How SAP’s Embedded AI is Revolutionizing Procurement Processes

⇨ Many procurement professionals are being inundated with large quantities of data and increasing market complexity.

⇨ To help overcome these issues, SAP is embedding new generative AI capabilities within its SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass and SAP Business Network solutions.

⇨ These AI solutions have use cases throughout all aspects of the procurement process – spend analytics, sourcing, contract management, purchase-to-pay, and supplier management.

Artificial Intelligence is one of the hottest topics within the SAP ecosystem. Vendors are constantly rolling out solutions with AI infusions or components. Yet many companies feel they are having a hard time keeping up.

According to findings from SAPinsider’s recent report AI: State of Adoption 2024, just 19% of SAP organizations feel that they are ahead of their competition on the AI adoption curve. This leaves over 80% either barely keeping pace or lagging behind.

One of the areas that is most in need of AI capabilities is Procurement and Sourcing – fewer than 10% of SAP organizations say they are leveraging AI in this department, the lowest share of any business function.

Bolstering Procurement and Spend Management with AI

Many procurement professionals are being inundated with large quantities of data and increasing market complexity. To help overcome these issues, SAP is embedding new generative AI capabilities within its SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass and SAP Business Network solutions.

These AI solutions have use cases throughout all aspects of the procurement process – spend analytics, sourcing, contract management, purchase-to-pay, and supplier management.

For instance, users can leverage generative AI to find and engage with contractors with the necessary qualifications. SAP Fieldglass can help hiring managers generate job descriptions and statements of work more quickly.

AI has also proven to be a powerful tool for helping decision-makers sort through data and provide insights that can help businesses run more efficiently. SAP’s generative AI copilot Joule will be available in SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass solutions by the end of 2024.

SAP organizations have also leveraged embedded AI solutions to reduce procurement cycle and supplier verification times, align with new regulations, eliminate manual workflows, and gain deeper insights into contracts.

Conclusion

In a rapidly changing global economy, companies must leverage every advantage they can to work more effectively, minimize disruptions, and plan for the future. More and more, companies are recognizing AI is a potent solution to overcome many of the issues they struggle with on a daily basis.

AI adoption has been uneven across different departments and procurement professionals have some of the lowest AI usage rates. As many organizations are unsure of how to find and deploy the right solutions to meet their business needs, SAP has started embedding AI into spend management and procurement solutions like SAP Ariba, SAP Fieldglass and SAP Business Network. These enhancements enable SAP users to grow their AI familiarity and capabilities at their own pace, automating workflows and increasing efficiency.