The first 100 days of a CPO: where to place your AI bets and build momentum that lasts
Beyond Procurement — Edition #9
Hello 👋 and welcome back to the ninth edition of Beyond Procurement.
Over the past editions, we’ve explored how modular tools and AI aren’t future ideas — they’re practical, proven levers for unlocking ROI today.
This week, we ask a different question:
If you were stepping into the CPO role tomorrow, what would you focus on in the first 100 days?
Increasingly, the answer includes AI, not as a moonshot, but as a lever for clarity, speed, and strategic wins that earn trust fast.
▶ Why your first 100 days matter more than ever
Today’s CPOs are stepping into a tough brief:
Cut costs, but without creating risk
Deliver faster, but don’t disrupt core workflows
Enable ESG, governance, and resilience, while showing hard ROI
And you’re doing it in environments with complex systems, fragmented data, and high stakeholder expectations.
In this edition, we break down where AI is delivering measurable value and how procurement leaders are using it to make their first 100 days count.
▶ Start where the problems are visible and solvable
“AI isn’t magic. It’s math, data, and process.”
— Megha Singh, Director of Procurement Transformation, Micron
In our recent podcast with Megha, she explained why AI pilots fail when the foundations aren’t ready.
The takeaway? Don’t lead with ambition. Lead with precision. Start where your team can win fast — and scale later.
▶ What should your first AI bets look like?
Spend intelligence → Strategic sourcing + better governance
Coca-Cola Europacific used AI to reclassify 98% of indirect spend across 20+ markets, revealing bundling and tail spend opportunities that manual methods missed. The $40M savings wasn’t just about reclassification. It came from being able to renegotiate with vendors, rationalize SKUs, and enforce policy compliance across global teams.
→ Why it works: Starts with existing data. No system overhaul. Generates insight that drives immediate decisions.
Duplicate PO flagging → Finance alignment + policy control
Using large language models (LLMs) to identify duplicate POs, price variances, and off-contract buys has helped procurement teams reduce friction with Finance. By flagging these at the requisition stage, one enterprise reduced rework tickets by 35% in 3 months.
→ Why it works: Saves downstream effort. Improves internal trust. Ensures control without slowing down purchasing.
Supplier onboarding automation → Risk visibility + faster cycle times
A global QSR chain automated supplier onboarding using AI-based validation, ESG scoring, and risk flags. They not only onboarded 500+ suppliers 40% faster, they identified 13% of suppliers with hidden risk exposure that were previously missed in manual checks.
→ Why it works: Speeds up sourcing cycles while improving compliance and risk mitigation.
▶ From pilot to scale: what leading teams are doing next
Once the quick wins land, leaders are focusing on:
Governance: Building cross-functional squads that own AI proof-of-concept and data stewardship
Capability uplift: Training procurement teams to challenge AI outputs, not just receive them
Visibility: Moving from lagging dashboards to real-time insight loops that shape strategic decisions
“Agentic systems in procurement don’t just automate. They anticipate.”
— Rosalia Snyder, Director, Procurement Strategy & Transformation at Microsoft
▶ Planning your first 100 days? Bring this to your next leadership meeting
If you're mapping out where AI fits in your roadmap and need data-backed use cases to align leadership, this is your go-to resource:
🎯 The AI in Procurement Guide for Enterprise Leaders (2025)
It includes:
5 enterprise-ready use cases that can be piloted without replatforming
10 case studies from leaders like Coca-Cola Europacific, Siemens, and ADCE
Strategic perspectives from procurement heads at Microsoft, Johnson Controls, and Uber
📩 Download the AI in Procurement Guide
Whether you're building your first business case or scaling your third AI initiative, this guide helps connect action to ROI.
🎧 Want to hear it from the top procurement leader?
If you want a masterclass in what it takes to make AI work in global procurement, don’t miss this episode.
She covers:
The real readiness signals before adopting AI
How Novartis used AI to simulate sourcing before market launch
Why “change management” is 90% of the challenge
🎙️ Watch the full episode → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMrEhTeNaBg
If your 100-day plan begins this year or next quarter, this edition serves as a practical starting point. Let us know what resonated, what you’re trying, or where you’re stuck. We’d love to learn from your experience, too.
Beyond Procurement by Powerweave
We help enterprises rethink procurement and sustainability with purpose-built modular solutions like ewiz procure and Snowkap. Want to explore what this could mean for your team or where to start?
👉 Book a free discovery call — no pitch decks, just a real conversation.
— Team Beyond Procurement