Procurement at a crossroad: The AI imperative

By Vidisha Suman, Partner, Kearney and Sudhanshu Mohan, Senior Principal, Kearney

Why Indian enterprises must reinvent procurement — fast — to stay ahead in the age of intelligence

Procurement is no longer a back-office function. It’s a strategic battleground, and the rules have changed forever.

In today’s volatile, digitally accelerated world, procurement has evolved from a cost center into a core driver of competitiveness. Traditional models — rigid, centralized, and transaction-heavy — no longer fit the pace of modern business.

The organisations that will thrive are those that reimagine procurement for intelligence, agility, and scale, making AI the foundation, not the fringe.

India is uniquely poised for this shift. The country’s digital procurement market is projected to reach $250+ billion1 by 2030, yet supplier fragmentation, inconsistent data, and uneven digital maturity remain major barriers. Overcoming these will separate leaders from laggards.

This isn’t optional transformation, it’s ...