What Is Autonomous Procurement?

Key takeaways

Autonomous procurement uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help businesses perform procurement tasks efficiently and with minimal intervention. Here are some important facts to know:

• A survey of 100 high-level executives working in supply chain, procurement, and risk management found that 90 percent have considered using or are already using artificial intelligence (AI) agents to optimize procurement operations, and 82 percent have identified or prioritized potential use cases for AI for their procurement teams [1].

• “AI-native” autonomous procurement systems provide autonomous orchestration and deeper insights gained through adaptive learning processes, which can make procurement faster, smarter, and easier to use.

• You can use an automated procurement system to streamline the entire procurement process, from requisition to payment, thereby increasing efficiency, enforcing compliance, and providing better visibility into spending.

Explore the features‌ of autonomous procurement and discover the role AI plays in the process. If you’re interested in learning more about how technology impacts the supply chain, consider enrolling in the Unilever Supply Chain Data Analyst Professional Certificate. You'll build skills in descriptive analytics, data management, demand planning, and data visualization.

What is procurement?

Procurement is the operational process of acquiring the goods and services your organization needs to function. It is a subset of the supply chain and encompasses identifying requirements and the initial sourcing of goods and services, as well as purchasing, receiving, and inspecting all the materials that keep your organization running, including raw materials, computer hardware and software, and office supplies. 

Why is the procurement process important?

An effective procurement strategy can stabilize a business's cash flow and increase its profitability. A key objective of the procurement process is to obtain an organization’s necessary goods and services at the best prices while ensuring a steady supply and minimizing risk. Obtaining goods and services that support an organization’s strategic priorities is also part of the procurement process.

Procurement is crucial to keeping businesses running efficiently and ensuring they meet their objectives, while also maintaining uninterrupted customer access to products and services. Streamlining the procurement process can increase profitability and facilitate resilience to challenges such as labor strikes, tariffs, natural disasters, global pandemics, and geopolitical instability. 

What are the 4 types of procurement?

You can categorize procurement as either goods or services and as direct or indirect, depending on the nature of the items and their intended use. To understand the types of procurement, consider:

• Direct procurement: Items needed to produce an end product, including raw materials or merchandise purchased from a wholesaler for resale

• Indirect procurement: Items necessary for day-to-day business operations, such as office supplies, furniture, advertising campaigns, maintenance, and consulting services

• Goods procurement: Acquisition of physical items, including both indirect and direct materials 

• Services procurement: Obtaining external, people-based services, such as temporary labor, consultancy services, or technical support, used for direct or indirect purposes 

What is autonomous procurement?

Autonomous procurement relies on technology, including AI, machine learning, and data analytics, to help organizations perform essential procurement tasks more efficiently and with minimal human intervention. Organizations are transitioning from using rule-based technology to automate repetitive tasks, such as invoice management, order processing, supplier onboarding, contract management, and payments, to implementing systems that use more advanced technology to make contextual decisions, learn from data, and adapt workflows, all without human intervention. 

Given the importance of effective procurement processes and the potential for AI to help organizations achieve maximum effectiveness in this area, it’s not surprising that of 100 high-level executives, 90 percent have considered using or are already using AI agents to optimize procurement operations, and 82 percent have identified or prioritized potential use cases for AI for their procurement teams [1]. Furthermore, one-third of the 2,877 respondents to a recent survey on the value of GenAI in software as a service (SaaS) applications reported that they would replace their current procurement application if it did not feature GenAI in its next release [2, 3], providing further support for the added benefits of this technology. 

“AI-native” autonomous procurement systems embed generative AI (GenAI) from the start, guiding how data is processed, how workflows operate, and how users interact with the platform. These systems provide autonomous orchestration and deeper insights gained through adaptive learning processes, which can make procurement faster, smarter, and easier to use. 

Using GenAI as a foundation can improve your autonomous procurement system in various ways, including the following. 

