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Demystifying AI in Procurement
Software Engineer at Keelvar, Ruth Bergin, shares her takeaways from our recent Keelvar Konnect event in Atlanta:
I recently had the opportunity to participate in Keelvar Konnect, Atlanta edition. As a software engineer still fairly fresh out of college, the electric atmosphere of the day was a shock to the system!
Keelvar Konnect was a whirlwind crammed with panels, keynotes, and plenty of networking. The three key impressions I went home with were our customer satisfaction, the importance of partnerships, and the amount of work ahead of us.
Customers love Keelvar
Both on- and off-stage, customers like The Coca-Cola Company, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, and Dell Technologies freely offered testimonials about the value and convenience Keelvar has brought to their procurement processes. At one stage, I hesitantly asked what their incentive was to praise us so highly; I was told they just love the product.
The millions of dollars we’ve helped companies save is impressive to be sure, but what really resonated with me is the tedious work we’re eliminating. The people in the room that day were all talented, driven individuals who have devoted their careers to procurement in some shape or form.
"The millions of dollars we’ve helped companies save is impressive, but what really resonated with me is the tedious work we’re eliminating"
Each had been spending weeks or even months of their year orchestrating annual events. With the help of Sourcing Optimizer—and lately, Autonomous Sourcing— that time can now be put to more strategic use.
As an engineer, I'm always working on bugs or new features; it's easy to forget I'm only focusing on what's missing. Hearing first-hand accounts of this renewed my pride in our company.
Partnerships are key
One of my richest sources of learning at the conference was from our partners Xeneta and FreightWave Sonar - along with SpendHQ, Sievo, excelerateds2p, and Catena Clearing.
Between benchmarks, rate analytics, and category management, the breadth of what our partners offer blew me away. This emerging best-of-breed ecosystem will prove to be greater than the sum of its parts. Fitting together seamlessly is integral as we redefine procurement together.
Rome wasn't built in a day
Or, if you're Irish, "I ndiaidh a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin". Our foundations are strong - I refer to my first point. That being said, the sprawling, nuanced industry of procurement can’t be solved in one leap. From simple quality of life enhancements to true innovation, there are countless paths ahead of us to add further value to our product. I don’t envy our leadership team the task of prioritizing them.
I do find myself returning to my daily work with a renewed sense of purpose and motivation, knowing that we’re in the business of breaking ground rather than increasing margins. If it was easy, it would already be done!
