My post yesterday on User Adoption and the Rise of the AI Chatbots sparked some interesting discussions on LinkedIn – especially regarding the impact on procurement jobs and buyer adoption or resistance.
Here is the last part of a comment from a knowledgeable reader regarding the above:
“More important is organizations also need to upskill the workforce to solve next-gen challenges – Transformation does not stop at implementing a chatbot, but also need to effectively upgrade the workforce to solve complex business challenges.”
As I would write in the following response, there is no doubt that this AI transformation requires the need to “effectively upgrade the workforce to solve complex business challenges.” However, an effective talent upgrade cannot happen without buyer cooperation, leading to the question I am asking today.
My response:
RathaRamanan N I agree that AI Chatbots will enable buying groups to focus on “real value creation” tasks as they should.
Of course, the “value creation” concept predates AI.
In my Aug. 2007 article on the CPO Agenda Roundtable Meeting, I reported the following – https://bit.ly/3LrUlkT
“As a result, there is going to be a continuing need for what was referred to as “low-level” buyers. However, the same individual concluded that “one strategic business thinker with the right skills and capabilities is worth 10 or 12 of your normal, run-of-the-mill purchasing people.”
Here are two related headlines dating as far back as 2002:
– Layoffs hit hardest at the low end of purchasing job mart (JP Morgan 2002)
– Layoffs in 2023: Preparing Procurement for Challenges Ahead (ProcurementIQ 2023)
The point is, for some time, we have been working towards this inevitability of a shift away from a focus on “transactional” capabilities to a demand for “strategically thinking” procurement professionals.
Emerging “intuitive” AI will enable that transformation, and procurement professionals will have to evolve and expand their capabilities to meet this new demand.
Thoughts?
30
Procurement Insights
Will the procurement workforce expand or contract in 2024?
Posted on October 27, 2023
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My post yesterday on User Adoption and the Rise of the AI Chatbots sparked some interesting discussions on LinkedIn – especially regarding the impact on procurement jobs and buyer adoption or resistance.
Here is the last part of a comment from a knowledgeable reader regarding the above:
“More important is organizations also need to upskill the workforce to solve next-gen challenges – Transformation does not stop at implementing a chatbot, but also need to effectively upgrade the workforce to solve complex business challenges.”
As I would write in the following response, there is no doubt that this AI transformation requires the need to “effectively upgrade the workforce to solve complex business challenges.” However, an effective talent upgrade cannot happen without buyer cooperation, leading to the question I am asking today.
My response:
RathaRamanan N I agree that AI Chatbots will enable buying groups to focus on “real value creation” tasks as they should.
Of course, the “value creation” concept predates AI.
In my Aug. 2007 article on the CPO Agenda Roundtable Meeting, I reported the following – https://bit.ly/3LrUlkT
“As a result, there is going to be a continuing need for what was referred to as “low-level” buyers. However, the same individual concluded that “one strategic business thinker with the right skills and capabilities is worth 10 or 12 of your normal, run-of-the-mill purchasing people.”
Here are two related headlines dating as far back as 2002:
– Layoffs hit hardest at the low end of purchasing job mart (JP Morgan 2002)
– Layoffs in 2023: Preparing Procurement for Challenges Ahead (ProcurementIQ 2023)
The point is, for some time, we have been working towards this inevitability of a shift away from a focus on “transactional” capabilities to a demand for “strategically thinking” procurement professionals.
Emerging “intuitive” AI will enable that transformation, and procurement professionals will have to evolve and expand their capabilities to meet this new demand.
Thoughts?
30
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