836: Inside Next-Gen SAP Ariba: Rebuilding Procurement for the AI Era W/ Baber Farooq

Art of Procurement

"Everyone keeps talking about AI just for the sake of AI, but, ultimately, the only thing that matters is the outcome you can achieve." - Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP

Procurement leaders have long felt the pinch: rising expectations, tight budgets, and platforms that struggle to keep up with user expectations. As AI shifts from a buzzword to true capability, procurement needs to rethink what they need from their core procurement suite. What will it take to move from incremental change to a genuine step-change in productivity?

In this episode, Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP, discusses the future of SAP Ariba and what "next-gen" truly means for procurement. To do this, Baber draws back the curtain on SAP's rethink of Ariba, including why incremental AI add-ons just weren't enough, and how his team approached trust, transparency, and a seamless transition for current users.

In this episode, Baber speaks about:

• Reimagining procurement technology with AI as a core capability, not a bolt-on
• Why data quality and structure are critical to enabling reliable AI outcomes
• Concrete examples of how generative AI changes real user workflows and decision-making

Links:

• Baber Farooq on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube