How We Think

You know the drill: "Don't trust AI," they say. "It's grabbing all your data. Nothing's safe." I've heard it too. And whilst I have wondered about the veracity of people's claims, I've never looked into it myself to confirm - up until now.

Without considering the worldwide market for ERPs, agency personnel have ended up not knowing what good looks like.

Imagine this. You’re at a barbeque. And someone asks – So, who’s your CDMO? You say – Our what? What’s a CDMO? Your new BBQ mate says – Ah… CDMO stands for Chief Data Minimisation Officer. Doesn’t your company have one? You respond – Ah, no... So, what exactly does your CDMO do? With a bemused look, your BBQ friend replies – Well, they manage our data assets, review data inventories and ensure that any data, if it hits its use-by-date, gets destroyed, or temporarily stored in low-cost encrypted platforms. 

This article explores how AI could reshape the role of the procurement professional—not by replacing them, but by expanding their purpose. We consider three possible shifts: the evolution of procurement as a strategic function, the partnership between humans and machines, and the challenge of embedding ethics and trust in AI-enabled processes.

A conversation with Melbourne Partner, Mark Bainbridge

It’s Thursday and you’re looking forward to an hour of kayaking on the weekend – and that’s after an estimated 17.6 hours of ferrying kids to part-time jobs, catchups and parties. Instead, you’re hit with ‘Propulsion Failure.’ This isn’t a euphemism, but rather a warning light telling you to glide your car to the curb. Cut to: Wednesday. You’ve forgone the kayaking, but the child ferrying continues apace. Many thanks to the parents-in-law for the loaner, but you’re still without a replacement car.