2026 has been the fundamental differentiator in procurement team capabilities. It is a story of managing risk exposure versus managing costs. Almost everyone started off with a forecast that is nowhere near close right now. For example, see what Bloomberg forecasted for oil prices in Dec-25. $60 per barrel was their project for 2026. 3 months later, we are already at $100+. The question CPOs are now asking is not "How do I reduce another 5% from this contract?" but rather, "

1) RFPs: Out: Fixed and signed the Scope of Work as a Prerequisite to start the sourcing process In: Give a problem statement to the Suppliers with expected outcomes, and let me propose solutions. 2) Evaluations: Out: Technical evaluations based on 50+ page documents submitted by each vendor. In: Live evaluations in collaborative workshops with vendors. 3) Award: Out: Based on Techno-Commercial scoring results In: Based on Proof of Concept demonstrations, Review of existing d

Everyone is talking about AI in Procurement, apparently even more than the LLM model developers. I do agree that the Procurement AI industry stands at a critical inflection point, but it's not because it is at a breakthrough stage. It is quite the contrary. With the circular validation ecosystem, the Digital Procurement industry has created an echo chamber that barely resonates with actual business results within its organizations. The data backs it up, and I will share many

Many organizations today are trapped in a cycle of adopting new tools simply because they’re “digital.” The consequence? Disconnected processes, tool overload, and unnecessary complexity. My favourite Procurement Centre of Excellence setup (done by Supernegotiate ) proudly questions the necessity of every tool. First, let us talk about what’s Wrong with Too Many Tools? Companies are flooded with procurement software: a.) Sourcing portals and e-auction platforms b.) supplier