Rethinking services procurement means designing the process around its users, with AI supporting their everyday work rather than adding another layer of complexity.
Key takeaways
- 01
The largest untapped efficiency reserve
Professional services account for a large share of spend, yet often still run on emails, PDFs and spreadsheets. The result: process costs, compliance risks and weaker award decisions.
- 02
Rebuilt with its users
More than 30 user interviews by an external UX expert, internal interviews and several audited design iterations formed the basis of the new platform.
- 03
40 percent more active sourcing events
Two months after the beta go-live, the new platform recorded 40 percent more active sourcing events than its predecessor – and significantly more internal stakeholders taking part.
- 04
AI inside the process, not bolted on
AI works in the background of the familiar workflow – in tenders, proposal evaluation and supplier communication – and stays transparent at every step.
About the author
As co-founder and product lead at apadua, I work on making services procurement more practical for the people involved. In this article, I explain how customer and user feedback shaped the redesign of our platform, and why AI belongs inside the everyday workflow rather than in a separate add-on.
