Key takeaways from DPW Amsterdam: The real state of AI in procurement

At Unpacking DPW Amsterdam - hosted by Archlet, CIPS Switzerland, DPW, and Digital Procurement Now - the Zurich procurement community gathered to share insights and learnings from DPW’s ‘Put AI to Work’ theme. Across the panel and the room, one message stood out:

AI in procurement isn’t a future trend anymore. It’s already part of the job. But it’s also clear that not everything labelled “AI” delivers real impact - and that the hard part isn’t the technology itself, but how teams adopt it.

Where AI in procurement stands today

The discussion highlighted a pattern many teams recognize: AI is everywhere, and that creates both opportunity and noise.

1. Many solutions talk about AI. Fewer show meaningful implementation: At DPW in Amsterdam, AI came up in almost every conversation with providers. What stood out is that while many tools are experimenting with it, only a smaller group is already showing practical use cases that create real value. Quite a few have simply added a summarizing chatbot features to their product. The ones that truly make a difference use AI to take actions, handle parts of the work for procurement teams, and create meaningful efficiency gains.

2. Data fundamentals still make or break any AI initiative: Many organizations want to use AI but struggle with incomplete or inconsistent data. Before AI can support decisions, the basics need to be solid, meaning the data it relies on for decisions or recommendations must be dependable. This point came up again and again in the panel and in the comments from attendees.

3. AI is an enabler, not the end goal: AI can take over the manual tasks procurement teams should not spend time on. It will not replace procurement, but it can free teams to focus on what truly matters, such as supplier relationships, stakeholder alignment, and strategic decisions. As one attendee summarized, “AI should enhance procurement, not distract it.”

What will change in 2026

Looking ahead, the conversation is already shifting. After a year of heavy AI buzz, the next phase will be more grounded and practical.

1. Less hype. More proven use cases: Expect fewer high-level AI discussions and more focus on what actually works and scales.

2. A stronger focus on people and adoption: Introducing AI is one part. Helping teams trust it, use it, and integrate it into daily work is the real challenge. 95% of AI implementations still fail, according to "The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025" report by MIT. It’s often a problem of experiments that never scale, vaguely defined goals, and missing trust from the teams meant to use the tools. Change management and talent development will be central topics in 2026.

3. Procurement stepping up as a strategic partner: Procurement teams will not grow, but expectations will. They will be expected to provide insights, anticipate risks, and support business decisions. AI can make this possible, as long as teams free up time from manual tasks. Many at the event saw this as a major opportunity for procurement to step up in their function, becoming small, nimble teams that act as true strategic advisors rather than being pulled into endless manual work.

4. A broader conversation beyond AI: Many attendees asked to rebalance the discussion for next year. AI will stay in the conversation, but they want it treated as a tool that helps solve real business problems. The clear consensus was to focus more on those actual problems and on how people and technology can work together to address them.

How Archlet fits into this shift

Archlet was created to make sourcing simpler, faster, and more transparent. AI strengthens that mission as a powerful technology. Archlet is built in an AI-native way, meaning that for the sourcing and auction use cases where AI is the best solution, it sits at the core of the product.

Archlet’s role is:

• Automating repetitive tasks so teams gain time for strategic work
• Providing clear, explainable recommendations throughout the sourcing journey
• Making advanced sourcing accessible without steep learning curves
• Supporting adoption through intuitive design and proven workflows

Our focus is not on adding “AI features” for the sake of it. It’s on helping procurement teams create value with technology they can trust and actually use. To learn more about how we use AI, see how Archlet’s Agentic AI Spark helps teams automate sourcing work, improve decision quality, and focus on strategic supplier relationships.

Final takeaway

Unpacking DPW Amsterdam 2025 showed how far procurement has come with AI - and how much opportunity is still ahead. The technology is ready. Now the priority is to use it in ways that scale, support people, and help procurement step into the strategic role it can hold.

We’re looking forward to continuing the discussion at DPW’s events in New York and in Amsterdam next year and supporting procurement teams on this journey.