47% of Procurement Professionals Use AI Daily, but Corporate Policies Lag Behind

AI Helps with Preparation, but Agents Need Boundaries

The biggest obstacles to AI adoption in procurement are not the data itself, but people's skills and corporate policies, pointed out Ralph de Groot from Procurement Tactics. According to him, AI is already helping procurement teams prepare for negotiations, compare supplier responses and review contracts.

Martin Haller from Patron-IT illustrated the security risks through a fake invoice scenario, in which an instruction intended for an AI agent could be invisible to a human reader. Martin Haller said: "We want agents to be as capable as possible and help us with as many tasks as possible. But the more capable we make an agent, the more access it has, and the more dangerous it becomes if it turns malicious or someone takes control of it."

Companies Build Resilience Through Contracts, Portfolios and Manufacturing Footprints

According to Tomáš Dvořák, the macroeconomic outlook from Oxford Economics forecasts growth of just under 2% in the Czech Republic and just over 1% in Europe next year. Drawing on an industrial example, Sébastien Millet from Doosan Bobcat EMEA explained that resilience means long-term energy contracts, working with suppliers on product design and placing greater emphasis on data.

Following a cost shock, Orkla Foods Czech Republic and Slovakia closed four plants, sold one and reduced its product portfolio, recalled Ondřej Skála. He said: "A quarter of our revenue comes from products that we do not manufacture ourselves, but purchase and trade. Procurement is no longer a support function for us, but a business model, and that is a very significant change we have undergone."

Suppliers Must Also Provide Data That Companies Can Use Further Downstream

Packaging procurement must now also include data for retailers, regulators, service partners and AI tools, pointed out Pavel Moravec from GS1 Czech Republic. He said: "It is critical for procurement to put pressure on suppliers to ensure not only the quality of the products being delivered, but also the quality and accuracy of the accompanying data and that it is kept up to date."

Aneta Haramijová from JuiceUP spoke about managing emotions in response to acute stress, offering practical advice for managers and teams: when under stress, first calm the body's response through a long exhalation, grounding techniques and a brief moment to process the information, and only then make decisions.

A panel discussion featuring Dana Hrdinová from Skanska, Olga Ruttnerová from O2 Czech Republic, Miroslav Picek from Pivovary Staropramen, David Voják from Marelli Lighting and Petr Chvojka from Penny Market added concrete examples from corporate practice.

Procurement Forum 2026 took place on 4 November 2026 at KC City in Prague. The event brought together around 150 procurement and supply chain professionals. The 12th edition was organised by Blue Events.

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