How Procurement Can Embed AI in Operations With Low-Code Platforms

More and more executives are convinced that artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming critical to business success. Most (61%) enterprises are rethinking how to use data and analytics in the wake of AI, according to a Gartner study.

For procurement, the challenge is how to leverage AI to quickly turn insights and intelligence into action. Can procurement play a key role in embedding AI in business operations? 

Procurement leaders should align their thinking with that of technology leaders, who think AI can complement human decision-making in a transformative way. Sixty-five percent of IT leaders believe human decision-making can be augmented and “revolutionised” in the supply chain and procurement functions, according to IDC, an analyst form.

Two developments provide a conducive ground to do so.

First, the rise of AI app marketplaces represents a turning point in the development of AI technology, signifying an essential shift in how tools are created and consumed. 

Second, low-code environments are aiding the development of agile workflows and processes and democratizing adoption of AI. 

AI App Marketplaces Are Building New Tools 

The rise of AI app marketplaces, such as OpenAI’s GPT Store, are enabling developers to create and sell AI apps. These marketplaces are creating third-party tools that can aid AI technology, signaling a fundamental shift in how tools are developed and consumed. These can help procurement and supply chain boost the use of AI in their enterprises. 

Low-code/No-code Platforms Are Democratizing AI 

The advent of low-code/no-code platforms has democratized access to AI technologies, reducing entry barriers and fostering collaboration. 

These platforms have the potential to spur innovation and create opportunities for procurement and supply chain. These can truly help procurement to make AI a part of business operations by enabling data and analytics to work with AI in a flexible and easy way. 

These platforms offer a user-centric, personalized experience, whereby users can easily drag and drop pre-existing components to create business workflows or design screens without computer programming knowledge. 

They leverage the expertise of a wider range of people, enabling enterprises to adapt and iterate quickly in response to external changes and competitive demands. 

Such platforms enable integration of different functions by providing visibility. 

“The key to low-/no-code is that it provides agility; the outcome of which is visibility and therefore a greater opportunity to collaborate with the business than in the past,” says Alex Zhong, director, product marketing, GEP. 

From lower management through to the C-suite, businesspeople find themselves handicapped by incomplete data sets and disconnected applications. 

But a low-code environment allows building processes and dataflows, while AI supports the user in analyzing once-isolated data as a whole — perhaps even third-party information. 

These platforms offer greater resilience, agility, visibility and an up-to-date UX. This can eventually lead to more effective orchestration of procurement activities across all functions. 

By democratizing access, reducing entry barriers and fostering collaboration, these AI apps and platforms are poised to unleash a wave of innovation and create a range of new opportunities for various industries and functions, including procurement and supply chain. 

Procurement professionals have a fine opportunity to work with configurable workflows, supported by AI-driven data preparation and analysis tools. 

If procurement embraces these technologies, it might be the one to offer demonstrable value to the organization by bringing AI to bear on the enterprise’s toughest problems. 

To learn more about how procurement can integrate AI into business operations, download our white paper, Embedded AI: The Catalyst for Technological Change.