Artificial intelligence is changing Procurement - but how profoundly and in what role? In the roundtable "AI in Procurement - replacement or relief?", Tobias Demmer (HERMA Group), Florian Böhm (Hosokawa Alpine), Moritz Wagner & Manuel Halbing (Nunatak) and Robert Richarz (UVC Partners) discussed the realistic use of AI in industrial Procurement together with Tacto. The focus was on the following questions: Which tasks will be automated, where will humans remain irreplaceable - and how can AI already be used productively today?

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Hype or reality - what AI can really do today

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Artificial intelligence has long since arrived in Procurement - but there is often still a gap between technological potential and operational implementation. Many organizations recognize the added value, but come up against limits in terms of data quality, processes or internal structure.

Successful AI implementation is not an IT project, but an organizational change. The decisive factor is how companies combine technology, data and people. The following applies: only when processes are clearly defined, responsibilities are distributed and information is available in a structured manner can AI unfold its full potential - from more transparent analyses to faster decisions. This shifts the focus away from the tool and towards the ability to intelligently combine data and expertise. AI thus becomes a catalyst for efficiency, not an end in itself.

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Relief instead of replacement - the new role of purchasing

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AI is not changing the existence of procurement, but the way it works. Tasks are being redistributed - routine activities are being increasingly automated, while analysis, strategy and supplier management are becoming more important.

Procurement is thus increasingly becoming the designer of data-based decisions. AI systems are taking over repetitive tasks, filtering information and creating the basis for well-founded decisions - while humans determine focus, priority and direction.

The understanding of efficiency is changing: not through replacement, but through relief. This creates space for strategic tasks that were previously lost in the everyday noise - and thus a new balance between man and machine in Procurement.

Practical examples - where AI is tangible in Procurement today

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Using specific use cases, Tacto showed how AI is already supporting Procurement today:

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• Cost Savings: AI analyzes purchasing data, identifies potential savings and tracks realized sums in the system.
• RFQs: Offers are automatically read out, compared in a structured manner and evaluated.
• Document management: Relevant information from PDFs, quotations or contracts is automatically extracted and linked.
• Negotiations: Negotiation dossiers are data-based, price developments become comprehensible.
• Supplier information: External data (e.g. industry news, activities) flows directly into supplier profiles.
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The result: less manual maintenance, more analytical depth - and Procurement based on real-time data instead of gut feeling.

Conclusion - AI as a relief and accelerator for purchasing

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AI is changing Procurement not by replacing it, but by redistributing value creation.
Buyers are becoming orchestrators of data-based decisions - supported by systems that take over repetitive tasks and expand the scope of action.

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In the webinar, HERMA, Hosokawa Alpine, Nunatak, UVC Partners and Tacto share how procurement organizations today are mastering the balancing act between technology, structure and responsibility - and how AI is actually providing relief instead of replacement.

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