Franck Lheureux: Navigating the Procurement Paradox

Modern procurement is defined by a paradox: it has never been harder to do the job, yet the function’s impact has never been greater.

Franck Lheureux, CEO of Ivalua, explores the strategic elevation of the procurement professional in a world of geopolitical volatility and sustainability mandates. Franck breaks down why most AI pilots fail, how to use a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach to find success and how Ivalua’s agentic platform is "re-enchanting" the profession.

Tell me a little bit about where we are today.

We have the privilege of being in the Musée du Louvre, the largest and richest museum in the world. This is the second year in a row we’ve picked this place. It is iconic, historic and provides a unique opportunity for the procurement community to come together.

In your keynote, you mentioned that there’s never been a harder time to be in procurement, but the impact has never been greater. What do you mean by that?

The "hardest" part of the job is being caught in paradoxical situations. For example, a leader may wish to make a sustainability-focused award decision, but they are under a strict cost-savings imperative. Or, they may wish to choose a specific supplier, but suddenly geopolitics prevent them from doing business with whom they want, when they want.

On the other hand, this creates a "superpower" for procurement. Their function is being drastically elevated. They are making complex decisions that no longer impact just their singular performance, but the entire organisation. This is a unique, once-in-a-decades opportunity for procurement people to elevate their own game, and we are here to help them do that.

You shared a stat that 90% of AI trials fail. How do you encourage someone to get on the Gen AI train despite that?

To clarify, that stat comes from an MIT study. However, 46% of my customers who started an AI journey with Ivalua have already deployed it into their real-life, day-to-day procurement operations.

What do we do differently? It’s a step-by-step process. Don’t resist the technology, embrace it. We suggest starting with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product): pick a small category, a small set of data, or a small set of suppliers. Test drive what AI can truly deliver and see how much it can augment your capacity before scaling.

Looking forward to next year, what are your main priorities?

My first priority is to see IVA Studio, our new agentic platform, widely adopted. I want to see customers standing on this stage next year giving testimonials about how they reenchanted and positively disrupted their practices.

I want to hear how they unlocked unique opportunities thanks to IVA Studio, Ivalua and our partner community. We want to double down on the number of customers we serve and help them reinvent their functions. We’re going to work hard to make that a reality.