On this episode, host Sagi Eliyahu talks with Karthik Rama, CEO and Principal Consultant of Procurement Doctors. With nearly two decades of procurement experience, Karthik shares candid insights about the state of procurement today, the impact of AI and the gap between technology’s pace and procurement’s maturity. They discuss how procurement leaders can prepare for rapid change, why chasing the latest trends is a mistake and what it means to redefine procurement beyond just cost savings. 

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

03:12 Why generic frameworks and slide decks won’t survive in the AI era.

06:38 The lack of global standards keeps procurement unstructured.

07:59 How chasing shiny objects every few years undermines real progress.

13:18 The risks of defining procurement too narrowly as only about savings.

16:21 What it takes for procurement to be viewed as a strategic partner.

19:38 Lessons from an automation project that failed despite working technically.

22:09 How layered agentic bots with human support could reshape procurement.

24:45 Why centers of excellence fail when treated as side priorities.

27:39 The importance of growing in breadth before growing in length.

Resources Mentioned:

Karthik Rama

https://www.linkedin.com/in/procurementdoctor/

Procurement Doctors | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/procurementdoctors/

Procurement Doctors | Website

http://www.procurementdoctors.com

This episode is brought to you by Tonkean.

Tonkean is the operating system for business operations and is the enterprise standard for process orchestration. It provides businesses with the building blocks to orchestrate any process, with no code or change management required. Contact us at tonkean.com to learn how you can build complex business processes. Fast.

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