Tenneco purchasing director Bislim Goxhufi explains how he is helping drive a new era of AI in procurement at the company…
Procurement is no stranger to artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning, automation, and smart dashboards are commonplace. But at Zycus Horizon EU & UK 2026 in Vienna, a harder question dominated three days of conversation: what happens when AI starts deciding and delivering outcomes? The move from source-to-pay to intake-to-outcomes, powered by autonomous agents, is already underway — and Zycus is leading the change.
Bislim Goxhufi is the Purchasing Director for Direct Materials (Europe) and Global Lead for Supplier Quality, Development, and Vendor Master Processes at Tenneco, a global automotive components manufacturer. As a long-time Zycus partner, this isn’t his first event. “It’s my fourth or fifth time joining Horizon,” he tells us, in the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel. “Every year, it’s interesting to learn where the world is going, where transformation is going, and how procurement is developed through Zycus.
This year, the event was firmly centred around agentic AI. The sessions covered everything from autonomous negotiation to procurement maturity models and getting agentic-AI-ready, with Zycus showcasing live demos of its Merlin Agentic Platform that left attendees rethinking what’s possible in procurement today.
Finding the right partner
Tenneco has seen Zycus’s offering expand over the years since they partnered. In 2012, Tenneco started the search for solutions that could handle its growing complexity. With multiple ERP systems, high spend, a large number of suppliers, and fragmented tools, a comprehensive platform was crucial. “The best environment offered was Zycus,” explains Goxhufi. “We got the feeling they would adapt the tool to our business, and we wouldn’t need to adapt ourselves to the tool.”
Building trust in agentic AI
This took Tenneco from several fragmented systems that didn’t talk to one another to a single platform. Working closely with Zycus ensured implementation went smoothly. Since then, Tenneco has built significant trust in Zycus, having extended its contract three times. Indeed, during the third day of the event, Goxhufi spoke on a panel about securing the right partner in an agentic era. The session covered what’s needed as AI develops beyond being a passive tool. This is where trust is most important. “I trust Zycus. If I didn’t, I would not consider agentic sourcing and autonomous actions,” says Goxhufi. Agentic AI is still early, but Zycus’s willingness to put a live product in front of customers — and invite hard questions — is exactly what gives partners like Tenneco the confidence to move forward.
There were a lot of questions for Goxhufi and others at the event. He says, “Are the agents acting on our behalf according to our requirements? Do we have the transparency there? How are they choosing the suppliers? How are they evaluating them?”
Zycus’s Merlin Agentic Platform, which handles everything from intake through to autonomous negotiation, is where those questions become real for procurement teams. For Tenneco, the answer lies in a controlled pilot exploring agentic AI across two or three categories. “We will look at how we are progressing before we go to a larger version,” says Goxhufi. “This pilot will help us build trust in the tool.” It’s a smart, phased approach — and one that Zycus actively encourages, building confidence through real results rather than promises.
Goxhufi is clear that AI isn’t replacing people. Instead, it’s reframing their roles to remove some of the mundane tasks. “We are not looking to eliminate the people,” he says. “We want to make their lives easier, so they don’t need to pick up the phone or write emails. The time should go into decisions and strategy.”
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