Starting a new role as a Chief Procurement Officer (CPO)—or any senior procurement leader—is one of the most exciting yet high-pressure moments of your career. The first 90 days matter. They set expectations, shape your credibility, and define the trajectory of your leadership. Procurement today is no longer judged solely on the basis of savings. Organizations expect it to be a driver of resilience, innovation, and growth. The twin engines of this transformation are agentic AI and procurement orchestration.
- Agentic AI brings intelligence and autonomy. Agents that proactively orchestrate processes, connect data, and accelerate decision-making.
- Orchestration ensures these technologies work seamlessly across your tech stack, delivering smart workflows that translate complexity into intuitive user experiences while connecting data across the entire source-to-pay journey.
Here’s a structured 90-day Discover, Design, Deliver roadmap to help new CPOs lay the foundations for digital procurement powered by agentic AI and orchestration.
Days 1 - 30: Discover
The first month is about building a fact base. Before you design the future, you need to understand the present. How fragmented is your technology stack? Where are data silos? What digital capabilities exist within your team? And where can orchestration and AI unlock immediate value?
Key Priorities
- Understand your end-to-end technology stack.
- Investigate any existing digital procurement strategy.
- Identify key technology partners and start building relationships.
- Assess your team’s digital maturity and readiness for orchestration and AI.
- Benchmark current performance against business objectives.
Actions to Take
- Review your architecture (solutions, data, workflows, and agents) with technology leaders to spot integration gaps.
- Run a litmus test strategy to identify where current workflows are failing and assess readiness for AI and orchestration.
- Use a Value Calculator to size opportunities for automation, orchestration, and agentic workflows.
- Build a digital capability matrix to identify priority growth areas, such as intake, orchestration, and supplier engagement.
- Conduct solution demonstrations to inspire your team with examples of innovative, orchestrated workflows that simplify user experiences.
Why it matters
Most procurement teams wrestle with overly complex systems that create friction for business users. Orchestration and AI can simplify this experience by consolidating data across the stack and routing it intelligently. But you first need to map the current state to identify where orchestration can make the most significant difference.
Days 31 - 60: Design
With insights in hand, the second month is about defining the future state and charting the path. This is where you set a bold vision of an orchestrated, AI-powered procurement function.
Key Priorities
- Define the vision for your future-state digital organization.
- Gather insights from internal stakeholders and suppliers.
- Chart a course for how you’ll get there.
- Identify and empower the right team to lead the change.
- Launch your Digital Procurement Strategy and begin execution.
Actions to Take
- Develop a digital transformation roadmap that sequences initiatives in conjunction with AI adoption.
- Develop a business case that highlights how smart workflows improve user experience while connecting data across source-to-pay.
- Execute an Agent Accelerator program to fast-track AI and orchestration use cases—like intelligent intake, automated supplier onboarding, and risk monitoring.
- Communicate continuously: help stakeholders understand how orchestration streamlines complexity and how AI agents free teams to focus on strategic priorities.
Why it matters
The Design phase is your moment to set ambition. Without orchestration, even the best AI tools risk becoming disconnected silos. By weaving orchestration into your strategy, you ensure your tech stack works as one—delivering unified, intelligent workflows that feel simple to the user but powerful in execution.
Days 61 - 90: Deliver
The final stretch is about action. Stakeholders will want to see progress quickly. Early wins—especially those that make life easier for users—create excitement, build credibility, and secure buy-in for the longer journey.
Key Priorities
- Embed digital procurement metrics into governance.
- Kick off roadmap initiatives.
- Launch the first wave of AI agents and orchestrated workflows.
- Embed digital-first ways of working across the business.
- Iterate and refine your strategy based on the lessons learned.
Actions to Take
- Define and socialize orchestration-driven metrics (cycle-time reductions, % of requests handled through smart workflows, integration-driven ROI).
- Launch a Digital Centre of Excellence to scale orchestration and agent adoption.
- Run AI & Agent Hackathons to surface new workflow automation opportunities.
- Deliver targeted proofs of concept (PoCs)—e.g., orchestrating intake and approval workflows—to show fast impact and prove how data flows seamlessly across systems.
- Celebrate and communicate successes broadly to reinforce confidence and accelerate adoption.
Why it matters
Deliver is not about finishing the transformation in 90 days. it’s about proving that orchestration plus AI works in practice. By the end of this phase, you should have live agents and smart workflows in production, tangible ROI you can point to, and momentum for scaling across the enterprise. Reflections for New CPOs
- Orchestration is the Enabler. Without orchestration, complex tech stacks overwhelm users. With it, procurement becomes seamless—connecting source-to-pay processes, unifying data, and guiding users through smart workflows.
- AI is the Accelerator. Agentic AI doesn’t just automate tasks—it anticipates needs, manages exceptions, and orchestrates outcomes, creating exponential impact.
- User Experience is the Litmus Test. If workflows aren’t intuitive, adoption stalls. Orchestration ensures complexity is hidden, and business users get a consumer-grade experience.
- Measure Tangible Outcomes. ROI, efficiency, risk reduction, supplier innovation—these are what win C-suite support. Anchor orchestration and AI initiatives in these metrics.
- Culture Drives Scale. Smart workflows and AI agents will only succeed if embraced by people. Use hackathons, pilots, and visible success stories to create belief and energy.
Closing Thought
The first 90 days as a CPO are a once-in-a-tenure opportunity. They allow you to inspire confidence, set bold ambitions, and ignite momentum for transformation. With agentic AI and procurement orchestration, you have the tools to redefine procurement. Imagine an intake process where requests are intelligently routed, suppliers are onboarded seamlessly across systems, and risk signals are continuously monitored in the background—all through smart workflows that connect data across the source-to-pay lifecycle. Procurement is no longer about incremental efficiency. With orchestration and AI, it’s about creating seamless, intelligent, end-to-end experiences that deliver exponential impact. As you step into your new role, use these first 90 days to Discover, Design, and Deliver a digital-first, orchestrated future. Your legacy as a leader will be defined by how boldly you embrace this opportunity.