Is AI the Defining Factor in Building a Resilient Workforce?

The role of procurement has undergone a significant transformation within business operations, as leaders increasingly recognise its power to build operational resilience. However, this revelation has brought a higher demand for teams to act – a pressure that many are unable to meet without making significant changes to their workflows. To meet this demand without the risk of burning out, procurement teams are turning to AI more than ever.

In its annual report, Procurement at an Inflection Point, the agentic sourcing platform Keelvar finds that teams using AI are significantly more likely to develop resilience when facing market shocks. The report, which takes insights from procurement leaders across North America and Europe, highlights a growing structural advantage for those who embrace automation.

Quantifying the resilience gap

The research finds that organisations which have adopted AI or sourcing automation in the past 12 months are 3.7 times less likely to suffer during volatility. These companies are better positioned to avoid demand contraction during tariff-driven disruption and geopolitical concerns.

Companies failing to implement AI, however, are more likely to face disruption to demand and find themselves unable to mitigate risk.

"The data this year is the clearest signal we've seen that procurement technology adoption isn't a nice–to–have – it's what separates organisations that absorb volatility from those that get hurt by it," says Alan Holland, Founder and CEO of Keelvar.

Alan notes that a significant number of organisations are currently sitting out of the technological shift. "The performance gap between leaders and laggards is real, measurable, and widening.

"What is most concerning in the data is how many organisations are sitting out not because they lack budget or capability, but because they've convinced themselves they already understand AI well enough to conclude it's not for them. That's a dangerous position to be in."

Overcoming internal obstacles

While external pressures such as inflation (65%) and supply chain disruption (41%) remain high, internal structural concerns are proving just as challenging for the workforce. Specifically, 69% of leaders reported that decision–making speed and quality is a leading internal obstacle. This suggests a growing gap between the speed of market change and organisational response.

The survey indicates that 53% of businesses that have not yet adopted procurement technology are trapped in a constant state of reactivity. In these environments, employees are unable to build long–term resilience because they are constantly responding to immediate events.

Companies that have adopted both AI and automation, by contrast, have resolved collaboration and process friction, allowing 59% of them to focus on strategic cost management.

By modernising their infrastructure, these teams have been able to return to the basics of procurement. Those trailing behind remain caught in a cycle of responding to market shifts, hindered by outdated processes.

Governance and the path to adoption

Interestingly, the report finds that an organisation’s governance model is a stronger predictor of technology adoption than its size or industry. Organisations with top–down mandates were twice as likely to have deployed AI and automation together.

The barriers to entry are often more psychological than financial. More than 60% of leaders who cited 'bad' reasons for not adopting AI – such as concerns about job loss or the belief that technology is immature – claim to have a strong understanding of the tool. However, among those citing structural barriers like budget or vendor complexity, only 17% felt they had a deep understanding.

"Alan warns: "The biggest blocker to progress is not ignorance, but overconfidence."