Digital Procurement World (DPW) 2025, held in Amsterdam from October 7–9, brought together procurement leaders, innovators, and technology providers around the theme “Put AI to Work.” The event marked a clear shift from AI hype to practical implementation, with more than 100 speakers and 80 sessions exploring how generative AI, intelligent agents, and orchestration technologies are reshaping procurement operations.

Discussions centered on integrating AI into supplier risk management, spend classification, and automation workflows, while tackling challenges such as data governance and change management. The expo hall featured a vibrant mix of established providers and startups demonstrating “AI-first” solutions, emphasizing composable architectures and interoperability. But my favorite session was from VP at Google DeepMind, Kareem Ayoub discussing the power of Transformer architecture as the basis of all GenAI based on the parallel processing power; but that this development did not happen overnight.

Beyond the mainstage, DPW fostered collaboration through networking events like the Founders’ canal cruise, a Padel tournament, and its signature Expo Bash. The key takeaway for us was clear: AI is no longer an experimental tool but a core enabler of procurement transformation.

For firms like Liberis Consulting, DPW 2025 underscored the growing need to help our technlogy clients move from digital strategy to AI adoption — help bridge the developments of the latest in AI to real outcome focused discussions.