Sourcing Forum Overview (February 2025)

GenAI for marketing procurement purposes

With the marketing landscape constantly evolving, procurement teams face growing pressure to achieve more with the same, or even fewer, resources. They must balance operational excellence and strategic thinking, while moving beyond a sole focus on cost reduction for its own sake. As GenAI emerges as a potential enabler, organisations are exploring how it can help them work more strategically. 

 Throughout the forum, 41 members reflected on the varying stages of maturity in their GenAI adoption, the current rate of implementation, and the barriers faced along the way. They also shared use cases demonstrating how GenAI could potentially drive efficiencies or strengthen agency partnerships. 

Additionally, the importance of upskilling the organisation to fully harness the capabilities of GenAI was emphasised as an enabler for long-term success. 

This meeting took place in a ‘warts-and-all’ format under Chatham House rule.

 Key highlights:

• WFA members are at different stages of maturity in their GenAI journey
• Establishing the ground zero for internal stakeholder alignment
• Building confidence x enhancing internal capabilities
• Machine + Human: "The augmented buyer" - working smarter
• Capitalising on existing assets and relationships while exploring new opportunities
• Five potential stages of maturity in GenAI adoption

WFA members can download the meeting overview below: