Procurement Strategy

Why companies blame the wrong supplier … and miss the real failure

Tuesday, July 14, 2026 · Alexander Litvin Companies investigating supply chain failures often blame the supplier identified in their ERP system rather than tracing the actual component lot, causing organizations to miss the true root cause and repeat the same manufacturing risks.

AI and the new economics of tail spend

Friday, May 15, 2026 · Vijay Kasi, Alexander Wirtz, Remco Kroes and Sandra Pierrard Artificial intelligence is turning tail spend from a neglected cost center into a scalable source of value through automated supplier engagement.

The $4 million procurement gap

Saturday, May 2, 2026 · Marisa Brown Differences in how procurement processes are designed and executed can create more than a $4 million cost gap at scale.

From cost control to value realization: Rewiring the airline source-to-pay value chain

Wednesday, April 15, 2026 · Anshul Bansal Airline source-to-pay (S2P) transformation shifts procurement from fragmented cost control to integrated value realization by connecting contracts, systems, and operational spend across the enterprise.

Automation is the easy part: The real AI shift in procurement starts now

Thursday, April 2, 2026 · Gordon Donovan, Vice President of Research for Procurement and External Workforce, SAP AI in procurement is shifting value from simple process automation to strategic decision-making, forcing leaders to redesign operating models, balance cost and resilience, and close the gap between AI ambition and real-world execution.

Three ways AI can help CSCOs navigate emerging supply chain cost pressures

Thursday, March 19, 2026 · Pierfrancesco Manenti, VP Analyst, Gartner Supply Chain Practice AI is enabling CSCOs to shift from reactive cost cutting to proactive, data-driven cost management by uncovering hidden cost drivers, optimizing decisions in real time, and modeling financial trade-offs across the supply chain.

Spend aggregation gives way to new approaches in a tariff-driven supply chain

Tuesday, March 17, 2026 · Brian Straight Procurement is shifting from cost-driven spend aggregation to risk-adjusted sourcing strategies as tariffs, geopolitical volatility, and supply chain disruptions force companies to prioritize resilience over pure savings.

AI’s energy appetite is emerging as a supply chain risk

Monday, December 29, 2025 · Brian Straight As AI-driven electricity demand outpaces aging grid infrastructure, energy availability and cost are emerging as critical, and largely underappreciated, risks to supply chain resilience.

Digital procurement transformation on a budget

Tuesday, December 2, 2025 · Kseniia Litovskaia Procurement teams can streamline manual, spreadsheet-driven workflows using affordable tools like Google Sheets, Airtable, n8n, and ChatGPT to gain automation, transparency, and control without the cost or complexity of a full ERP system.

The Invisible Handshake: AI to AI procurement negotiations

Monday, November 3, 2025 · Bridget McCrea Supply chain managers and procurement professionals are watching a new kind of negotiation take shape, one that doesn’t involve people sitting across a table or trading emails. Instead, artificial intelligence (AI) systems are quietly working out the details of low-level…

Future-ready procurement: From cost control to value creation

Wednesday, October 29, 2025 · Brian Straight Procurement’s next evolution is shifting from cost control to value creation as AI, early engagement, and cross-functional collaboration redefine how organizations align sourcing with customer impact.

Taming the tariff trap: Four strategies to reduce supply chain cost

Friday, September 26, 2025 · Om Prakash Tariff volatility is reshaping global supply chains. A four-lever framework—spanning engineering, compliance, sourcing, and commercial strategy—can reduce tariff impacts by up to 80% while strengthening resilience.

Putting dynamic pricing into practice: A sourcing leader’s guide to execution and supplier alignment

Monday, July 28, 2025 · Aniket Kulkarni Dynamic pricing is more than a tactical tool, it is a strategic enabler of resilience, agility, and competitive advantage. By segmenting suppliers, aligning internal functions, investing in data infrastructure, and rethinking contracts, sourcing leaders can unlock the true…

Truckload procurement: From state-of-the-practice to state-of-the-art

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research has identified the key behaviors and metrics that separate state-of-the-practice from state-of-the-art shippers in full truckload procurement.

Want better procurement outcomes? Start with better relationships

Friday, April 4, 2025 · Brian Straight Strong relationships can have many beneficial outcomes for procurement organizations, but many still cling to a transactional relationship measured at the bottom line.