What Does a Day in the Future with AI Look Like?
One of The Hackett Group’s clients recently asked Chris Sawchuk, principal and global procurement advisory practice leader at the Miami-based consultancy, about the skills that will be needed in the future.
“I replied that before we even talk about the skills, you have to be able to describe what the day in the life of a supply management professional will be in, say, 2030,” he says. “When you wake up in the morning, what does that day look like? How are you engaging in various activities?
“If you can’t envision what that will be like, then it is nearly impossible to determine the skills that will be necessary to participate effectively in that future world.”
Many are “pontificating,” Sawchuk says, about what will be needed or will become important. But few, he adds, are considering specifically the day in the life of that procurement professional.
Detailing that workday is challenging and, among other factors, will be dependent in part on the maturity of the supply management organization. An even bigger challenge is external speed of change, which is always accelerating. With all that, envisioning the future is a much more difficult task.
“We are working at a much different cadence in business today than we were five, 10 or 15 years ago,” Sawchuk says. And that speed of change will only become more pronounced in the future.
That will continue to be true with technology — particularly AI in all its forms (predictive, generative and agentic). AI is changing how we do business — and rapidly, Sawchuk says: “And the talent engaging in this unfolding environment will need to quickly determine how to effectively participate.”
A Three-Step Model
Adapting to and accommodating the speed of change is critical. “Expectations have changed significantly among procurement stakeholders, partially driven by their Amazon-like experiences in their personal lives as well as the continuing acceleration of business cadence in their professional lives,” he says.
“Nobody wants to wait anymore. And so procurement must close the existing responsiveness gap, but more importantly, build a more proactive, predictive and value-enhancing engagement capability. Today, there is more broad awareness around that capability gap, but most organizations just aren’t there yet.”
The Hackett Group’s model for reimagining value creation (including speed) through AI can help put the timeline into perspective. The model has three levels, which, in ascending order, are: incremental, transformative and breakthrough.
Incremental. Are there things that a company doing today that could be enabled more effectively with AI, thus increasing personal and organizational productivity?
Transformative, or a rethinking of how things are done. “That’s really what transformation is about — reimagining and rethinking,” Sawchuk says. “My guidance to most organizations is to first create the capacity and mind space to truly reimagine and rethink. Most organizations are so constrained today, it’s difficult to do that.”
Breakthrough. At this level, organizations develop ideas that, when implemented with AI, establish a unique competitive advantage. Sawchuk notes that this is where real disruption happens, as AI can be leveraged to significantly differentiate a company within its industry.
As organizations strive to enhance productivity and enable transformative and breakthrough change, the ability to achieve these advancements quickly becomes increasingly essential in today’s fast-paced environment.
AI is accelerating the pace of knowledge work, Sawchuk says, but this is just the beginning. For example, when developing a category strategy, AI can help by monitoring supply markets around the globe. “Imagine waking up to a dashboard that doesn’t overwhelm you with irrelevant alerts but instead highlights meaningful constraints or events that require your attention,” he says.
In the past, organizations were flooded with notifications that weren’t actionable, much like receiving endless news alerts that we simply ignore. The real value lies not in the quantity of information, but in having access to relevant, actionable insights that matter to our work, Sawchuk says.
Building on this, Sawchuk says, AI doesn’t just deliver information — it can also analyze potential impacts and suggest possible actions. Sometimes, after reviewing its recommendations, one might decide to let the AI handle similar situations automatically in the future, trusting its abilities.
This ongoing, automated monitoring is a powerful capability, Sawchuk says. “Here, the concepts of connectedness and orchestration become crucial,” he says. “Connectedness refers to integrating information from multiple sources seamlessly, ensuring that decision-makers have a real-time, comprehensive view of what’s happening. Orchestration involves coordinating these inputs and actions across teams or departments, so the right people are engaged at the right time.”
More than Analytical Skills
Our roles are evolving. Rather than focusing solely on analytical skills, organizations now need to excel at connecting and orchestrating information flows, engaging stakeholders and communicating the reasons for certain actions. This shift is reminiscent of how calculators once changed the classroom — what was once forbidden is now essential.
The same will likely happen with AI and knowledge work, Sawchuk says. AI will become a standard tool, changing the way we solve problems. As AI takes on more routine analytical tasks, it’s critical to consider where humans add unique value. “I believe that connectedness — the ability to bring together diverse information and people — will remain a key skill,” he says.
Relationships and collaboration will continue to matter deeply, even as technology evolves. “Personal stories and experiences help illustrate these changes,” Sawchuk says. “Just as calculators eventually became everyday tools, AI is poised to reshape how we approach both professional challenges.”
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