AI is moving from experimentation to everyday use in supplier risk and sustainability work, but most organisations are still a long way from fully embedding it, according to new sector data from Achilles.
In a survey of 2,805 organisations across Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Middle East, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK, 37% of respondents said they were already piloting, operationalising or broadly deploying AI in procurement, supplier risk or sustainability....
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Yet only 2% said the technology was fully integrated across their organisation, underscoring a sizeable gap between early adoption and mature use.
The findings suggest that companies are increasingly looking to AI to cut manual work, improve efficiency and sharpen decision-making in procurement and compliance teams. But Achilles said adoption remains uneven, with many organisations still grappling with poor data quality, limited internal expertise and integration problems with legacy systems and ERP platforms. In practice, that means the value of AI often depends less on the software itself than on whether supplier and sustainability data can be trusted.
Sentiment appears largely favourable. Achilles said 45% of organisations held a positive view of AI in procurement, while just 7% viewed it negatively. That enthusiasm reflects a broader expectation that AI can help transform procurement, strengthen supplier oversight and support sustainability performance, even if widespread deployment is still some way off.
The survey also showed sharp sector differences. Among sectors with at least 25 respondents, information technology had the highest level of active adoption at 62%, followed by marine transport at 56%. Ground transport lagged behind on 26%, a spread that highlights how uneven AI uptake remains across industries.
The most common uses are practical rather than transformational: process automation, virtual assistants, chatbots and supplier risk mitigation. The benefits most often reported were improved efficiency, less repetitive work for employees and better decisions based on data.
Adam Whitfield, head of global compliance and ESG at Achilles, said AI was no longer just a conversation point in procurement. However, he warned that value depends on strong foundations, including trusted data, clear governance and systems that fit existing procurement processes. He added that AI can help organisations identify risk more quickly, reduce manual effort and gain better visibility across complex supply chains, but it does not replace supplier validation or human judgement.
That caution matters as companies face growing pressure to improve supply chain visibility, build resilience and meet more demanding sustainability and non-financial reporting requirements. Achilles’ wider research indicates that only 6% of organisations can see beyond Tier 1 suppliers, suggesting many still lack a full picture of risk further down the chain.
The issue is becoming more urgent as AI tools are scaled more widely across business functions. Industry reporting from other companies in the sector shows suppliers and payment platforms are increasingly pairing AI with fraud-prevention and validation tools, particularly to guard against impersonation and fraudulent payment instructions. At the same time, commentators have warned that many organisations are expanding AI faster than they can govern it, creating new risks around oversight, security and compliance.
For Achilles, the message is straightforward: AI can strengthen supplier risk management only when it is built on accurate, validated and continuously monitored data. Used on incomplete or inconsistent information, it can magnify blind spots rather than close them.
Achilles said its platform is designed to help organisations in heavily regulated sectors collect, validate and manage supplier data, with the aim of improving visibility, risk control and supply chain resilience.
Source: Noah Wire Services
