After a period of recent introspection where actual AI procurement project progress versus hype expectation continues to be a challenge, there has been a forced rethink of the mindset required to maintain a steady course.
Many of us, myself included, prefer a structured approach akin to ‘a journey’. We are driven by a vision, an end-destination, with a plan including appropriate stop off points to recheck and validate whether we are on-track, with periodic course corrections to ensure that we feed-in new data, as applicable, to adjust the approach.
In today’s environment, it seems that organizations are failing to maintain a steady course. Fueled by a high level of business uncertainty, the experience is extremely unsettling and demotivating.
Progress can be a positive experience if managed well, however the disconnect is exacerbated if there is a lack of credible use case, questionable and inconsistent leadership and inability to translate the vision into execution. Accordingly to Rand research (The Root Causes of failure for Artificial Intelligence Projects and how they can succeed, Aug 2024) 80% of AI investments are destined to fail; twice the rate of failure of IT projects that do not involve AI.
Having attended a recent AI in procurement ‘thought leadership’ session, it leads me to conclude our industry pundits have little actual evidenced tangible outcomes. Typical statements such as the below send a mixed message:
- We think …. improved automation
- We believe …. new solutions we cannot imagine
- We estimate …… improved data analytics
- We forecast ….. a change ?!
My main concern is that there are few actual use cases that have been successful. Either most remain as work in progress or if successfully completed, business’s are keeping them under wraps. The conclusion, whether we go ‘left’ or go ‘right’, is to adopt a different mindset and instead consider the journey as an adventure. Just do not believe it’s a done deal!
AYSCO CONSULTING 