Intelligence-first architecture

AI-native platforms generate real-time recommendations based on live data. These platforms can also facilitate information sharing and provide predictive analytics and insights to help you anticipate needs and assess risk, resulting in more informed decisions. 

Example: A shipment may be autonomously rerouted in anticipation of a storm identified using predictive analytics.

Autonomous orchestration

This process eliminates manual hand-offs and adapts workflows in real time based on evolving data and business priorities. It unifies supplier, spend, contract, and performance information to automate sourcing, onboarding, and contract management while proactively recommending and executing actions. As a result, you gain benefits such as streamlined collaboration, accelerated cycle times, and more strategic and efficient functioning. 

Example: While monitoring supplier performance using the supplier scorecards it manages, your autonomous procurement system not only flags a key vendor that is underperforming but also suggests alternative suppliers.

Adaptive learning

AI-native systems learn and adapt based on a wide range of data, including user activity, supplier interactions, contracts, and transactions. This learning process enables them to identify patterns and trends, refining recommendations and workflows, which can lead to improved decision-making and increased efficiency over time.

Example: Your autonomous procurement system detects a spike in the price of wheat, a raw material used to produce the bread your company sells. The system proactively seeks the most cost-effective sources faster than human teams could.

How can AI be used in procurement?

AI in procurement encompasses various technologies, including genAI, agentic AI, robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP). Businesses typically incorporate these technologies into their procurement process in phases: assist, perform, and empower. As companies transition to AI-driven procurement systems, the pace of change can vary. 

Consider how these phases might present within an organization and the level of human intervention required during each phase. 

• Assist: This phase relies heavily on human intervention. You can expect AI tools to augment human capabilities, improve productivity, and deliver modest cost savings by automating low-value tasks and providing actionable insights. 

• Perform: In this phase, more advanced AI solutions may autonomously manage workflows and perform tasks such as strategy development, contract renewals, and demand forecasting. Humans remain a necessary component, particularly for validating outputs, but the team’s structure will likely begin to change, with new roles focused on data analytics, AI fluency, and business insights.

• Empower: At this stage, AI solutions can manage routine procurement tasks with minimal human intervention, leaving procurement teams to focus on strategic initiatives. Intuitive AI-driven platforms can handle tasks such as purchasing, supplier evaluations, and contract negotiations, further shifting the staffing focus to data management and AI governance.

Automated sourcing vs. autonomous sourcing

Although often used interchangeably, autonomous sourcing builds on automatic sourcing by leveraging genAI, agentic AI, and virtual assistants to optimize decision-making and minimize human intervention, resulting in faster, more efficient data-driven decision-making.

Automated sourcing uses software and task-based AI to streamline processes, such as vetting potential suppliers based on a set of characteristics and creating requests for proposals (RFPs), whereas autonomous sourcing uses more advanced technology to handle a larger portion of the sourcing process, such as spend analysis, contract tracking, and compliance monitoring, freeing procurement leaders to focus on more complex tasks, such as supplier relationships and complex negotiations. 

Role of AI agents in supply chain decisions

AI agents have the potential to transform vast amounts of available data into insights that can inform strategic business decisions. This allows supply chain teams to shift from reactive to proactive decision-making, focusing on informed decision-making rather than data reconciliation and analytics. Additionally, AI agents not only generate insights but also act on them, working together to make decisions and execute them across the supply chain.

Although you won’t likely find ‌widespread use of fully autonomous, interconnected AI agents just yet, the technology is evolving quickly. Companies including Amazon, Walmart, and DHL are using AI agents to forecast and predict demand, adjust inventory levels, streamline warehouse operations, and monitor and optimize logistics in real time. Smaller companies aren’t far behind when it comes to exploring the use of AI agents in the supply chain.

Read more: Supply Chain Analytics: What It Is, Why It Matters, and More

What is an automated procurement system?

