Published on August 21, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>
Many believe AI will replace experienced buyers. I believe the opposite.<\/p>\n
The better AI becomes, the greater the value of experience.<\/b><\/p>\n
At first glance, this sounds contradictory. After all, artificial intelligence now analyzes contracts, evaluates suppliers, monitors markets, and identifies risks in the supply chain within seconds. What used to require hours of research, AI now often accomplishes at the touch of a button.<\/p>\n
This quickly leads to the assumption that long-standing experience in strategic purchasing will become less important in the future. But that is precisely where a misconception lies.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
The value of experience is shifting<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>For a long time, experience in strategic procurement was primarily a knowledge advantage. Those who had worked in procurement for many years knew markets, suppliers, price trends, and typical risks better than others. This knowledge gave companies a decisive competitive edge.<\/p>\n
With the digitalization of procurement and the use of AI, this situation is fundamentally changing. Information is becoming available to significantly more people. Analyses are being created faster, more comprehensively, and often more objectively than ever before. Competition is therefore shifting from information gathering to the ability to correctly classify information and derive sound purchasing decisions from it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"KI-Mythen\"](\"https:\/\/emarticon.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/3Impuls-Foto.jpeg\")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>The value of experience does not disappear \u2013 it shifts.<\/b> Previously, experience consisted primarily of knowing more. Today, it consists of being better able to assess which information is truly relevant and what consequences it has for one's own company.<\/p>\n
Because AI doesn't make decisions. It provides the basis for decisions.<\/b><\/p>\n
Whether a recommendation is useful always depends on the specific company, its purchasing strategy, its supply chain, its supplier management, its risk management, its customers, and its risk tolerance. This is precisely where the real task of strategic purchasing begins.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Experience builds judgment<\/h3><\/div>Over the past few years, I've overseen numerous procurement projects \u2013 from medium-sized businesses to international corporations. Since we've increasingly integrated AI into analyses and decision-making processes, I've observed the same effect time and again: speed increases dramatically. At the same time, experience and judgment are becoming more important than ever.<\/p>\n
At Emarticon, we naturally use AI as a tool today. At the same time, we have further developed our methods in strategic procurement. Because the more powerful analyses become, the more important the ability to correctly interpret their results and derive responsible decisions from them becomes.<\/p>\n
An experienced buyer or purchasing manager doesn't necessarily know more than an AI. But they recognize when a recommendation seems logical but isn't the right solution in the specific business context. They assess conflicting objectives, consider business priorities, and take responsibility for the consequences of a decision.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the requirements for strategic purchasing will change.<\/b> In the future, the most important skill will be less about gathering information and more about asking the right questions.<\/p>\n
For example:<\/p>\n
\n- What assumptions underlie this recommendation?<\/li>\n
- What information might be missing?<\/li>\n
- Which risks are actually relevant to our supply chain?<\/li>\n
- What impact will this decision have on our purchasing strategy?<\/li>\n
- What priorities does this entail for the company?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Technical understanding in dealing with AI will naturally become a key competence in purchasing. However, the real competitive advantage lies elsewhere: in judgment.<\/b><\/p>\n
People will not be successful in the future simply because they possess more information through AI. They will be successful when they critically examine results, interpret them meaningfully, and derive responsible decisions for purchasing, procurement, and the supply chain.<\/p>\n<\/div>
\nAI makes knowledge available more quickly. Experience determines what we do with it. In my view, this is precisely where the real competitive advantage of strategic purchasing lies in the age of AI.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\ud83d\udc49<\/b> <\/b>More on this topic:
\nWhat impact does your purchasing strategy have on your success?
\n\u2192 Purchasing strategies with Emarticon<\/a><\/p>\nHow can you successfully use AI in purchasing and thus secure a competitive advantage?
