1. They say that, more so than any one specific disruption, the real killer when it comes to a functioning supply chain and economy is uncertainty. Do you think we’ve entered an era where uncertainty is the norm?
Absolutely. We’ve moved from occasional disruption to a state of permanent volatility. Geopolitical shifts, regulatory unpredictability, inflation, ESG pressures, and rapid technological change are no longer isolated events, they’re overlapping and constant. For procurement leaders, this means the old model of static planning and slow response is obsolete. The ability to adapt in real time, at scale, and with confidence is now paramount.
2. How do procurement teams deal with this kind of uncertainty?
The best teams no longer just “deal with” uncertainty, they’re building systems of resilience. That means moving from reactive to proactive and autonomous decision-making, underpinned by technology, such as agentic AI.
Modern procurement organizations are using these AI agents not just for visibility or dashboards, but for action: dynamically renegotiating price lists, reprioritizing suppliers, and adjusting terms automatically and at a scale that humans can’t compete with, when variables change.
Agentic AI helps by functioning like a digital team member, an intelligent agent that can independently execute tasks like supplier negotiations, escalation management, or gathering external data, preparing it for use and then automatically acting in your best interests as a consequence. It doesn’t just flag problems; it solves them.
3. Tell me about Pactum. How does your solution help procurement teams mitigate disruption from tariffs (among other things)?
Pactum’s agentic AI is trusted by over 50 of the Fortune Global 500 enterprises to revolutionize their procurement function. Our technology enables procurement teams to renegotiate thousands of supplier contracts simultaneously, something no human team could do fast enough in business-as-usual, let alone in a crunch situation.
Take tariffs, for example. When trade policies shift overnight, Pactum can be activated to proactively engage affected suppliers, renegotiate pricing structures, explore alternative payment terms, or even suggest changes in sourcing models. All of this happens at scale, with precision, and with complete auditability, freeing up human teams to focus on strategic planning.
This same logic applies to inflation, raw material price changes or shortages, or other market events. Wherever there’s variability, Pactum turns it into a negotiation opportunity, creating measurable value. And this happens even while you sleep.
4. Rather than just weathering the storm, how can procurement functions find a way to turn the current situation into an opportunity?
The rise of agentic AI is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape supplier relationships. Forward-looking procurement teams are using this moment to move away from transactional buying and build an agile operating model.
With Pactum, companies are discovering they can unlock hidden value across all of their suppliers, whether that’s better payment terms, lower costs, constant review of the cost of materials for direct goods, or other procurement goals, simply by activating intelligent negotiation across their portfolio. It’s not just about cost savings; it’s about agile transformation of how business is done at scale.
Uncertainty becomes an opportunity when you can respond faster than your competitors, and our AI agents enable that speed and scope.
5. What do you think the next 12-18 months might have in store for procurement? How do CPOs execute on nearshoring strategies? Are the trends we’re seeing likely to reverse themselves at any point?
In the next 12–18 months, we’ll see continued pressure on supply chains, but also a maturing of the digital procurement stack. AI, especially agentic AI will shift from buzzword to baseline. 12 months ago when you mentioned AI to someone they thought of generative AI. These days it’s agentic AI that’s the default. Expect CPOs to invest in agentic systems such as Pactum that don’t just inform but act autonomously — analyzing, strategizing, and negotiating around the clock and at scale.
Nearshoring will continue as enterprises seek supply security, have to respond to new scenarios where tariffs are a norm, governments create environments that are less friendly to sourcing outside their borders, or regulatory alignment, but it’s complex.
It requires rebuilding supplier networks, renegotiating contracts, and aligning terms across geographies—all areas where Pactum’s autonomous capabilities are highly effective.
As for reversal? Structural shifts like nearshoring or ESG compliance aren’t going away. What will change is how efficiently companies can adapt to these realities and the winners will be those who put AI to work in real, scalable ways, not just as a pilot or experiment.