An automated procurement system uses software to automate routine procurement processes such as purchasing, supplier management, and spend analysis. It streamlines the entire procurement process, from requisition to payment, and helps increase efficiency, enforce compliance, and provide better visibility into spending. By automating these routine tasks, procurement systems facilitate productivity and enable procurement teams to shift their focus from manual, repetitive work to more strategic activities. 

As procurement platforms become more advanced and your options expand, consider the following questions when selecting the best system for your organization.

• Is its functionality aligned with your organization’s specific needs and requirements?

• Is the system customizable to fit your specific procurement processes and policies?

• Does it leverage advanced technologies that drive efficiency, provide valuable insights, and foster innovation?

• What is the cost of ownership and potential return on investment?

• What is the vendor’s approach to change management and platform adoption?

• Is the system user-friendly, featuring self-service portals and effective communication features?

Procurement executives expect their teams’ workloads to increase by 8 percent in 2026, with operating budgets decreasing by 0.4 percent, leading to an efficiency gap of 8.4 percent [4], which they’re hoping to bridge with technology, including genAI and AI agents. 

Transporeon

Transporeon is a global transportation management platform that enables more resilient, sustainable, and transparent supply chains. The platform connects shippers, carriers, and retailers utilizing rule-based AI, genAI, AI agents, and machine learning to provide real-time visibility, automate processes such as freight procurement, and improve logistics efficiency.

Pros and cons of autonomous procurement

You likely won’t have to look far to find the potential benefits of autonomous procurement, including significant cost savings, risk reduction, improved supplier relationship management, better decision-making, and increased speed and efficiency, among many others. That said, you may want to prepare for challenges regarding infrastructure, data privacy, data quality, and unrealistic expectations. Consider the following benefits and limitations as you evaluate the transformation of your procurement system. 

Among a wide-ranging list of benefits, automating your procurement process has the potential to:

• Minimize human error

• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements

• Speed up purchase order processing

• Improve budget visibility

• Increase efficiency in the procurement life cycle

• Simplify supplier selection

• Enhance the buying experience

When implementing autonomous procurement or upgrading your existing system, consider the following points.

• The level of automation you can expect will depend on your company's current stage in the adoption process. 

• Complex supplier relationships or challenging negotiations still rely on human judgment and strategic thinking.

• Infrastructure needs, including data readiness, an integration plan, and training procurement teams in AI and business analytics, will likely present themselves.

• Challenges common to modern technology adoption, such as accuracy, data quality, and privacy concerns, are applicable in this context as well.

Preparing for a career in autonomous procurement

To prepare for a career in autonomous procurement, it may be helpful to gain experience with purchase orders and requisitions, contract management, logistics, procurement procedures and policies, and cost-saving measures, skills common to roles in procurement. Your ability to demonstrate your knowledge in trends, such as GenAI, blockchain technology, robotic process automation (RPA), cloud-based solutions, advanced analytics and big data, and Internet of Things (IoT), that are leading innovation in autonomous procurement, may provide you with a strong background for working in the field as well.

You might also consider becoming a certified supply chain professional through the Association for Supply Chain Management. In addition to the Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) credential, the association also offers a Supply Chain Procurement Certificate that may be helpful as you work toward a career in autonomous procurement.

If you’re just starting or are prepared to make a bigger commitment to preparing for a role in autonomous procurement, you might consider obtaining a degree, as 71 percent of procurement officers hold a bachelor’s (59 percent) or master’s degree (12 percent) [5]. Degrees in business, accounting, or management are common among those working in the field.

Stay current with supply chain trends

Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter, Career Chat, to stay current on career-related topics. You can also explore these free resources to learn more about the supply chain industry:

• Bookmark for later: Artificial Intelligence Glossary: Learn AI Vocabulary

• Hear from industry leaders: How to Use GenAI in Your Job: Insight from Coursera’s Former CEO

• Watch on YouTube: How Products Get to Your Door: Supply Chain Basics

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