A New AI Series on CPO Rising
The power of artificial intelligence (AI) is undeniable. Its impact and influence are revolutionizing the Procurement automation market. According to research from Ardent Partners, AI will soon be ubiquitous in this sector, offering unparalleled efficiencies and capabilities. The transformative possibilities of AI will drive innovations in source to pay, eSourcing, risk management, and overall supply chain management, streamlining enterprise operations and improving business decision-making.
In view of these advancements, Ardent Partners is excited to announce a special “AI in Action” interview series. We invite your company to participate in this series and contribute to the thought leadership around AI by having a product or strategy executive respond to high-level questions from Andrew Bartolini, our Founder and Chief Research Officer for Ardent Partners.
Today’s AI in Action profile features a conversation with Kevin Frechette, CEO and Co-Founder of Fairmarkit.
AB: Good day Kevin, tell our readers a little bit about yourself.
KF: I’m Kevin Frechette, CEO and Co-Founder of Fairmarkit, an AI-powered autonomous sourcing platform that helps organizations source more competitively at scale. Fairmarkit has been moving procurement technology forward for eight years and counting, and I couldn’t be prouder to be on this journey together with our team. Prior to starting Fairmarkit, I’ve held numerous roles across the technology landscape, working with both IBM and Dell.
AB: Thank you. I think I know your answer but let me ask anyway … what are the biggest opportunities for AI to improve procurement efficiencies and productivity?
KF: Everyone is talking about Generative AI, or GenAI, right now, and it’s unquestionably living up to the hype, delivering real-world results that are already making a groundbreaking difference for procurement teams. GenAI streamlines the manual, repetitive tasks that no one should have to manage manually — like categorizing spend sources, pulling data from disparate systems, and setting up sourcing events where the same questions are asked repeatedly. And while technology has been able to help with this before, it’s never been able to do so with this level of accuracy, comprehensiveness, and ease.
Just one of the many things GenAI can do is analyze multimodal inputs — text, image, or even voice — and deliver actionable insights in real time. One of our partners had teams spending countless hours going through contracts to extract start and end dates, and we used GenAI to automate this. It didn’t matter what format the document was in or where it was housed. This freed up those people to focus on more strategic initiatives.
The real “wow” moments come when users interact with AI and realize its full potential — whether through simplified workflows, smarter data use, or easy-to-use interfaces. By enabling more dynamic engagement and delivering consistent results, GenAI is truly redefining procurement.
AB: How are you ensuring the accuracy and reliability of customers’ AI models (AI data output)?
KF: The key here lies in aligning the technology to the specific tasks it supports. For tasks like verifying bank information, where you need 100% accuracy, you’re going to make sure that your model accounts for and delivers on that need. This could involve guiding users with smart, targeted questions and built-in quality checks.
For broader, more qualitative tasks, the reverse applies. If you’re prompting a buyer with an open-ended question where there are thousands of potential paths to go down, a strong AI model will incorporate guardrails to help steer the user down a more specific path. These guardrails don’t restrict flexibility but instead channel users toward what we call the “happy path,” where outcomes are both accurate and efficient without requiring users to manage complexity.
Ultimately, the goal is to strike a balance: using AI’s variability for tasks where perfection isn’t essential, while building robust, context-aware systems for high-stakes operations. This approach not only improves accuracy but also makes AI a trusted partner that teams will more readily embrace.
AB: What are the leading AI subsets (e.g., machine learning, natural language processing, deep learning, etc.) with the biggest impact on procurement solutions? And why?
KF: I’d encourage procurement leaders to look at their strategic mix of AI subsets, and how those technologies work together to achieve overall business goals. Different AI subsets better cater to different business cases and treating them as ingredients that should be mixed and matched rather than as mutually exclusive solutions is how people can truly make AI work for them.
Looking at our own development, two prime AI subsets that come to mind are agent-based technology and contextual data processing.
For agent-based technology, picture a swarm of virtual agents collaboratively running complex tasks in real time — whether it’s generating cost analyses, streamlining supplier communications, or automating approvals. These agents enable custom tasks, which would typically require teams of people hours, days, or weeks to complete, to be executed instantly. The term ‘agent swarm’ is a real thing in the AI world, but while the term ‘swarm’ may conjure up weird mental images, it’s more like a team of supportive virtual assistants that are working tirelessly behind the scenes to free up your physical team to work with unprecedented efficiency.
Contextual data processing is pretty much exactly as it sounds. AI can now go beyond taking in data at face value, transforming otherwise static outputs into more dynamic solutions tailored to specific needs. End users can use this to run custom tasks, achieving personalization at scale in a way never before thought possible.
AB: How can you support procurement clients when an AI skills gap deficiency exists?
KF: AI may feel daunting, but there isn’t really much of a skills gap. Most of the AI solutions you’re looking for are low-code or no-code, meaning you don’t need any technical knowledge to set up or leverage their capabilities. Solutions today are designed to integrate seamlessly and work intuitively, enabling teams to focus on their (new and improved) day to day rather than dedicate hours and mental capacity to mastering the tech.
The biggest gap is the easiest to fix, and that’s for decision-makers evaluating AI solutions to shift their mindset to one of experimentation and discovery into the intricacies of AI. The success in adopting AI isn’t about technical prowess — it’s about cultivating a culture that embraces change and values the transformative potential of technology. Those who have put that culture in place are already reaping the benefits and are miles ahead of their competitors.
AB: How do you view your customers’ (and prospective customers’) AI attitudes?
KF: Procurement leaders embracing AI has been nothing short of remarkable; we’ve raced through the hype cycle at a speed I’ve never seen before. Over the past 9-12 months, we’ve witnessed an evolution from skepticism to curiosity, from tentative adoption to outright dependence.
What’s driving this? It’s not just fear of missing out — though that’s part of it. The ‘FOMO threshold’ has been crossed; businesses now understand that failing to adopt AI isn’t just risky — it’s a recipe for being left behind. But this isn’t about chasing trends anymore. It’s about making AI work meaningfully and delivering real, measurable impact.
We’re already seeing a profound effect. Companies leveraging AI effectively are outperforming competitors — not just in operational efficiency but also in market valuation. This isn’t a bubble, and it’s not fluff. AI adoption is real, and it’s redefining what’s possible in enterprise procurement.
AB: Where do you see AI solution offerings within procurement in five years?
KF: AI solutions will have fundamentally transformed procurement. Multichannel, multimodal, and multi-model capabilities will be embedded in procurement teams’ core toolset, with systems that offer deeply personalized, customized experiences that feel less like technology and more like an extension of the team.
This shift doesn’t just promise operational gains; it will drive societal impact. By empowering stakeholders across the supply chain, AI will enable more inclusive opportunities, such as promoting fair competition among suppliers and amplifying minority-owned businesses. It’s about creating value — business growth, job creation, and a more equitable ecosystem.
In five years, AI will be as engrained in people’s functionality as the internet is today. This isn’t just the future of procurement; it’s the Future of Work. And it’s closer than you think.
AB: I appreciate your time today!
KF: Thank you.
