Change management in an AI-led procurement world
Change management, which promises a complete overhaul of a company’s core functioning methodology, requires changes in strategy, attitude, work culture, processes, and alignment of goals. Companies are pretty good when it comes to selecting AI as a key strategy. But many struggle in the process of getting everybody in the organisation comfortable enough to use the technology to their advantage.
A well laid out change management plan will ensure the successful implementation of AI and lead to smoother operations. It will also act as a fool-proof plan of helping companies reap the maximum benefits of a given technology. A lot of the manual tasks like invoice processing, supplier evaluation, and spend classification can be automated without any hassles.
The need for change management:
Imagine a scenario where the top management of your organisation has decided to implement AI. That is great news. Take a quick pulse check, and you will realise that not everyone is so gung ho after all. The guy from the Finance team who processes invoices quite efficiently might be afraid of losing his job. The old-timer from the IT team might think this is a waste of time since “things have always been this way.” The lady who looks at contracts day in and day out might be scared of this “new technology beast.” Somebody else might be concerned about the nitty-gritty of using the technology. Fear of change, aversion to new technology, lack of skills, limited knowledge, or an inability to have a long term view — there could be multiple reasons for not implementing a given technology in the most judicious way.
Best practices in change management:
Like discussed earlier, getting a sign-off with respect to technology is one thing, and getting different team members to implement it in the best way possible is a different ball game all together. Below are some of the strategies you can implement to ensure a smooth transition:
Include the entire team and not just the top management: Understand and propagate the right knowledge of technology: Make good use of reality driven scenarios: Leverage expert opinion:
It would be a good idea to take help from a consultant/AI expert who can help teams of different sizes with relevant real-life examples. Newer use cases can be created and prioritised to ensure that every issue is covered. It can also help to have an internal AI champ who knows the technology a little better than the others. Also, communicating in a less tech-savvy way when talking to non-tech teams is a handy skill to have. For example, explaining how much time will be saved through a guided procurement system is, of course, a good point to highlight, but it would make a lot more sense to also mention the different strategic activities surrounding data-backed decision making , better negotiation tactics and improved suppler relations that can be taken up by the team now that their time will be freed up.
Plan transitions in a phased-out manner: Don’t forget your customers:
AI is definitely a step ahead in any business game. But no technology will be really impactful if different stakeholders are not able to use it to their advantage. Getting employees to know the different possibilities, benefits, and limitations is definitely a good starting point. But it is also equally important to smoothen out the transition process so as not to overwhelm the people. Take advantage of expert opinions, best practices & real-life case studies to replicate success stories for yourself and your customers. Different people might want different things from technology, and this is where coming on a common ground in a collaborative manner makes all the difference.
