AI Agents in Procurement — Why They Fail Before They Even Start

Most procurement teams don’t fail at AI because of the tech. They fail because they’re simply not ready, organizationally, technically, or both.

This week, I’m sharing a diagnostic tool I created: the AI Agents Matrix for Procurement. It helps teams understand exactly where they stand and what to do next.

👋 Welcome to the 6th issue of AI for Procurement: Weekly Insights, a weekly LinkedIn newsletter where I, Marijn Overvest, break down how AI is transforming procurement, practically, strategically, and tactically!

Each week, I’ll share the latest trends, real use cases, smart prompts, tools worth trying, and my take on where we’re headed.

Let’s get into it!

1. The 2×2 That Says It All

This matrix maps technical readiness against organizational readiness.

Four quadrants and one clear next step for each.

Launch & Scale (top right)

• Status: You’re ready to go.
• Next Step: Start a focused pilot. You’ve laid the groundwork. Time to deliver a quick win and prove ROI.

Organization = Bottleneck (top left)

• Status: The tech is fine, but the culture isn’t.
• Next Step: Work on leadership buy-in, policies, and trust. Without it, your team will stall before it starts.

Technical Skills = Bottleneck (bottom right)

• Status: The will is there, but the systems are messy.
• Next Step: Invest in your data and tools. Technical debt will sink your AI agents before they learn to swim.

High Risk of Failure (bottom left)

• Status: Low readiness across the board.
• Next Step: Shift to education and experimentation. You’re not launching yet — you’re learning.

2. Why This Matrix Matters

Too many teams jump straight to pilots (or worse, procurement) without pausing to assess readiness. This matrix saves months of frustration by forcing the right conversation.

The AI Readiness Matrix helps you ask the right question: 👉 What’s actually holding us back: culture, systems, or both?

Whether you’re just exploring or scaling, this quick framework shows where your team stands:

• Exploring: Curious, but unclear on use cases
• Piloting: Testing tools without a clear strategy
• Structuring: Building policies and alignment
• Scaling: Full rollout with governance in place

If you’re in “Launch & Scale” mode, great. If not, this helps you act with clarity instead of chasing hype.

3. My Take: Readiness > Ambition

In nearly every AI conversation I’ve had with procurement directors, one theme keeps surfacing:

“Our team is eager, but we keep hitting invisible walls.”

Those walls are often readiness gaps. This matrix doesn’t solve them. But it names them. And that’s how progress starts.

If you’d like to learn how Procurement Tactics can help your team, book a call with us

4. Ask the Community: What Should AI Agents in Procurement Actually Do?

I’m running a brief survey to gain a deeper understanding of what procurement professionals truly want from AI agents, and I’d greatly appreciate your input.

It’ll take just 120 seconds, and as a thank you, you’ll get a summary of the results, plus a chance to win free access to our Artificial Intelligence in Procurement Course (worth $875).

How should AI make your life easier? Click on the button to start:

AI Agents in Procurement Survey (120 seconds) →

Thanks for reading this sixth issue of AI for Procurement: Weekly Insights. If this matrix made you think:

🔁 Repost to help others run smarter AI pilots.

📚 And if you’re serious about upskilling your team, explore Procurement Tactics for role-based learning paths built for modern teams.

Catch you next week!