Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly intertwined with daily lives and technologies. Specifically, AI is shaking up the marketing world – and for good reason. Integrating AI into marketing procurement marks a significant shift toward more dynamic and intelligent strategies. AI is enabling businesses to anticipate market trends, mitigate supply chain disruptions, accurately forecast product demand, swiftly develop customer profiles, enable automated, programmatic ad buying, and improve customer experience.
While AI has greatly improved the marketing function within an enterprise, it has not diminished the need for procurement and marketing to work together. It’s no secret that marketing and procurement, traditionally, have not seen eye-to-eye on many issues. Procurement focuses on aligning cost savings with campaign strategy to optimize marketing spend. Marketers – driven by consumer trends and brand promotion – often prioritize creativity and innovation, sometimes without full visibility into the financial implications of their strategies.
However, as we see with AI’s application in the marketing function, marketing and procurement teams are collaborating more effectively, making better strategic and financial decisions. Some examples where marketing and procurement are both leveraging AI to drive better decision-making include:
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Enhanced Sales Forecasting and Supply Chain Integration
Historically, sales forecasting has been notoriously difficult. AI excels at processing data, crunching numbers, and providing insights which allows marketing to adjust product mixes and marketing campaigns. Marketing procurement is also better positioned to go to market for specific services and support and build strategic relationships with key vendors.
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Data-driven Content Specialization
Netflix leverages AI to analyze customers’ viewing history to determine the artwork for recommended movies or TV shows. Marketing utilizes this approach to increase customer engagement and conversion rates. Similarly, marketing procurement can harness this approach to more effectively source artwork or partner with content creation agencies.
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Social Media and Supplier Insights
AI-powered tools can offer insights into potential supplier risks and identify new opportunities by analyzing news and social media. It can help monitor and evaluate suppliers’ adherence to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). From a marketing perspective, AI-fueled social listening can provide real-time customer sentiment analysis. For example, Amazon uses AI to forecast sales and analyze a customer’s purchase history. With AI, Amazon’s marketing teams know which products to showcase to specific customers. Moreover, they can predict how well a product will sell based on their recommended product campaigns.
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Streamlined Communication and Workflow Automation:
AI-powered chatbots can handle routine supplier inquiries, automate internal approvals, and provide 24/7 assistance to customers, marketers, and support teams. Moreover, AI solutions can streamline procurement workflows, contract processes, and campaign management while incorporating risk management measures.
Building a Future-ready Marketing Procurement Function
There are numerous examples of how AI is empowering the marketing and procurement functions. If you’re considering using AI to enrich the marketing procurement function, you must consider implementing a holistic strategy built around people, process, and technology.
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Define Your Goals
Before beginning your AI journey in marketing procurement, determine what you want to achieve. Do you want to enhance campaign effectiveness, reduce time and costs, or reimagine your agency partnerships?
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Audit Your Staff
Assess your team’s AI readiness. Do they possess the necessary expertise in marketing procurement? Is your procurement staff willing to leverage AI? Do you upskill or hire externally? Before you begin your AI journey, you must first understand whether you have the people to leverage AI to its fullest.
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Establish Your AI Policy
A well-defined AI policy guides on how AI will be developed, reviewed, and deployed without stifling creativity. This policy should include considerations such as how AI will align with marketing objectives, how decisions will be made based on AI-driven insights, and how using AI will conform to corporate policies. Establishing a joint marketing and procurement steering committee can ensure that both teams are aligned and AI initiatives are managed collaboratively.
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Audit Your Infrastructure
Evaluate the following key areas:
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Technology
What technology does the marketing procurement team currently have? What data is it collecting? What insights do you want to glean?
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Data
What data is the marketing procurement team utilizing? Is it solely internal, or are there external data sources? To make procurement more flexible and forward-looking, identify the necessary internal and external data sources.
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Create Test Cases
Start with simple beta tests to see if your AI technology meets or exceeds your goals. If the results are not as expected, adjust the AI or data sets to ensure that desired outcomes are achieved. Continuous learning and adaptation are crucial to realizing the full potential of AI in marketing procurement.
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Foster a Culture of Innovation
Agility and adaptability are essential to survival in the commercial world. Traditional disconnects that separate marketing and marketing procurement teams impede profitability and core competitiveness. Look for ways to deepen cooperation and agility. Cultivate a culture where experimentation thrives.
Managing Inherent Implementation Risks
While AI holds great promise to revolutionize marketing and marketing procurement, there are inherent risks that need to be considered when implementing a strategy underpinned by AI. These risks include:
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Legal Compliance
Legal teams must assess the proposed solution for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or legal/privacy implications.
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IT Strategy
IT teams will determine whether the solution should be built internally or through third-party platforms.
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Business Leadership
Leadership must validate that the proposed solution addresses a tangible problem, enhances market intelligence, increases savings, or enhances customer experience.
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Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity teams must evaluate the proposed solution to determine whether it has vulnerabilities that could be exploited by bad actors.
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Data Governance
Data governance teams are responsible for determining the data source and models for the proposed AI solution. They collaborate with IT and cybersecurity teams to choose the best development and deployment method based on the sensitivity of the data to be used.
Unlocking a Future of Limitless Possibilities with AI
AI is not just enhancing the marketing procurement function – it’s fundamentally reshaping it. By driving better decision-making, streamlining operations, and fostering stronger collaboration between marketing and procurement, AI is enabling organizations to achieve sustainable growth and stay competitive in an increasingly complex marketplace.
As AI advances, its role in marketing procurement will only become more critical. Organizations embracing AI will be better positioned to anticipate market trends, optimize marketing spend, and build deeper relationships with both suppliers and customers.