A new whitepaper from procurement expert Richard Beaumont and digital learning provider Skill Dynamics highlights how rapid AI acceleration is reshaping procurement faster than people can adapt.

Drawing on findings from Skill Dynamics’ own 2025 Skills Report alongside global analysis by McKinsey & Company, Accenture, and the ProcureCon CPO Report 2025 (WBR Insights), the paper warns that while automation is accelerating, investment in human capability remains dangerously low.

The whitepaper Human Intelligence in the Age of AI: Rebuilding Procurement  Capability illustrates that more than 70 percent of procurement activities are now automated or AI augmented, with widespread use across supplier risk monitoring (60%), contract lifecycle management (58%), and invoice automation (57%).

Yet data from ProcureCon reveals that while adoption is rising, 69 percent of procurement leaders feel only “somewhat confident” in their digital transformation strategies, only 4 percent feel “very confident,” and just 10 percent say their teams are “highly prepared” to scale AI tools.

The 90% thereby highlighting, an enormous mismatch between the rise and adoption of AI tools, and the capability of human team readiness to thrive in these new workflows.

This confidence gap underscores a deeper capability crisis. According to the Skill Dynamics 2025 Skills Report, 46 percent of procurement leaders identify skills shortages as a major issue, 64 percent of companies are concerned about loss of critical skills, and 47 percent worry about higher error rates.

“The danger is not that AI replaces tasks, but that we fail to adapt or replace the learning those tasks once created,” says Richard Beaumont, procurement leader and whitepaper co-author. “Without new ways to build judgment, confidence and consequence-awareness, no amount of technology will compensate for the leadership we lose. We risk building organizations that are technically brilliant but judgment-poor, a risk far greater than any algorithm.”

“It’s staggering to witness so many organizations rapidly adapting their tech base to an AI landscape, while often forgetting to upskill their human teams to allow that tech to thrive alongside their human intelligence”, says Sam Pemberton, CEO at Skill Dynamics. “Indeed, it’s fascinating to see the difference between those looking at AI and HI wholistically and those simply racing to tech. The former group will doubtless make far better on their AI investments.”

The analysis also highlights serious capability gaps in precisely the areas that cannot be readily automated – strategic supplier relationship management (32%), category management and sourcing (30%), and regulatory/ESG expertise (25%). As routine tasks disappear, so too does outdated training methodologies which once developed future leaders.

The Skill Dynamics 2025 Skills Report reinforces the urgent need to address the skills gap through forward-thinking training and investment in human capability, yet 29 percent of companies have no specific training budget.

Currently, 69 percent rely solely on on-the-job training to help supply chain and procurement teams meet job requirements, while others use basic eLearning (44%), in-person training (33%), and formal qualifications (28%).

“We’re at a pivotal moment”, says Sam Pemberton, “Organizations are investing millions in AI tools while underfunding the human capability needed to leverage them. There is great opportunity to build procurement functions that are not only technologically advanced but also rich in the judgement and creativity that technology alone can’t provide. The next evolution of training isn’t simply teaching skills, it’s shaping the pathways through which those skills are applied, ensuring we build the wisdom to guide the power AI provides.”

The whitepaper calls for structured, scenario-based learning, and guided mentorship to engineer the next generation of procurement judgement. It recommends creating internal communities, responsibility test grounds for emerging talent, assessing competencies and skill gaps, and in turn curating modern capability curricula that strengthen human intelligence alongside AI.

Skill Dynamics’ AI-enabled learning platform is already empowering procurement teams to build these skills through advanced competency assessments, which drive bespoke learning plans geared to upskilling for the AI world. The goal is to ensure businesses are able to balance technological advantage with resilient human capability.

Join Richard Beaumont and Sam Pemberton for a thought-provoking webinar on how organizations must redesign the way they consider and develop procurement talent in an AI-enabled world. Register here: Webinar: Human Intelligence in the Age of AI: Rebuilding Procurement Capability by Procurement Leaders