Supply Chain Digital Magazine May 2025 | Page 119

SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY
disruptions, remote work and all sorts of curveballs, were still able to keep things moving without missing a beat.
What’ s really impressive is how quickly they’ ve been able to adapt. In many cases, businesses have gone from identifying a problem to solving it – testing it, validating it and putting it into production – in a matter of months, sometimes even faster. This kind of agility is a game changer, especially when you’ re trying to maintain continuity under pressure.
And beyond just“ keeping the lights on,” they’ re becoming more resilient; they’ re working smarter, faster and more efficiently than they were even before the disruptions. It’ s exciting to see and it’ s a testament to what these systems make possible.
How should procurement teams redefine their roles to focus on strategic relationship building? What skillsets will become critical as AI handles more transactional SRM tasks? We’ re seeing a fundamental evolution in roles within the procurement team. As AI systems take over transactional tasks – like document preparation, email breakdown and routing, automated responses and inventory forecasting – it’ s freeing up procurement professionals’ time to focus on more strategic initiatives. This automation of routine tasks represents a significant shift in how teams operate and the future I see is one where human expertise is channelled toward relationship-building and strategic decision-making rather than getting bogged down in routine administrative tasks. supplychaindigital. com 119