Qualitative case study explores AI's role in enhancing procurement agility and decision-making in supplier evaluation.
Key Points
This study investigates how artificial intelligence can enhance decision-making agility during supplier evaluations.
Exploratory qualitative single-case study in a large multinational manufacturing company.
Data collected through 18 semi-structured interviews with actors in procurement, logistics, quality, operations, and ERP/process.
Data analyzed using Gioia-inspired thematic analysis and a descriptive assessment of theme recurrence.
Supplier evaluation is limited by fragmented information, weak organizational memory, and insufficient explainability.
AI is viewed as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for procurement professionals, aiding in reconnecting supplier knowledge and enhancing transparency.
The study proposes a conceptual framework for AI-augmented procurement agility as a process-level capability with several key components.