Increasingly, the success of a procurement function hinges on successfully implementing the next generation of digital tools (which increasingly means artificial intelligence) to unlock value beyond (but still including) the traditional goal of cost-containment.
According to Gartner’s Procurement Predicts 2025 Report, 63% percent of procurement organisations fear losing their competitive advantage if their use of data and analytics does not improve. The report also confirms most of the conventional wisdom about why organisations in procurement are flocking to AI tools — the intended benefits including increased productivity, reduced cost and better business agility from improved speed to decision making.
This is where Agentic AI comes in. The technology promises to be the next phase for AI-enabled business tool—technology that will allow each business function to seamlessly integrate with a centre-led procurement strategy.
What is Agentic AI?
Agentic AI tools are designed to be more autonomous than previous GenAI tools. They can work towards more complex objectives with less human oversight. As opposed to more traditional AI and automation tools, which follow instructions rigidly, Agentic AI can supposedly approach more complex problems in a more nuanced manner. The technology uses advanced reasoning and multi-step planning to break down complex workflows into manageable tasks. As opposed to simply following a task, the technology is supposedly more “goal oriented,” focusing instead on outcomes, making them more flexible and able to react better to the broader context surrounding a decision.
According to the companies pushing these tools, Agentic AI represents a genuine leap in capability, which procurement teams can use in turn to unlock unprecedented efficiencies.
Glo, the latest Agentic AI to hit procurement
“Our team saw immediately that Globality’s autonomous sourcing platform is the complete suite,” Cyril Pourrat, Chief Procurement Officer, BT Group, said following the recent launch of new analytic features in Glo, an Agentic AI procurement tool that promises to enable BT and large enterprises, including Santander and Tesco, to better manage spend, helping drive growth and adding new strategic business value.
To do this, Glo analyses internal and third-party data sources to provide pricing insights based on industry benchmarks and past spend for better proposal evaluation. So far, responses have been positive. “Two-thirds of my spend right now is going through Globality. It’s huge, in the billions of pounds,” enthused Pourrat.
By promising to deliver “detailed project pricing information in natural language,” Glo integrates into the Globality platform to help manage spend “from tail through to complex service categories.” The technology can “instantly” create detailed, actionable, and easily shareable data in the form of AI-powered summaries and dynamic charts and visualisations.
“Already the most advanced AI Agent in procurement, Glo’s groundbreaking new capabilities enable leading global companies to better manage risk, boost efficiency and productivity, and create new value that goes straight to the bottom line,” said Lior Delgo, Globality Co-Founder and President. “Through Glo’s next-gen AI-powered analytics, companies gain the tools to drive better business outcomes and gain competitive advantage in the face of unprecedented market and internal complexity.”
