Source: managementtoday
BT Sourced, the independent procurement company launched by BT Group in 2021, is revolutionizing large-scale procurement through extensive artificial intelligence integration under CEO and founder Cyril Pourrat. The company has moved beyond incremental improvements to create what Pourrat describes as a “fundamental reimagining of the entire large-scale procurement process,” addressing critical challenges of limited resources and time constraints facing modern procurement organizations.
“A procurement organisation cannot do everything by itself,” Pourrat explains. “Sometimes it needs assistance. We have limited resources and our colleagues don’t have much time. Where AI can help is by doing some of the work.” This philosophy drives BT Sourced’s comprehensive approach to AI integration across their multi-billion-pound global sourcing operation.
The practical impact extends far beyond theoretical applications. Procurement professionals can complete 90% of strategic briefing preparation for executive supplier meetings through simple AI prompts, transforming traditionally protracted processes into efficient workflows. The AI platform coordinates directly with suppliers, providing side-by-side offer comparisons and automatically generating purchase orders once preferred offers are selected, creating a seamless end-to-end procurement experience.
BT Sourced has successfully onboarded 1,000 BT employees and 3,000 suppliers to its AI-powered platform, with Pourrat actively evangelizing about the “greatness” of their AI tool and how it can “enable our colleagues to work better and faster.” This represents a significant departure from the market landscape when the company was founded, as similar digital platforms existed but with little emphasis on leveraging AI capabilities.
The transformation demonstrates how artificial intelligence can address core procurement challenges while empowering employees with faster, more efficient solutions. Rather than replacing human decision-making, BT Sourced’s platform enhances professional capabilities, allowing procurement teams to focus on strategic activities while AI handles routine operational tasks, reflecting a broader shift toward AI-enabled operations that can scale efficiently while maintaining essential strategic oversight.