Harnessing AI to Drive Real Value & Strategy in Procurement

Today's procurement leaders are keen to discover how AI is being harnessed on the ground to drive ROI and strategy. 

Various report have been published that demonstrate how AI is helping procurement teams to streamline operations, manage risk and unlock greater efficiency. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), integrating AI into procurement can slash overall costs by up to 45% and reduce team workloads by 30%, allowing employees to focus on high-value initiatives.

A 2025 APQC study highlights that AI adoption delivers tangible operational improvements: 80% of organisations saw a boost in data quality, while 64% experienced sharper, more effective decision-making.

To learn how AI-powered procurement solutions are helping businesses streamline operations, manage risk and unlock greater efficiency, watch Procurement Magazine’s webinar on AI-Driven Procurement Strategy for Modern Business, in association with Amazon Business, which is available on demand now.

Extracting actionable spend intelligence

One of those harnessing AI to drive value is Dean Czuma, CPO at TAMKO. Speaking to Procurement Magazine, he outlines how positioning AI as an intelligent layer above foundational execution systems is helping to extract fresh insights, automate assistance and drastically accelerate operational impact.

“We’re working to position AI and a digital-first approach to work for us in accelerating insights, workflow and impact.”

A primary driver of this transformation at TAMKO is dSilo’s Procure AI Agents, which extract actionable spend intelligence. Dean described this partnership as "redefining how we see and act on value". 

"By combining functional expertise, AI and advanced visualisation, dSilo’s AI Agents help surface insights embedded in our enterprise data landscape and deliver them in ways that drive decisions," he adds. 

Dean features as part of a Procurement Magazine webinar, AI-Driven Procurement Strategy for Modern Business, delivered in association with Amazon Business.

Overcoming the integration reality check

According to Amazon Business’s 2025 State of Procurement Data report, the market is experiencing a notable reality check: only 42% of procurement functions currently use AI to optimise decision-making, marking a 5% decline over the past year.

This temporary dip suggests that organisations are moving past initial hype and grappling with the complexities of integration. Yet, the long-term appetite for AI remains incredibly strong. In fact, 68% of senior leaders and 61% of decision-makers view AI-driven data analysis and operational optimisation as a top-three priority for the next two years.

However, the appetite for deeper education is growing; markets like France (43%), Spain (40%) and the UK (32%) are actively seeking to master AI's advanced data analytics capabilities.

Furthermore, leaders are acutely aware of the technical vulnerabilities that come with increased reliance on smart automation. Security remains a top-of-mind barrier, with 34% of senior leaders and 30% of decision-makers actively worried about cybersecurity threats tied to AI adoption.

Ultimately, the trajectory is clear. Embracing technologies like AI and machine learning is the definitive baseline for building an agile, efficient and resilient procurement function.

Watch Procurement Magazine’s webinar, AI-Driven Procurement Strategy for Modern Business, in association with Amazon Business, to discover how AI-powered solutions help businesses manage risk and drive efficiency.

Meet the procurement experts

Appearing alongside Dean on the webinar is Farhat Naheed, Procurement Director, Middle East and Africa at the British Council. Farhat boasts a proven track record of leading complex procurement transformations across more than 32 countries.

Alongside them is Jonathan Wharfe, who has worked as Director of Procurement and Commercial at Transport for London, CPO at Essentra and as a Procurement Director at Royal Mail.

Now working for a Private Equity Portfolio Company, he has helped to lead the successful integration of procurement and procure-to-pay (P2P) processes and governance frameworks between two recently acquired entities, ensuring a seamless transition and minimising operational disruption.

He is recognised for successfully reviving complex and underperforming procurement and supply chain functions, and is well accustomed to driving meaningful business results.

Amazon Business

Amazon Business is a global procurement and business buying platform designed to help organisations of all sizes streamline purchasing, control spending and improve supply chain efficiency.

The platform offers a tailored B2B experience that aims to simplify complex procurement workflows and provide tools to turn everyday buying into a decarbonisation lever.

The platforms offers a number of AI tools to help procurement teams, such as Amazon Quick, an AI assistant designed to streamline professional workflows. It helps users complete tasks across multiple roles in procurement and beyond, from identifying which emails need attention to developing a sales deck on short notice.

Rather than simply answering questions, Quick connects to widely used apps, automates work, learns user priorities and acts on their behalf. For example, Prime Business members looking to pressure-test a pricing strategy can leverage Quick to research competitors, pull in relevant cost data and highlight risks that may not have been considered.

Access the webinar, AI-Driven Procurement Strategy for Modern Business, hosted in association with Amazon Business and Procurement Magazine.