Robotics, CPOs & Transformation: Top Procurement Stories
Amazon has introduced the next-generation Proteus at its Delivering the Future event in London today.
An evolution from the original autonomous robot, this new technology delivers greater scope and capability to better support employees in their daily workflows.
It is leading to an environment in which employees can direct Proteus in the same way they would communicate with a colleague – using plain, conversational language, no longer needing technical commands or a programming interface.
Staff members can tell the robot what they would like done and the technology will take care of it.
How Lio Transformed Procurement at Surventis
In enterprise procurement, scale is both a competitive advantage and an operational challenge. Surventis, manages 6,000 different raw materials and hundreds of thousands of finished products. The volume of supply chains, suppliers and internal demands requires precise, fast management.
The story to transform Surventis, which was formally known as BASF Coatings until a relaunch in July 2026, completing its transition to an independent company following its carve-out from BASF, did not begin in a boardroom.
It started a year ago, when Surventis was still known as BASF Coatings, at the Digital Procurement World (DPW) conference in Amsterdam, where Lisa Madynski, Global Procurement Indirect Excellence at Surventis, almost walked past an busy exhibition booth.
That booth belonged to Lio. After returning three times, what nearly became a missed opportunity evolved into one of the company's flagship customer partnerships, centred on transforming how Surventis manages internal procurement demand.
Lio accelerates enterprise procurement with its AI workforce. Its network of specialised AI agents works in parallel to handle tasks such as vendor research and negotiations to final delivery tracking, transforming hours of manual effort into instant, automated results.
Operating on a global scale meant Surventis Coatings relied on multiple procurement intake processes across its organisation.
How Coupa and Rossum Transformed Finance at Eurowag
As a European leader serving the commercial transport industry, Eurowag provides integrated payment solutions, fuel cards and digital services to fleet operators across multiple markets.
However, rapid growth and successive acquisitions resulted in fragmented, decentralised operations. By 2022, Eurowag’s AP team was managing 9,000 monthly invoices arriving via disparate email addresses across multiple countries. The lack of a centralised receiving point led to lost invoices, manual data entry errors and delayed supplier payments.
To support expansion without sacrificing financial control, Eurowag integrated Rossum’s AI-driven document processing with Coupa’s Procure-to-Pay platform and posted to SAP for payment.
On 8 July (10:30 BST / 11:30 CEST), Procurement Magazine will host an exclusive webinar exploring how Eurowag dismantled its operational silos and establish a future-proof finance architecture.
Who is GE Healthcare's New Chief Procurement Officer?
GE HealthCare, a global leader in technology and innovative digital solutions, has announced the appointment of Akshar Awalgaonkar as Chief Procurement Officer.
He joins the team of more than 50,000 global employees and more than 100 years of history serving the community.
With this, he brings his extensive career across manufacturing and procurement.
GE HealthCare has announced the appointment of Akshar Awalgaonkar to the company. In a company post, it said Akshar is joining to 'advance our mission of creating a world where healthcare has no limits."
Inside Enable's Product Vision: Unifying Contracts & Margins
Amid ongoing volatility and complex commercial relationships, Enable is working to help organisations manage pricing and rebates with more confidence and precision.
Enable offers organisations the necessary commercial intelligence needed in today's high-pressure environments.
As a result, the company was recognised by Gartner, named as a Leader in its first ever Magic Quadrant for B2B pricing and rebate optimisation.
Executives
Akshar Awalgaonkar
Chief Procurement Officer
