Almost all ProcureTech solution providers talk about the importance of having clean data and then quickly move on to the AI magic show. AI is amazing. It has been around for a very long time—longer than my 40-plus years in the high-tech and procurement industry. But AI ain’t magic!
Let me repeat that – with apologies to fellow grammar enthusiasts: AI AIN’T MAGIC!
What is magical about AI isn’t the technology, but the people behind it and using it. In short, as highlighted in my response to Stephany, “Technology, by itself, cannot address procurement’s needs, nor will it ever.”
Here is my LinkedIn response to Stephany’s post:
I congratulate you, Stephany Lapierre.
What you just wrote is something very few solution providers would openly acknowledge, e.g., digital transformation success is the primary responsibility of the procurement practitioner, and not the technology.
Here is the link to the paper I wrote for Zycus, “THE CPO’S PLAYBOOK FOR AVOIDING TECH MISTAKES: Are You Fixing Procurement or Breaking It?” – https://bit.ly/4d9cDTI
Besides tapping into my extensive 40-year high-tech procurement/supply chain archive for case study histories, I also interviewed 10 of our industry’s top CPOs. Technology, by itself, cannot address procurement’s needs, nor will it ever.
a Human-led, agent-based Metaprise model versus a Technology-led, equation-based Intake/Orchestration model. With the former, you will succeed; with the latter, we will have this same discussion 10 years from now, wondering why the latest tech breakthrough has done little to improve the implementation success rate.
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Procurement Insights
A Solution Provider Acknowledges “AI Ain’t Magic!”
Posted on May 8, 2025
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Almost all ProcureTech solution providers talk about the importance of having clean data and then quickly move on to the AI magic show. AI is amazing. It has been around for a very long time—longer than my 40-plus years in the high-tech and procurement industry. But AI ain’t magic!
Let me repeat that – with apologies to fellow grammar enthusiasts: AI AIN’T MAGIC!
What is magical about AI isn’t the technology, but the people behind it and using it. In short, as highlighted in my response to Stephany, “Technology, by itself, cannot address procurement’s needs, nor will it ever.”
Here is my LinkedIn response to Stephany’s post:
I congratulate you, Stephany Lapierre.
What you just wrote is something very few solution providers would openly acknowledge, e.g., digital transformation success is the primary responsibility of the procurement practitioner, and not the technology.
Here is the link to the paper I wrote for Zycus, “THE CPO’S PLAYBOOK FOR AVOIDING TECH MISTAKES: Are You Fixing Procurement or Breaking It?” – https://bit.ly/4d9cDTI
Besides tapping into my extensive 40-year high-tech procurement/supply chain archive for case study histories, I also interviewed 10 of our industry’s top CPOs. Technology, by itself, cannot address procurement’s needs, nor will it ever.
a Human-led, agent-based Metaprise model versus a Technology-led, equation-based Intake/Orchestration model. With the former, you will succeed; with the latter, we will have this same discussion 10 years from now, wondering why the latest tech breakthrough has done little to improve the implementation success rate.
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