How AI is Transforming Procurement

By Kathryn Hamilton, CAE | August 28, 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly moving from buzzword to business essential, particularly in procurement and supply chain management. While often discussed interchangeably with broader technology, AI is best understood as a powerful subset of technology that learns, predicts and automates. For businesses of all sizes, it’s becoming the great equalizer, offering tools once reserved for large organizations with deep resources.

The Collaborative Real Estate Development and Solutions (CREDS) Consortium, of which NAIOP is a founding member, recently hosted a webinar on how AI and technology are transforming procurement practices and driving smarter, more resilient supplier relationships across real estate.

The webinar featured Wissam Akra, CEO and founder, Tough Leaf; Allison Anderson, Ph.D., research and impact advisor, Building Markets; Charmaine Brown, CEO, Connexions Consulting Inc.; and Elizabeth Brown, executive director, Building Markets. It was moderated by Ayris Scales, senior vice president of social responsibility and global initiatives, Nareit.

Here are takeaways on why AI matters in procurement and how practitioners can turn data into action.

Procurement Process Advantages

Procurement success depends on data, including vendor certifications, past performance, geographic requirements, revenue levels and more. But the sheer volume and fragmentation of this information make it nearly impossible to manage manually. AI can expediate this data evaluation by:

• Speed and efficiency. Traditional sourcing and vendor vetting can take weeks or months. AI-enabled tools cut through thousands of supplier records in seconds, identifying the most qualified matches based on predefined requirements.
• Risk mitigation. AI can flag financial instability, supply bottlenecks or concentration risk before they become costly problems. In today’s volatile supply chain environment, this proactive capability is invaluable.
• Leveling the playing field. Small and mid-sized firms gain access to sourcing power and insights that were once the domain of large corporations. AI democratizes procurement by expanding networks and surfacing diverse, local and specialized vendors.
• Future-proofing. Early adopters gain a competitive advantage as they streamline compliance, strengthen inclusion and respond more effectively to shifting regulations.

AI can be used to transform static data into actionable intelligence by automating collection, surfacing insights and predicting which vendors are most likely to meet project needs. This is especially powerful in areas like supplier diversity. AI tools make it possible to maintain comprehensive, up-to-date databases and to connect opportunities directly with qualified small businesses.