amp up the value: AI is amplifying human capability, not replacing it

Procurement teams have been asking what AI can do for them. The more important question leading teams are asking now is what AI can do with them.

Leading procurement teams are finding that AI’s greatest potential lies not in replacement, but in amplification. The most effective teams use AI to enhance human capability and reimagine ways of working; not to take work away, but to make work smarter. When technology and talent operate together, decision-making accelerates, insight deepens, and value creation expands across the business.

AI is becoming a force multiplier for human intelligence, helping procurement professionals spend less time managing processes and more time shaping outcomes.

from automation to amplification

Early digitalisation focused on efficiency and cost. That mindset is evolving as organisations realise technology delivers its greatest return when empowering people to perform at a higher level; not just technology executing processes. The conversation has evolved toward intelligence and empowerment. AI handles the heavy lifting; analysing data, scanning contracts, and flagging risks at scale. This gives people more time to focus on what only humans can do: innovate, build relationships, and align strategy across the organisation.

Our 2026 Infosys Portland Procurement Value Survey shows a clear divide. Followers still view technology as a productivity tool. Leaders see it as a capability multiplier, embedding AI across their operating model to increase speed, foresight, and value delivery. Overall, 81% of Leaders are at least moderately satisfied with their technology, while most Followers express low satisfaction with their technology choices, highlighting that maturity and integration, not just tool adoption, drive impact.

Over half of Leaders (52%) plan to increase AI investment in the next two years, more than 7x the number planning no AI investment at all, showing confidence in the value of augmentation over automation.

amplifying value through the diamond ring

Infosys’s Diamond Ring framework describes how procurement teams evolve block by block from transactional service providers to strategic value creators. At its heart, it helps teams deliver more and more for less—more value, more types of value, and all without necessarily committing a greater investment in resources.

AI now runs through every part of this journey:

• Strategy: Enhancing planning and foresight by turning data into intelligence and decision support.
• Value: Identifying new levers and opportunities faster than human analysis alone.
• Operations: Streamlining processes, eliminating rework, accelerating delivery and most importantly, freeing capacity to refocus efforts on areas with higher value returns.
• Enablers: Strengthening analytics, automation, and decision support so people can act faster and smarter.

The combination of human capability and technology investment is proving powerful. Leaders with strong teams and mature tech report 1.6 times higher financial impact, 1.7 times stronger co-innovation, and up to 5 times greater performance in ESG and risk management compared to even strong teams limited with weaker technologies.

By amplifying human expertise, AI helps teams reinvest time where it matters most—innovation, supplier collaboration, and stakeholder partnerships.

it’s about skill count, not headcount

Leading teams are shifting focus from how many people they have to what those people can do. AI is changing the shape of talent, not eliminating it.

The new measure is skill count: Digital fluency, analytical thinking, relationship building, creative problem-solving, and the ability to connect technology with business outcomes. Procurement teams become value builders rather than process operators. This balance of human and AI capability defines the next generation of procurement.

AI can process data, but it fails to build trust. It can generate insights, but it falls short in persuading stakeholders to act. Human strengths such as empathy, negotiation, ethics, and storytelling remain central.

The most advanced teams are using AI to strengthen those qualities, combining digital precision with human understanding. Together, they proactively anticipate risk, shape relationships, and create value that technology alone cannot deliver.

implications for you: Moving from tools to talent amplification

AI’s real differentiator is not how advanced the technology is, but how effectively people and systems work together. Here’s where to focus next:

• Shift from adoption to absorption: Don’t just roll out AI tools; build the human processes, guardrails, and feedback loops that help people use them confidently and intelligently.
• Invest in skill depth: Redesign roles around decision-making, data interpretation, and collaboration, not just task execution. The future procurement professional is a value architect, not a process monitor.
• Align AI to business outcomes: Measure success in terms of speed, foresight, and strategic contribution—not system uptime or process throughput.
• Create a culture of amplification: Encourage teams to ask, “What can AI help me do better?” instead of “What can AI do for me?” That simple mindset shift accelerates maturity.

Teams that operationalise these principles will not just keep pace with change, they’ll drive it. The future belongs to teams that use AI to amplify human potential.

For more information, please check out the following blogs:

Creating self-driving S&P operations with agentic AI | Infosys BPM
AI for smart, sustainable facility management | Infosys BPM
Changing the procurement game with AI-powered automated supplier management | Infosys BPM
The strategic importance of clean data in automating sourcing strategies: The role of AI | Infosys BPM