\n\u2192 AI-based sourcing<\/a>
\n\u2192 AI in the supply chain<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
For a long time, experience in strategic procurement was primarily a knowledge advantage. Those who had worked in procurement for many years knew markets, suppliers, price trends, and typical risks better than others. This knowledge gave companies a decisive competitive edge.<\/p>\n
With the digitalization of procurement and the use of AI, this situation is fundamentally changing. Information is becoming available to significantly more people. Analyses are being created faster, more comprehensively, and often more objectively than ever before. Competition is therefore shifting from information gathering to the ability to correctly classify information and derive sound purchasing decisions from it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/span>The value of experience does not disappear \u2013 it shifts.<\/b> Previously, experience consisted primarily of knowing more. Today, it consists of being better able to assess which information is truly relevant and what consequences it has for one's own company.<\/p>\n
Because AI doesn't make decisions. It provides the basis for decisions.<\/b><\/p>\n
Whether a recommendation is useful always depends on the specific company, its purchasing strategy, its supply chain, its supplier management, its risk management, its customers, and its risk tolerance. This is precisely where the real task of strategic purchasing begins.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Experience builds judgment<\/h3><\/div>Over the past few years, I've overseen numerous procurement projects \u2013 from medium-sized businesses to international corporations. Since we've increasingly integrated AI into analyses and decision-making processes, I've observed the same effect time and again: speed increases dramatically. At the same time, experience and judgment are becoming more important than ever.<\/p>\n
At Emarticon, we naturally use AI as a tool today. At the same time, we have further developed our methods in strategic procurement. Because the more powerful analyses become, the more important the ability to correctly interpret their results and derive responsible decisions from them becomes.<\/p>\n
An experienced buyer or purchasing manager doesn't necessarily know more than an AI. But they recognize when a recommendation seems logical but isn't the right solution in the specific business context. They assess conflicting objectives, consider business priorities, and take responsibility for the consequences of a decision.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the requirements for strategic purchasing will change.<\/b> In the future, the most important skill will be less about gathering information and more about asking the right questions.<\/p>\n
For example:<\/p>\n
\n- What assumptions underlie this recommendation?<\/li>\n
- What information might be missing?<\/li>\n
- Which risks are actually relevant to our supply chain?<\/li>\n
- What impact will this decision have on our purchasing strategy?<\/li>\n
- What priorities does this entail for the company?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Technical understanding in dealing with AI will naturally become a key competence in purchasing. However, the real competitive advantage lies elsewhere: in judgment.<\/b><\/p>\n
People will not be successful in the future simply because they possess more information through AI. They will be successful when they critically examine results, interpret them meaningfully, and derive responsible decisions for purchasing, procurement, and the supply chain.<\/p>\n<\/div>
\nAI makes knowledge available more quickly. Experience determines what we do with it. In my view, this is precisely where the real competitive advantage of strategic purchasing lies in the age of AI.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\ud83d\udc49<\/b> <\/b>More on this topic:
\nWhat impact does your purchasing strategy have on your success?
\n\u2192 Purchasing strategies with Emarticon<\/a><\/p>\nHow can you successfully use AI in purchasing and thus secure a competitive advantage?
\n\u2192 AI-based sourcing<\/a>
\n\u2192 AI in the supply chain<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Over the past few years, I've overseen numerous procurement projects \u2013 from medium-sized businesses to international corporations. Since we've increasingly integrated AI into analyses and decision-making processes, I've observed the same effect time and again: speed increases dramatically. At the same time, experience and judgment are becoming more important than ever.<\/p>\n
At Emarticon, we naturally use AI as a tool today. At the same time, we have further developed our methods in strategic procurement. Because the more powerful analyses become, the more important the ability to correctly interpret their results and derive responsible decisions from them becomes.<\/p>\n
An experienced buyer or purchasing manager doesn't necessarily know more than an AI. But they recognize when a recommendation seems logical but isn't the right solution in the specific business context. They assess conflicting objectives, consider business priorities, and take responsibility for the consequences of a decision.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the requirements for strategic purchasing will change.<\/b> In the future, the most important skill will be less about gathering information and more about asking the right questions.<\/p>\n
For example:<\/p>\n
- \n
- What assumptions underlie this recommendation?<\/li>\n
- What information might be missing?<\/li>\n
- Which risks are actually relevant to our supply chain?<\/li>\n
- What impact will this decision have on our purchasing strategy?<\/li>\n
- What priorities does this entail for the company?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Technical understanding in dealing with AI will naturally become a key competence in purchasing. However, the real competitive advantage lies elsewhere: in judgment.<\/b><\/p>\n
People will not be successful in the future simply because they possess more information through AI. They will be successful when they critically examine results, interpret them meaningfully, and derive responsible decisions for purchasing, procurement, and the supply chain.<\/p>\n<\/div>
\nAI makes knowledge available more quickly. Experience determines what we do with it. In my view, this is precisely where the real competitive advantage of strategic purchasing lies in the age of AI.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\ud83d\udc49<\/b> <\/b>More on this topic:
\nWhat impact does your purchasing strategy have on your success?
\n\u2192 Purchasing strategies with Emarticon<\/a><\/p>\nHow can you successfully use AI in purchasing and thus secure a competitive advantage?
\n\u2192 AI-based sourcing<\/a>
\n\u2192 AI in the supply chain<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>