On October 7, 2025 ORO Imagine brought together procurement leaders, practitioners, and innovators to explore how technology, people, and process are coming together in new ways. Across the keynotes and panels, one theme kept coming up: procurement is changing fast — not just because of AI, but because of how teams are choosing to work with it.
Below are some of the key takeaways from each session, showing how orchestration and intelligent automation are helping procurement step into a more strategic, connected role inside the business.
ORO’s co-founders Sudhir Bhojwani and Lalitha Rajagopalan, opened the event by talking about how far procurement has come — and where it’s going next.
Their main point was simple but powerful. Orchestration isn’t about replacing people with technology. It’s about connecting what’s been disconnected — the systems, processes, and data that live across an organization — and making them work together in a way that feels seamless for everyone involved.
Sudhir and Lalitha also emphasized that AI on its own isn’t a differentiator anymore. What matters is how organizations apply it to simplify work, speed up decisions, and improve experiences. Procurement’s role, they argued, is shifting from enforcing rules to enabling strategy — helping the business move faster, with less friction.
Kearney partner Elouise Epstein took a step back to look at how procurement technology has evolved. She described four eras — from the early days of point solutions, to the rise of suites like SAP Ariba and Coupa, to today’s AI-native platforms.
According to Epstein, we’re entering a new phase where “agents” — small, intelligent programs — handle much of the work between systems. This means we’re moving from a human-to-machine world to a machine-to-machine one.
Epstein predicts that source-to-pay processes will soon be fully automated, with humans staying in the loop for oversight and governance. Once that happens, procurement teams can focus on higher-value work: partnering with the business, building supplier relationships, and driving innovation.
She also encouraged leaders to rethink their tech investments — winding down legacy systems and redirecting funds toward AI skills and experimentation. In the near future, she said, every employee will manage not just people, but agents that extend their capacity. The challenge now is to design organizations that are ready to embrace the new reality.
Chris Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader from The Hackett Group, shared early findings from an ongoing study on the measurable impact of procurement orchestration. The results show that even in these early days, orchestration is already making a significant difference.
Most organizations are starting with three main areas — sourcing, supplier onboarding, and intake management — and seeing faster cycle times and happier users. Supplier onboarding, for instance, dropped to a median of 20 days for orchestrated processes, compared to 26 days elsewhere. Respondents in the top quartile experienced an even more dramatic cycle time decrease, achieving supplier onboarding times of just 7 days!
Organizations using orchestration also report more automation (“touchless” transactions), better visibility, and smoother collaboration between procurement and suppliers. On average, 25% of cost savings were linked directly to orchestration initiatives, with efficiency gains of up to 50%.
Sawchuk also noted that risk management — while still hard to quantify — is an area of huge opportunity. And looking ahead, he sees agentic AI becoming an important part of daily procurement work, starting with tasks like payables and supplier inquiries before expanding into more complex, strategic areas.
Shashi Mandapaty’s session focused on what it really takes to prepare for the next wave of AI-driven transformation. His advice: start small, learn fast, and don’t chase perfection.
AI can do amazing things, but it still needs structure, oversight, and a clear purpose. Successful teams, he said, balance creativity with control — setting clear rules for how models are trained and where they can be applied, while still giving people the freedom to experiment.
Mandapaty also spent time on a theme that came up again and again throughout the event: data readiness. Without connected, well-governed data, even the most advanced AI can’t deliver consistent results. Preparing for the “art of the possible” starts with doing the hard work of fixing data foundations — making sure information flows smoothly across systems and teams.
Mandapaty encouraged leaders to think of AI not as a project, but as a new way of working. The goal is to use these tools to expand what’s possible, not to automate for automation’s sake. In his words, the best results come when “people and intelligent systems learn from each other.”
Executives from Danone, Pfizer, and Liberty Global shared how AI is reshaping the purpose of procurement itself. As automation handles more of the routine work, procurement teams are becoming strategic partners — helping solve complex business challenges, not just negotiating savings.
One panelist described it as an “unburdening”: technology takes care of the repetitive tasks, freeing people to focus on innovation, supplier collaboration, and sustainability. But they also noted that this shift requires new skills and new mindsets. Procurement professionals must learn to work with AI — designing, testing, and refining it as part of their everyday work.
Another panel, featuring leaders from Bayer, Roche, Heineken, and Bristol Myers Squibb, explored what it really means to execute a digital strategy. The consensus was that technology alone won’t transform anything.
Successful transformation means tying every digital initiative to a clear business goal, measuring impact, and supporting people through change. It also means moving away from one-off “projects” toward continuous improvement — where teams learn, adapt, and iterate together.
Finally, a practical session led by Novartis provided a grounded look at AI in action. Their team found that smaller, more focused models often perform better than massive ones for specific use cases like purchase request reviews or supplier onboarding.
They also shared a valuable reality check: AI doesn’t run itself. It needs monitoring, retraining, and fine-tuning. The takeaway — start small, prove value, and scale what works.
Procurement’s future isn’t about systems, it’s about experiences. Orchestration is the bridge that connects people, agents, data, and processes into something fluid and intuitive.
As AI agents take on more of the execution, humans will focus on judgment, creativity, and collaboration — the things technology can’t replace. The challenge for leaders now is to create organizations where both can thrive together.
The next phase of procurement isn’t just about doing things faster. It’s about doing them better — with more insight, more connection, and more imagination.