The State of Artificial Intelligence : Procurement versus Sales and Marketing

Purpose: Sales and procurement are the main boundary spanning functions of an organization – each with a specific focus and partly different views and objectives. They are often considered as two sides of a coin that struggle with one another for relative competitive advantage. The digitalization of procurement functions and the introduction of enterprise resource systems have led to a seeming data abundance. However, the results especially in the area of artificial intelligence are not yet satisfactory in practical application. In addition, few academic works are steered towards procurement. In fact, some expect that procurement is less likely to benefit from the application of methods of artificial intelligence (AI) emphasizing the potential benefits in functions such as finance, production, marketing and sales. Why is that? What can we do about it? Or is it even a bad thing after all?Methodology: Explanatory study considering the needed decisions and available data of procurement in contrast to sales and marketing. The manuscript is structured in three sections based upon the “Memorandum of Design-Orientated Business Informatics” with analysis, draft, evaluation and diffusion (Österle et al., 2010).Findings: There is a need for research on the purchasing-marketing interface, not just for AI but also for AI applications and analytics in general. Procurement scholars and managers must speed up data and analytical development, especially since our negotiation partners are benefiting from the rapid development of AI technology. Five propositions have been derived from a master thesis analyzing the needed decision and available data as well as during discussions at the 2021 European Research Seminar to facilitate practical application for management and direct further research. These are more perceived value, more data, better technological solutions, more skills and training, and different role in the value chain