Jenny Patzlaff

Companies are rapidly integrating generative AI into procurement and sourcing decisions. The promise is obvious. AI can read thousands of pages of supplier proposals faster than any human team, summarize technical requirements in seconds, and create the appearance of consistency and objectivity in evaluation. But there is an important distinction managers are starting to overlook. The same AI system that performs extremely well at identifying whether a supplier meets minimum requirements may perform much less reliably when judging which supplier is truly better. Recent research published in the Journal of Business Logistics examined this issue by comparing how large language models evaluated supplier bids against evaluations completed by experienced procurement professionals. It analyzed 123 supplier proposals tied to 31 public procurement projects conducted by the State of Ohio between 2023 and 2024. The projects involved complex IT services contracts, many containing large, text-heavy bid packages requiring evaluative judgment rather than simple arithmetic comparisons. The researchers tested three reasoning-oriented AI models: OpenAI o3, Grok-3-Mini, and DeepSeek R1. They then compared their evaluations against human procurement scores. The findings revealed a surprisingly clear pattern. AI performed well when evaluating compliance signals. These are signals tied to baseline qualifications and technical requirements. Does…

At the 2025 Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit in Denver, Scott Luton caught up with Justin Siefert, a familiar face in the supply chain community and a leader at John Galt Solutions, a global provider of end-to-end supply chain planning software. From demand and supply planning to inventory and S&OP, John Galt supports organizations across industries with the holistic capabilities needed to thrive in an increasingly unpredictable landscape.   A Company Investing in the Next Generation Before diving into industry trends, Siefert shared an update on one of the programs that sets John Galt apart: its supply chain scholarship program, which awards $10,000 to students pursuing supply chain degrees. This year’s cycle brought in a record number of nominations, with new winners set to be announced in January. It’s an initiative Siefert is proud of—and one that reflects John Galt’s belief in cultivating tomorrow’s leaders.   Old Problems, New Pressures: Planning in a World of Uncertainty When asked about the biggest challenges facing planners today, Siefert didn’t hesitate: uncertainty. While the forms of disruption change—pandemics, geopolitical shifts, demand shocks, evolving portfolios—the underlying challenge remains the same. Planners must anticipate what’s next and respond quickly, often in real time. “No day…