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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the procurement industry has been dominated by talks of AI and automation revolutionizing industries. However, even more important than AI is the human touch according to the Procurement Protagonist, Tom Mills.
While many agree that a strong procurement process begins and ends with good technology, industry experts are now making the argument that technology alone won't allow you to achieve everything your team wants to. For this reason, human intelligence, the intellectual capability of humans, should also be factored into every procurement team's long-term strategy. This means asking questions like, which tools are best for our people? And is AI really the best solution to help us achieve our goals?
Soft Skills: The New Frontier in Procurement
As technological advancements, such as AI and automation, level the playing field across organizations, Tom shares the spotlight is shifting towards soft skills.
In our discussion, he highlights the pivotal role of emotional intelligence, resilience, and mindfulness in effective decision-making.
One thing's for certain: Computers are great at finding connections between data points, while humans are great at assigning meaning to those connections. Human experts in any given industry, therefore, are well suited for applying predictive analytics to real-world decisions.
Prioritizing Mental Health in Procurement
In a profession often fraught with pressures and responsibilities, Mills advocates for a paradigm shift. Like you and me, he shares that there are times when he’s looked back on his procurement career and found that there’s several times he’s made a mistake, whether that is missing a certain clause or misinterpreting an auto renewal, whatever leads you to saying, “I can’t believe that happened.”
Being in procurement, when there’s even more of an onus on that than in any other function, this means that one wrong move can be way heavy on team members. Therefore, remembering that we're all human is what is key to success in procurement.
Humans Are The End Of It
Mills ends the conversation by stating that soon we might not need people who are good at number crunching or processing or anything like that. Instead, procurement teams will need that human layer on top that makes the right decisions.
Therefore, Mills prediction for the future is soft skills will be the game changer, and AI, automation and digitization are what will level things out across the organisation.
A word to the wise? Invest in your humans.
Conclusion
As the future of procurement unfolds, prioritizing emotional intelligence, mental health, and community support emerges as the compass guiding procurement professionals towards success.