Procurement experts have identified poor data visibility and outdated procurement systems as major barriers limiting Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption across many African organisations.
The experts spoke on Tuesday during the Digital Procurement Africa Summit held in Lagos and powered by Gloopro.
The summit, themed ‘Accelerating Procurement Transformation for Large Enterprises in the Digital Era’, attracted procurement professionals, supply chain managers, and business leaders.
Olumide Olusanya, Chief Executive Officer of Gloopro, said many African organisations still struggle with procurement digitisation despite growing global interest in AI-driven procurement systems.
According to him, procurement transformation depends heavily on organisations building structured, accessible, and reliable procurement data systems before deploying AI solutions.
“AI depends on data. Organisations must first digitise procurement activities before artificial intelligence can deliver meaningful value,” Olusanya said.
He explained that many procurement activities still occur outside digital platforms, making AI deployment difficult, ineffective, and potentially risky for governance systems.
Olumanya noted that fragmented procurement records and poor data accessibility often prevent organisations from fully benefiting from automation, predictive analytics, and compliance monitoring.
He said organisations across Africa must prioritise procurement digitisation to strengthen transparency, operational efficiency, and accountability in procurement and supplier management processes.
Speaking on procurement-as-a-service, Olusanya described the model as a digital outsourcing approach that enables organisations to manage procurement operations through external technology-driven platforms.
He said the model helps organisations reduce operational costs while improving procurement turnaround time, supplier coordination, and transaction visibility across departments.
Olusanya stated that digital procurement systems were reducing procurement turnaround time by approximately 67 per cent in organisations already embracing technology-driven operations.
He added that digital systems also strengthen compliance oversight by improving monitoring mechanisms, approval processes, and transparency across procurement transactions.
Addressing tail spend, Olusanya described it as low-value procurement transactions that frequently escape central procurement governance and monitoring.
He warned that unmanaged tail spend collectively accounts for substantial organisational expenditure, despite individual transactions appearing relatively insignificant.
According to him, poor oversight of tail spend often creates financial leakages, governance weaknesses, and compliance risks.
Also speaking, Adenrele Thompson, Indirect Procurement Manager, Supply Chain at Coca-Cola Company, said digital procurement systems were becoming increasingly essential for sustainable business operations.
Thompson warned that organisations resisting procurement digitisation would eventually face operational difficulties and governance challenges in increasingly technology-driven business environments.
“If you are not digital, it is only a matter of time. The consequences are inevitable,” Thompson said.
He explained that repeated bypassing of approved procurement systems gradually weakens compliance culture and creates governance gaps.
According to Thompson, tail spend often involves frequent low-value transactions that receive minimal scrutiny because each purchase appears financially insignificant.
He warned that such practices could gradually normalise weak procurement behaviour and undermine institutional accountability, transparency, and operational discipline.
Also speaking, Chukwuma Nkwodinmah, Supply Chain Leader at Aradel Holdings, warned that unmanaged procurement transactions expose organisations to financial, regulatory, and reputational risks.
Nkwodinmah explained that repeated emergency purchases outside approved systems often create parallel procurement structures lacking transparency and effective accountability.
“Once executives begin to see procurement leakage as governance failure rather than operational inefficiency, organisations will pay greater attention to controlling unmanaged spending,” he said.
Nkwodinmah urged organisations to strengthen procurement governance structures and improve digital visibility across procurement operations to reduce long-term compliance and operational risks.
