Helping to transform public sector procurement management in the age of AI

For many governments, meeting the needs of the public administration, and meeting the needs of citizens and businesses are essential for ensuring the procurement process is efficient, fair and transparent.

The procurement department of a government entity in a European region relied on manual processes and unstructured data for decision making. Given the volumes involved, it led to significant complexities and inefficiencies in managing the procurement cycle. And the lack of a unified information system made it difficult to analyze, compare and interpret procurement data effectively.

They needed an approach that would systematically collect, consolidate, and standardize their procurement needs, optimize tender management and support their planning decisions.

KPMG in Italy used a methodical approach to understand the procurement departments existing knowledge base, including data sources, storage practices, and information management systems. Generative AI was then deployed to organize the department’s information in a more structured way and implemented based on two proofs of concept using Microsoft Azure Search and OpenAI services to streamline the department’s information mining.

The first proof of concept focused on a prototype Medical Devices Catalogue that analyzed tender documents by linking them with additional information in the execution and consumption phase. This led to a more streamlined organization of product knowledge that could be identified and retrieved using a single system.

The second proof of concept was the development of a Supplier Categorization tool where insights into past interactions provided the procurement team with a deeper understanding of the performance and competitiveness of their suppliers.

The client’s procurement professionals now have greater support in the procurement cycle, and the tender management process has been optimized with improved access and retrieval of critical information. With a more streamlined process and unified database, the procurement team has increased their ability to analyze, compare and interpret data locally and centrally. The single information system is providing them with the necessary business intelligence for crucial planning.

We help clients harness the power and potential of AI. From strategy to implementation. Small steps to solving seemingly impenetrable problems. Underpinned by trust. Find out more by getting in touch with us below.

You can with AI. You can with KPMG.