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 together with Tacto the realistic use of AI in industrial procurement. The focus was on the questions: Which tasks are being automated, where does the human 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 arrived in procurement – yet there is often still a gap between technological potential and operational implementation. Many organizations recognize the added value but encounter limits in data quality, processes, or internal structure.

Successful AI adoption is not an IT project but an organizational transformation. What matters is how companies connect technology, data, and people. The key principle: Only when processes are clearly defined, responsibilities distributed, and information available in a structured way can AI unfold its impact – from more transparent analyses to faster decisions. The focus shifts away from the tool and toward 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 Procurement

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AI does not change the existence of procurement but its way of working. Tasks are redistributed – routine activities are increasingly automated, while analysis, strategy, and supplier management move to the foreground.

Procurement thus increasingly becomes a shaper of data-based decisions. AI systems take over repetitive tasks, filter information, and create the foundation for well-founded decisions – while humans provide focus, priority, and direction.

The understanding of efficiency is evolving: not through replacement but through relief. This creates room for strategic tasks that previously went unnoticed in the daily noise – establishing a new balance between human and machine in procurement.

Practical Examples – Where AI Is Tangible in Procurement Today

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Using concrete use cases, Tacto showed how AI already supports procurement today:

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• Cost Savings: AI analyzes procurement data, identifies savings potentials, and tracks realized amounts in the system.
• RFQs: Quotes are automatically read, compared in a structured way, and evaluated.
• Document management: Relevant information from PDFs, quotes, or contracts is automatically extracted and linked.
• Negotiations: Negotiation dossiers are created on a data basis; price developments become traceable.
• Supplier information: External data (e.g., industry news, activities) flows directly into supplier profiles.

The result: Less manual maintenance, more analytical depth – and a procurement function that operates on real-time data instead of gut feeling.

Conclusion – AI as Relief and Accelerator for Procurement

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AI changes procurement not through replacement but through redistribution of value creation.
Buyers become orchestrators of data-based decisions – supported by systems that take over repetitive tasks and expand room for action.

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

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