Source-to-Pay trends Chapter 1:
AI…but people-focused AI

The landscape is profoundly transforming for service-focused organisations, driven by technological innovation and shifting customer demands. And this is set to continue. 

We have identified a series of Source-to-Pay, Procurement and Finance trends to watch. The first of which is AI…but people-focused AI.

In a McKinsey Global Survey on AI, 65 percent of respondents report that their organisations are regularly using gen AI. And many of them are reaping the benefits through improved productivity, decision-making, customer experience, innovation and beyond.

In the realms of Procurement and Finance, control and visibility is at the top of the agenda, where spending, and resulting invoices, are controllable before they happen, and appropriate guardrails can be put in place. Organisations require control, now more than ever, especially when it comes to employees spending money. But how do you ensure control?

The answer will undoubtably be artificial intelligence, but fed by data.

The advantages of implementing AI for procurement and spend control could be enormous. Aside from the efficiency gains and faster processes, when AI is used to help control spending proactively, organisations can:
  • Reduce overspending and increase compliance by supporting, guiding and advising at a far earlier stage than previously possible, with a far greater degree of accuracy. This includes restricting maverick spending before it happens rather than after.
  • Get greater visibility into overall spending, like never before. Users will have expert insights and predictive behaviours so will be guided far earlier in the cycle and more accurately.
  • Capture invoices and convert unstructured data into electronic invoices using AI extraction.
  • Become more agile, using AI to drive even greater efficiency and accuracy, minimising duplication, errors and further reducing the need for manual intervention.
  • Speed up and improve the accuracy of coding transactions and therefore minimising the risk of error and reducing the manual effort involved.
  • Reduce the need for human intervention with Agentic AI.
  • Ensure standardisation of integrations and drive down time to integrate Source-to-Pay and wider technology stacks.
But in isolation, the power of AI in spend control cannot reach its full potential.
 

Not only do organisations need to automate first, or alongside AI, the synergy between human insight and AI's capabilities is what will drive innovation and success in modern businesses. The goal is to leverage the strengths of both to make life easier and simplify complex tasks. AI can handle repetitive, data-heavy tasks, while people can focus on complex decision-making and interpersonal dynamics. A successful business’ AI strategy requires effective collaboration, where AI augments human expertise.

In the realm of technology and innovation, it's crucial to recognise the evolving relationship between humans and AI, emphasising the need to view artificial intelligence not as a replacement for human ingenuity, but as a supportive tool in our quest for progress and innovation. While people obviously need to understand the tools being used, by leveraging AI to handle repetitive tasks and provide data-driven insights, they can focus on more strategic, value adding tasks.
 
And with the advent of Agentic AI – artificial intelligence systems that can either act independently or together to achieve specific goals, and their ability to automate work – Procurement and Finance professionals will be able to focus even more on strategic priorities and let the technology handle routine tasks. Agentic AI systems can operate with minimal human intervention, with numerous opportunities in the realm of spend control. For example, AI agents could autonomously help manage supply chains, analyse historical spending patterns and project future needs, identify areas of overspending in specific categories, and continuously monitor suppliers.
 
By processing vast amounts of data and making real-time decisions, they could significantly improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.
 
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