Author: Brett Knox
April 10, 2025 - 7 MIN. READ
Something major is happening in procurement. In fact, 65% of procurement leaders are making it their priority!
We’re talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This technology is rapidly creating new possibilities for procurement teams – and there are tons of applications in the trades.
AI is the future of buying for contractors, and Raiven is already bringing AI solutions to businesses like yours.
What’s Wrong With Traditional Procurement?
Is your buying process mostly manual? If yes, you know that browsing for the right parts, comparing prices, and paying invoices (among many other manual tasks) takes time.
Human Errors and Rogue Spending
Besides getting in the way of other important things you have to do, manual buying leaves room for human error. Mistakes can look like missing out on the best price, ordering from a non-vetted supplier, or simply getting a part that doesn’t quite match a project’s specifications.
If you delegate buying, you also know that rogue spending is a problem. Rogue spending happens when your team buys outside of pre-approved sources. They’re not doing it on purpose – it happens when you lack a clear buying process or don’t have enough vetted options to choose from.
Slow Response to Price Fluctuations
Since COVID, high prices have been a reality, and there are no cost reductions on the horizon:
- Switchgear rose by more than 40%.
- Copper wires also cost 40%
- Plumbing fixtures are up by 18% on average.
Things could get worse as new tariffs make imported parts even more expensive. Experts believe contractors will focus on local buying options, but they also expect supply chain disruptions.
In short, the parts you need could sharply increase in price, suddenly go out of stock, or generally become hard to find. If you’re buying manually, things like adding new suppliers to your vetted pool, identifying new marketplaces, and comparing prices take time—and you simply lack the operational efficiency needed to navigate this market.
How Does AI Improve Buying in the Trades?
AI is a field of computer science that aims to create machines capable of taking over tasks that would usually require humans.
What does using AI in procurement mean for your digital buying process?
Real-Time Pricing
AI can monitor huge amounts of data. More importantly, it can track the procurement data relevant to you and spot patterns that affect your business.
In other words, AI lets you know when the prices of the needed parts and supplies drop. You can go further: For instance, if a price drops by 5% or more, you can have AI place an order automatically and instantly secure cost savings.
Saving Time
Remember when we said manual buying takes time? Let’s say your usual supplier is out of stock. You need to vet a new vendor to buy what you need.
AI can go through thousands of online reviews within seconds – and come back with a shortlist of reputable suppliers.
If you need more information to pick a supplier, AI can also analyze buying and shipping terms to find a vendor who meets your requirements or tell you how competitive a vendor is after analyzing prices in real-time.
Automating Buying and Inventory Management Tasks
AI is a true game-changer for existing procurement systems. Experts believe that over 50% of buying activities are good candidates for AI automation.
Why automate digital buying tasks? It saves you time – and removes the risk of human error. As you grow and scale your business in the trades, automating buying tasks will make a huge difference and allow you to keep up with buying for more projects (or larger ones).
With AI, you can automate repetitive tasks, such as:
- Price monitoring
- Invoice processing
- Product features and price comparisons
- Buying based on price or stock alerts
- Market trends and market analysis
- Data entry for your reporting process
- Tracking orders
- Contract management with your suppliers
Using AI for Better Procurement Analytics
Thirty-eight percent of procurement leaders want to focus on better analytics in 2025. Most will use AI to achieve this goal!
Because AI is better than humans at spotting patterns in data, you can get deeper and more advanced analytics. AI also excels at blending data from multiple sources, including qualitative and quantitative insights, internal information, and external data (like supplier data). It means you can enrich your analytics with more data and get clearer and more accurate insights.
When applied to buying, AI-powered analytics look like:
- Advanced spend analysis of your top spending categories (and missed opportunities for saving).
- Detailed seasonal and cyclical buying trends based on historical data for better forecasting.
- Information about supplier performance. You can use it to improve vendor relationships and proactively manage suppliers.
- Trustworthy predictions for the future – so you can stock up in advance.
Overall, AI allows for richer insights that give you the information you need to make better decisions, turning your buying process into a real strength. Besides allowing for more strategic sourcing, AI capabilities help mitigate risks, empowering procurement departments to build more resilient businesses.
Raiven’s AI Procurement Technology
Adding AI to your buying process can be intimidating. If you’re unfamiliar with this tech or don’t have the right skills to use it, you’re not alone!
Raiven is on a mission to bring AI to the trades. The Raiven marketplace already gives you access to industry-leading suppliers – and pre-negotiated discounts of 7 to 30% on the parts and materials you need.
Thanks to Raiven’s AI feature, you can now effortlessly track and compare prices in real-time based on data available directly from suppliers’ websites.
You can also customize the Raiven marketplace to quickly access your preferred suppliers, track real-time pricing for the products you buy often, and receive customized pricing alerts.
AI Adoption in the Trades
Trades businesses aren’t always early adopters when new technology comes along. However, the industry is ready for change, and overlooking AI would be a mistake.
AI is the ideal answer to ongoing issues with buying for contractors. High prices make monitoring real-time pricing and automating buying based on alerts a sound strategy. Plus, supply chain disruptions mean you need to adapt fast and pivot to new suppliers as needed, which is something AI can help with.
Lastly, using AI to save time and build a more effective buying process as you grow your business will be crucial for staying competitive.
Build a Better, AI-Powered Procurement Process With Raiven
Now is the perfect time to look into embracing AI. It’s easier than you might think, and you’ll get instant benefits in the form of more effective buying and gains of time.
Raiven is here to help with a customized marketplace designed to facilitate digital buying. Built-in AI tools bring the power of this new technology to your procurement process.
