will shape the future of procurement. We also immersed ourselves in conversations with procurement teams worldwide—former, recent, and potential customers.

The BeNeering Customer Days 2024 offered insights into innovative cloud solutions for purchasing, the use of AI such as “Ask BEN”, and the strategic development for optimizing procurement processes.

PIA combines Ivalua and SAP into an integrated process landscape and strengthens control in purchasing.

The direct integration of Guided Buying with SAP enables real-time procurement without data replication and simplifies purchasing processes.

As a Silver Partner, we focus on close collaboration with SAP. Learn how we, together with SAP and their customers, are driving the transformation to the S/4 procurement landscape.