Procurement Legends Newsletter - September 2024 Edition
🤐Zip Rebrand, Pactum AI making strides, Gen AI Procurement Improvements
Procurement Legends Newsletter - September 2024 Edition
Welcome to the latest edition of Procurement Legends! This month’s focus is on cutting-edge developments in procurement technology, from generative AI advancements to autonomous negotiations that are transforming the landscape. Let’s dive into the most exciting announcements from September (and a couple I missed from early this year which you might be interested in).
1. Zip Rebrands & Expands its AI-Powered Capabilities
Zip made a bold move this month with a complete rebrand and the introduction of new features aimed at optimising procurement processes. Their enhanced platform now integrates AI to streamline supplier search and purchasing decisions. Highlights include:
AI-driven invoice coding to eliminate manual review.
Preferred supplier purchasing that reduces the time spent onboarding new suppliers.
Real-time budget visibility through integrations with Workday, helping finance teams make faster, informed decisions.
Zip’s commitment to creating a seamless procurement workflow continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
2. Hackett Group: Gen AI & the Future of Procurement
Generative AI is rapidly transforming procurement, according to the Hackett Group’s latest report. Their findings highlight how Digital World Class® procurement organisations are using Gen AI to:
Increase productivity by 54%.
Reduce process costs by 47%.
Streamline supplier management with AI-driven tools.
Hackett Group emphasises that AI will play a central role in decision-making and supplier negotiations, driving both cost savings and strategic value.
3. Pactum AI: Raising the Bar with Autonomous Negotiations**
Pactum AI secured $20 million in Series B funding to scale its **autonomous negotiation** technology. Already partnering with giants like Maersk and Walmart, Pactum uses AI agents to negotiate thousands of supplier deals simultaneously, achieving savings of **3-5%** on average.
This funding will allow Pactum to expand in Europe and the U.S., while also enhancing the AI's learning capabilities. These bots, powered by Harvard negotiation principles, are revolutionising how companies manage supplier contracts (missed this one in July).
4. Pactum Partners with Sievo: Analytics Meets Action
In a landmark collaboration, Pactum AI teamed up with procurement analytics leader Sievo. The partnership integrates Sievo’s data-driven insights with Pactum’s autonomous negotiations, closing the gap between analytics and actionable procurement decisions.
This powerful combination allows procurement teams to identify cost-saving opportunities and act on them faster than ever before, driving efficiency and improving supplier relationships.
I somehow missed this - it’s a big deal.
5. Low-Code Platforms Transform Procurement
The rise of low-code platforms is enabling procurement teams to automate and customise their workflows without the need for deep technical expertise. These platforms are improving process efficiency, allowing businesses to quickly adapt to changing needs and innovate more freely.
With low-code solutions, organisations can develop procurement apps that automate routine tasks, respond to market shifts, and ultimately drive better financial outcomes.
Low-code solutions is one specialism we rely on with our Gatekeeper platform to create parallel (or any) workflows that significantly reduce processes, such as a 60% reduction in vendor onboarding times.
Stay ahead of the curve with Procurement Legends as we continue to cover these groundbreaking advancement.
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Stay innovative,
Daniel