AI is raising Procurement's intellectual entry point
Sam Achampong, Regional Director for CIPS, shares strategic advice for procurement professionals, particularly those relocating to the UAE, stressing the need for an open mindset and building genuine personal relationships for business success. With Nick Aoun, Executive Director for Lean Six Search, asking the questions, Sam details his predictions that the normalization of AI will raise the intellectual entry point of the profession, requiring smarter people for different jobs.
Sam Achampong is a highly experienced procurement leader and the current Regional Director for the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply covering the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. (CIPS MENA)
He is recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice and a passionate advocate for elevating professional standards and ethics within procurement, regularly speaking at industry events and championing the strategic role of procurement in business success.
Nick Aoun: People all around the world who are looking to move to the UAE or the GCC. What advice could you give to procurement and supply chain professionals who want to move here?
Sam Achampong: You certainly need to be prepared. If you're looking to move to Dubai or the broader Middle East in procurement/supply chain, it's a great choice. There are really innovative projects going on, which means there are challenging procurement and supply chain solutions you can get involved in. Your expertise from slightly more mature environments will be welcome here, as organizations are looking for the very best talent.
By the same token, you need to come with an open mindset. A lot of the challenges out here are unique to this region, more advanced, and certainly larger in scale. You need to be ready to test your existing knowledge and change your conventional way of thinking. It's all about innovation; they are looking to be better than anywhere else, not just "as good as." Your experience should be added to, rather than just copied and pasted or parachuted in.
Nick Aoun: Did you see any cultural changes coming from the UK to the region 17 years ago?
Sam Achampong: Dubai is an international city, so adapting is not that difficult per se. However, as you move across the wider region, you must take on board that you are in the Middle East, in an Arabic region. You'll be very welcome, but there are nuances. You need to come with a bit of humility and respect to adapt to the existing cultures.
From a business perspective, the most important thing is that the cliché—"people do business with people whom they like"—is far more pronounced and actually true here. You need to focus very keenly on building real, tangible, credible people relationships. People will not do business with people with whom they do not have a relationship or don't like. Don't hold back on being personal; invest your time in meeting people, and the business will follow.
Procurement Leadership & Misconceptions
Nick Aoun: What is the biggest misconception about supply chain leadership, and how do you challenge that?
Sam Achampong: A common misconception globally is that procurement is a quite transactional function focused on cost-cutting, cost efficiency, and the lowest price. While that is the foundation, procurement is there to add value to an organization.
The best procurement and supply chain leaders are the ones you never hear about. If an organization is experiencing severe issues because its supply chain has been disrupted (e.g., a key shipment is stuck in a canal), the CPO is in the news. The successful organizations, whose leaders you never hear about, add resilience to the company. They run scenarios involving price distortions, logistical issues, or scarcity, and implement mitigating measures. That's the biggest value-add to an organization because it doesn't matter what price you're getting something for if you can't get it from A to B.
Sustainability & AI
Nick Aoun: How should procurement leaders respond to today's pressure for sustainability?
Sam Achampong: Sustainability is fundamental to effective procurement. Leaders need to educate themselves on what sustainability is: not just the environmental side, but also the ability for future generations to sustain themselves. You must consider the three outcomes: the economic, the environmental (not depleting the earth), and the social (not adversely affecting human beings unethically).
The reality is that the environmental and social sides are not just "nice to haves." There are reputational elements to operating unsustainably that will affect your bottom line and your total cost of ownership. You can't just look at the money. I often challenge people by saying that a sustainable product or solution doesn't necessarily cost more money over the return on investment period.
Nick Aoun: How is AI changing what it means to be a leader in procurement at the moment?
Sam Achampong: Leaders need to use AI for what it’s supposed to do: it should release more bandwidth for you to be strategic. It should free you from transactional tasks like data farming, running scenarios, and analysis, allowing you to focus on key areas that add value.
Nick Aoun: Do you see AI replacing some of those more junior positions in procurement?
Sam Achampong: AI will take the jobs of people who don't know how to use it. If you are unable to adapt and use technology as an enabler, you are making yourself dispensable. Technology makes us more efficient. What happens is that AI is really raising the intellectual entry point of the profession. Those entry-level transactional tasks, like issuing tender documentation or registering suppliers, can now be done automatically. You don't need fewer people; you need smarter people doing different jobs.
Career Advice & Future Predictions
Nick Aoun: What's one piece of advice that you would give young leaders in procurement or supply chain that almost nobody wants to hear?
Sam Achampong: There is no shortcut to actually being present and doing the work. You have to be seen, sell your abilities to stakeholders and suppliers, and make those relationships. Even with technology like Zoom and Teams, you can't get away from putting in the time to build and consistently maintain those face-to-face relationships.
Nick Aoun: What's your prediction for the biggest shift in procurement over the next five years?
Sam Achampong: There will be an increased adoption of technology; it will just be normalized. This will raise the intellectual entry point of the profession and bring a new organizational chart for procurement, with roles like 'procurement app developer' and 'procurement data analyst.' Secondly, sustainability will become the norm. There will be no such thing as "sustainable procurement" or "digital procurement"; it will just be "procurement" because the optimum way to operate will incorporate those principles.
