Artificial Intelligence in Purchasing: Facilitating Mechanism Design-based Negotiations

Figures & data

Table 1. Results topic 1 (AI in the purchasing process).

Discussion points	Points assigned by AI experts (in %)	Points assigned by PSM experts (in %)	Total points assigned (in %)
1. Cost-optimizing engineering	20%	14%	16%
2. Analysis of cost break downs	7%	18%	14%
3. Recognition of price patterns	4%	17%	12%
4. Analysis of negotiation behavior	7%	13%	10%
Rest of discussion points assigned to other topics	62%	38%	48%

Table 2. Results topic 2 (AI in mechanism design-based negotiations).

Discussion points	Points assigned by AI experts (in %)	Points assigned by PSM experts (in %)	Total points assigned (in %)
1. Analysis of negotiation behavior	27%	21%	23%
2. Simulation of negotiations	15%	21%	19%
3. Development of negotiation designs	18%	15%	16%
Rest of discussion points assigned to other topics	40%	43%	42%

Table 3. Results topic 3 (Implementation of AI in mechanism design-based negotiations).

Discussion points	Points assigned by AI experts (in %)	Points assigned by PSM experts (in %)	Total points assigned (in %)
1. Negotiation simulations	15%	19%	17%
2. Expert systems	8%	11%	9%
3. Information seeking across systems	3%	16%	9%
4. Heuristic mechanism design selection	15%	3%	9%
5. Goal definition	10%	5%	8%
Rest of discussion points assigned to other topics	49%	46%	48%

Figure 1. Overview World Café set-up.

Table A1. All results topic 1 (AI in the purchasing process).

Discussion points	Points assigned by AI experts (in %)	Points assigned by PSM experts (in %)	Total points assigned (in %)	Cumulated total (in %)
Cost-optimizing engineering	20%	14%	16%	16%
Analysis of cost breakdowns	7%	18%	14%	30%
Recognition of price patterns	4%	17%	12%	42%
Analysis of negotiation behavior	7%	13%	10%	52%
Supplier selection	13%	6%	8%	60%
Strategy optimization	9%	7%	8%	68%
Analysis of risk factors in buyer-supplier relationships	7%	7%	7%	75%
Development of supplier profiles	13%	0%	5%	80%
Analysis of suppliers‘ economic well-being	9%	3%	5%	85%
Analysis of process costs generated by suppliers	7%	1%	3%	88%
Predictive maintenance in tooling process	4%	3%	3%	92%
Development of documentation for purchasing steering committee	0%	4%	3%	94%
AI-based decision making in contract award process	0%	1%	1%	95%
Identification of opportunities for price optimization	0%	1%	1%	96%
Analysis of price development after contract awarding	0%	1%	1%	97%
Support of supplier onboarding process	2%	0%	1%	97%
Support of supplier rating process	0%	1%	1%	98%
Synchronization of deadlines in sourcing process	0%	1%	1%	99%
Identification of alternative suppliers	0%	1%	1%	100%
Negotiation bots	0%	0%	0%	100%
Support of problem resolution with suppliers	0%	0%	0%	100%
Development of process checklists	0%	0%	0%	100%

Table A2. All results topic 2 (AI in mechanism design-based negotiations).

Discussion points	Points assigned by AI experts (in %)	Points assigned by PSM experts (in %)	Total points assigned (in %)	Cumulated total (in %)
Analysis of negotiation behavior	27%	21%	23%	23%
Simulation of negotiations	15%	21%	19%	42%
Development of negotiation designs	18%	15%	16%	58%
Market analyses	9%	19%	15%	73%
Plausibility checks for cost breakdowns	9%	6%	7%	80%
Development of supplier profiles	15%	0%	6%	86%
Bonus/penalty evaluation	0%	10%	6%	93%
Analysis of suppliers’ sentiment	6%	0%	2%	95%
Preparation for purchasing steering committee	0%	4%	2%	98%
Cross-functional coordination	0%	2%	1%	99%
Comparison of business cases	0%	2%	1%	100%
Plausibility checks for negotiation progress	0%	0%	0%	100%
Development of offer tool	0%	0%	0%	100%

Table A3: All results topic 3 (Implementation of AI in mechanism design-based negotiations).

Discussion points	Points assigned by AI experts (in %)	Points assigned by PSM experts (in %)	Total points assigned (in %)	Cumulated total (in %)
Negotiation simulations	15%	19%	17%	17%
Expert systems	8%	11%	9%	26%
Information seeking across systems	3%	16%	9%	36%
Heuristic mechanism design selection	15%	3%	9%	45%
Goal definition	10%	5%	8%	53%
Background information of suppliers	13%	0%	7%	59%
Controlling (classification learning)	8%	3%	5%	64%
Growing systems	8%	3%	5%	70%
Preparation for negotiations	3%	8%	5%	75%
Selection criteria for auction type	0%	8%	4%	79%
Combination of instruments	5%	3%	4%	83%
Challenge: data volume	5%	3%	4%	87%
Adjustment of data protection guidelines	3%	5%	4%	91%
Support of online negotiations	0%	5%	3%	93%
Storage capacity	0%	5%	3%	96%
Including human expert knowledge	3%	3%	3%	99%
Business intelligence/demand retrieval	3%	0%	1%	100%
Adjustment of rules during negotiation	0%	0%	0%	100%
Autonomous online negotiations	0%	0%	0%	100%
Analysis of past online negotiations	0%	0%	0%	100%
Support through experts	0%	0%	0%	100%