21世纪采购技能迭代升级

More complex, more collaborativeand more AI-impacted than ever Managementsummary Procurement skills are being reloaded for the 21st century. As routineactivity recedes and the use of AI expands, the human core ofprocurement becomes more visible and more demanding. The work thatremains with human procurement professionals is less standardized andincreasingly shaped by uncertainty, requiring greater coordination across theorganization. Complexity is rising, collaboration is widening and artificialintelligence (AI) is beginning to augment how decisions are prepared. Together,these changes are redefining what it means to be effective in procurement. In this report, we draw on new evidence to show how far the transition hasprogressed. We compare the results of a 2026 survey of 105 procurementexecutives with detailed task analyses from 2019, using the Cognitive Lens tomap changes in complexity and collaboration intensity. Our findings point toa sharp decline in routine work and a corresponding concentration of effortin areas that require judgment and cross-functional alignment. AI is alreadysupporting these tasks by structuring information and expanding analyticalreach, even if adoption remains uneven. Looking toward 2030, augmentationrather than automation defines the trajectory of human work. As procurement becomes more complex, more collaborative and moreAI-augmented, the implications extend beyond technology. The skills thatmatter most are no longer narrowly functional, but rather meta-skills thatshape how decisions are made. Operating logic is evolving as well, withgreater emphasis on orchestration and ecosystem management. Thepractical playbook that follows focuses on one priority for the years to 2030:strengthening the human core of procurement. Contents Procurement toward 2030 Redefining the human core The procurement profession is at a turning point. Over the last ten years, the discipline hasquietly undergone a structural shift. This process of transformation is now accelerating sorapidly that the years to 2030 will likely see more dramatic changes than the previous fifty.The combination of automation, geopolitical volatility, sustainability pressure and the rise ofartificial intelligence (AI) is pushing procurement increasingly into the spotlight. But this storyis not one of machines replacing people: It is a story of machines lifting people into a differentkind of work, one defined less by process execution and more by human judgment, influence,foresight and collaboration. To understand how procurement is changing, in early 2026 we conducted a survey of 105procurement executives from a wide range of industries, primarily focused on internationalcorporations generating multi-billion-euro revenues. The survey explored how procurementwork is evolving, how task profiles have shifted and how AI is reshaping complexity andcollaboration. We then compared the results with those of a 2019 study in which we carriedout detailed task analyses in a large, highly centralized procurement organization tounderstand how its teams spent their time. Both studies make use of the Cognitive Lensframework developed by Dr. Jakob Mainert, which maps procurement activities accordingto their level of complexity and collaboration (see box: The Cognitive Lens). The 2019 data, based on a sample of 83 category managers, was revealing but notparticularly surprising. A significant share of the tasks performed by buyers were routine,repetitive and rule-based. These tasks burdened procurement with a constant stream oflow-value activities. Necessary as they were, they remained far removed from what wemight call the "human core of procurement" – areas requiring skills such as judgment,foresight and the like. The data from 2026 reveals that the landscape has evolved dramatically since 2019. Routinetasks are about to experience a collapse, while collaboration and complexity are risingsharply. Even more importantly, AI has emerged as a force multiplier for the human aspectsof procurement. AI will not replace professionals, but it will augment their reach, insight, andstrategic bandwidth. This report presents insights from our 2026 survey and looks ahead to the shape procurementis likely to take in 2030. The result is a picture of the skills that procurement will need not onlyto survive but to thrive in a world where human intelligence and AI increasingly operate sideby side. THE COGNITIVE LENS A useful way to understand procurement tasks is through the Cognitive Lens, a two-dimensional framework developed by Dr. Jakob Mainert in 2018 that maps procurementactivities according to their level of complexity and collaboration.A Routine tasks sit in the lower-left quadrant, with low complexity and low collaboration. Theyinclude tasks such as issuing purchase orders (POs), clarifying basic invoice discrepanciesand maintaining supplier data – tasks that are predictable, structured and thus idealcandidates for automation. As tasks bec