AI: removing jobs or enabling change?
Ram Trivedi (FCIPS): The Thought Leader
Written by: Ram Trivedi FCIPS
Ram Trivedi FCIPS is the General Manager for CIPS India. He previously served for more than two decades in senior procurement leadership roles with the United Nations across multiple missions and agencies, following earlier service with the Government of India. With an engineering background and strong interest in emerging technologies, he is particularly interested in how AI and digital transformation are reshaping procurement and supply chain management. He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology and has a keen interest in the application of AI to solve procurement challenges.
The first thing to say is that AI isn’t going to eliminate careers or the need for people. What we are seeing now is that traditional entry-level tasks are being optimised and partly automated using AI. Manual data entry is being replaced, and provided you have access to reliable data, it can be sorted in a way that can be used for graphics and in other formats that can be easily understood by procurement leaders.
Basic supplier screening and routine reporting can be done by AI. It can do invoice matching, identify abnormal deductions and look at when the vendor submitted their invoices, as well as work on demand forecasting and inventory optimisation in the supply chain, which is particularly helpful because inventory management requires so much work.
Resistance to change
Initial resistance to this is natural. Any change brings resistance, and AI is going to bring significant changes to how organisations operate, with procurement being among the functions most visibly transformed. But take my own school days as an example. Similar concerns arose with the introduction of scientific calculators and later computers, both of which were initially seen as threats to jobs and skills. History has shown that such technologies ultimately enhance productivity and create new opportunities.
AI will not replace human judgement, relationships, or trust-building core elements of procurement that require cultural, political, and contextual understanding. Instead, it shifts the focus towards higher-value activities such as negotiation, stakeholder management, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making.
This transition requires targeted upskilling, particularly at entry and mid-career levels. Procurement professionals who understand how to effectively use AI tools will be better positioned to deliver impact, while organisations must support experienced professionals in adapting to new ways of working. This means that the conversation moves on from thinking it is going to replace people to looking at entry-level skills. There will be a need for people who are familiar with using AI and who know how to use it to deliver an advantage and highly impactful results.
"Any change brings resistance, and AI is going to bring big changes to our way of life"
A parallel challenge to this comes from mid-level professionals. They also need to be introduced to this new approach to procurement. People who worked in the sector before the days of AI and who still want to stay with the traditional way of doing things need to be motivated to learn and use AI effectively.
Seeing risk inside the data
There are some huge risks. If you’re not using AI at all, you’ll be at a disadvantage. And people can misuse data or use AI to represent it in a certain way and convince the other party that it is factual.
"If you’re not using AI at all, you’ll be at a disadvantage"
Data integrity ultimately comes down to the integrity of the people inputting the data. I can input data which is unreliable and get a result from AI which is also unreliable. The input will match the output. Strong ethical standards, governance frameworks, and professional values are therefore essential. Data security is a critical concern, as AI platforms require robust safeguards - whether hosted in-house or accessed through trusted third-party providers under clear legal agreements.
Smaller organisations, in particular, can benefit from structured partnerships with AI solution providers that ensure accountability, data protection, and controlled access, without the need for large upfront infrastructure investments.
Speed, efficiency and optimism
I am optimistic about this technology, and when I see a tool like this, I only think about what can be achieved with it. Any tool can be used for good or for bad. The internet is a very good tool, but some people approach it with bad intentions. It’s the same with AI, and, in time, laws and controls will be put in place that govern it.
But right now, it means that procurement professionals will be able to save time. This will mean they can focus on value creation, innovation, risk management, and on long-term partnerships or managing stakeholders instead of spending days, which we have been doing earlier in our careers, using Excel spreadsheets and preparing charts.
Perhaps you are thinking about doing a spend analysis or classification. Using AI could deliver crisp and very clear information for procurement leaders to decide procurement strategy. It can issue bids and RFQs, receive offers, then do some comparisons, and prepare tables. That could take weeks and sometimes months for large, complex cases if it were being done manually.
If there is any job that involves scanning related documents and coming out with what needs to be done, AI can play a vital role. Procurement professionals are increasingly feeling overwhelmed and want to save time to focus on other, more rewarding tasks. I’m confident that AI will significantly enhance the effectiveness of procurement professionals and allow them to focus on the strategic work that truly creates value.
The Brand Champion: Sarah Simpson
“There are still going to be entry-level jobs. They’ll just be different jobs that demand different skills”
The Non-Trade Specialist: Belinda West (MCIPS)
"As AI hits puberty, maybe I'll start relying on it"
The Public Sector Voice: Liam Osborn
"It isn’t AI that’s the risk, so much as how we use it"
The Procurement Manager: Georgia Hennessey
"Human connection can’t be replaced"
The Industry Influencer: Imran Shareef (FCIPS)
"AI is already changing the conversation at the leadership table"
The Tail Spend Guru: Oliver Norman
“What AI is going to do for the procurement industry is elevate people into positions where they can do the jobs that technology can’t”
The Practitioner: Wame Sedirwa (MCIPS)
“We must balance AI’s efficiencies with human oversight”
The Expert: Joseph A. Yacura
If generative agents are adopted, we could have a supply chain function operating in a ‘lights out’ way by 2028”