Conference Paper

Procurement in the AI Era: Enabling Agility and Innovation in Digital Marketing

The procurement and marketing disciplines have historically been viewed in a contentious relationship. Procurement has historically been viewed as a cost-driven barrier that impedes marketing innovation. However, digital marketing and the nature of this complex technologically-driven decision-making environment, along with agency network considerations that are highly interdependent in digital marketing has prompted a redefinition of this relationship. It is contended that procurement's role has changed significantly in the digital marketing context, evolving from a primarily transactionally-focused control function to that of strategic value creation. Based on recent academic literature, this paper investigates the benefits of marketing performance as a result of digital procurement capabilities, the operational advantages of a marketing-procurement partnership, and the integral part procurement plays in the use of emerging technology. The result shows that procurement functions as more than just an administrative support to the marketing function but as a strategic partnership enabling risk reduction, driving efficiencies, and facilitating technology and creative abilities needed for modern digital marketing. Keyword: Digital, Procurement, Decision, Partnership, Marketing