How Tech Leaders Are Using AI to Solve 10 Procurement Challenges

That’s why tech leaders need solutions now, not months from now.

And yet, three to six months — or more — of deliberation to finalize a software purchasing decision. That’s an eternity in tech terms; by the time a deal is signed, market conditions may have changed, new competitors emerged, or the solution itself evolved. No wonder 90% of IT Executives in North America see software sourcing and vendor selection as a pain point. For today’s “hybrid” CIOs — whether they’re tacticians, visionaries, or some combination of both — traditional software sourcing is a barrier to growth. That’s why smart enterprise IT leaders are turning to AI-powered procurement platforms to streamline sourcing, optimize spending, and mitigate risk. Read on to gain insights that can help you “procure” a strategic advantage with AI. (See also: How AI is empowering tech leaders — and transforming procurement.)

How AI Overcomes 10 Common Procurement Challenges

1. Procurement Takes Too Long, Slowing Innovation

The Challenge: Traditional IT procurement cycles average three to six months, delaying critical projects and threatening your organization’s competitive edge.

AI in Action: AI-driven procurement platforms can generate RFPs, accelerate sourcing, automate approvals, and reduce cycle times, ensuring you implement solutions faster.

2. Legal and Budget Complexities Create Bottlenecks

The Challenge: Complex contract negotiations and rigid budget approvals can slow down procurement and lead to missed opportunities.

AI in Action: AI-powered contract analysis streamlines compliance checks, flags potential risks, and helps you optimize spending by identifying cost-saving opportunities.

3. CIOs Need to Upskill Their Teams in AI and Cybersecurity

The Challenge: 62% of IT leaders told IDC that a lack of skills had resulted in missed revenue growth objectives.

AI in Action: AI simplifies procurement processes through guided intelligence, reducing the learning curve while providing you with real-time insights for better decision-making.

4. Data Inaccuracy Leads to Poor Procurement Decisions

The Challenge: 75% of organizations struggle with unreliable procurement data, leading to inefficient purchasing and wasted resources. (Veridion)

AI in Action: AI enhances data quality by cleansing, validating, and analyzing procurement trends, ensuring you have access to accurate insights for strategic sourcing.

5. B2B Software Selection is Increasingly Complex

The Challenge: 79% of organizations report difficulty in purchasing B2B software and services, leading to mismatched investments and inefficiencies. (CFO)

AI in Action: AI-powered vendor analysis assesses software options based on performance, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility, so you make data-driven sourcing decisions. (See also: How to know a business process is ripe for agentic AI.)

6. Legacy Systems Complicate the Adoption of New Technology

The Challenge: Many organizations still have outdated IT infrastructure, which makes integration complicated and costly.

AI in Action: AI streamlines integration by assessing system compatibility, automating data migration, and reducing downtime associated with your software deployments.

7. Managing Supplier Risks is a Growing Concern

The Challenge: Vendor evaluation can be a time-intensive and often reactive process, exposing organizations to potential risks.

AI in Action: AI continuously monitors supplier performance, predicts potential risks, and ensures compliance with procurement regulations, improving your risk management.

8. Manual Procurement Processes Drain Resources

The Challenge: Software sourcing can rely heavily on manual tasks: contract reviews, purchase order validation, and lengthy approvals.

AI in Action: AI automates repetitive procurement tasks, reducing human error, increasing efficiency, and freeing up your team to focus on strategic initiatives.

9. Demand Forecasting is Often Inaccurate

The Challenge: Procurement teams can struggle with predicting future IT needs, leading to either over-purchasing or supply shortages.

AI in Action: AI can improve demand forecasting, ensuring you have the right technology investments at the right time.

10. Procurement Remains Transactional Rather than Strategic

The Challenge: Many IT procurement processes focus on short-term cost-cutting rather than long-term business value.

AI in Action: AI transforms procurement into a strategic function by optimizing spend, improving supplier collaboration, and aligning purchasing decisions with your business goals.

Breaking Barriers with AI

Traditional procurement models, designed for an era of predictable IT investments, can’t keep pace with the breakneck speed of today’s software development. If you want to stay competitive, you need smarter, faster ways to evaluate, select, and deploy new technology.

Because IT procurement shouldn’t slow innovation — it should accelerate it.

Ready to Transform the Way You Make Software Decisions? IDC TechMatch is the first AI-driven software sourcing platform that empowers you to make confident software investment decisions faster using the most reliable IT market knowledge base. With IDC TechMatch, IT Leaders can:

• Make decisions using objective market data fit to your organization
• Accelerate evaluation and decision making
• Centralize governance and drive alignment with one source of truth