Coupa: Teams are Struggling to Scale AI Across Operations

A new report from Coupa indicates that supply chain and procurement teams are struggling to scale artificial intelligence and demonstrate a return on investment. Coupa's Clarity AI Impact Report surveyed over 600 business leaders to understand why major AI initiatives are struggling.

The results suggest the problem is not the technology itself but a significant disconnect in AI proficiency between executives and their operational teams. This gap has led to a strategic vacuum between the leaders who fund AI projects and the supply chain teams tasked with implementation.

Consequently many projects are stalling or remain unfinished, creating significant roadblocks for businesses. While 86% of companies recognise AI as essential only 29% have a clear company-wide strategy for its use.

AI skills gap hinders supply chain strategy

Coupa's findings highlight a fluency gap, preventing organisations from moving AI projects beyond the pilot stage. The report shows that just 5% of executive decision-makers use AI daily, compared to 57% of their technical teams.

This disparity suggests that individuals funding multi-million-pound AI initiatives may lack the practical understanding needed to set realistic goals for their supply chains.

This issue is compounded by a lack of workforce readiness. Only 21% of organisations report they have the necessary skills to use AI effectively and 69% say limited AI skills and training are slowing adoption.

For supply chains that rely on the smooth coordination of multiple functions, this skills gap can hinder the deployment of AI tools designed to improve forecasting, inventory management and logistics.

Data integration and unrealistic ROI expectations

Many AI initiatives remain stuck in “pilot purgatory” with 72% of projects failing to move beyond this initial phase. Despite this, 47% of executives still expect a business payback within just 6 to 12 months.

These unrealistic expectations put immense pressure on supply chain teams who are often dealing with complex legacy systems.

The report identifies data quality and system integration as the primary barrier to achieving results, with 77% of organisations citing it as a major challenge. In a supply chain context, this involves integrating data from various sources such as warehouse systems and supplier portals.

Without seamless integration, AI tools cannot deliver the end-to-end visibility and efficiency they promise.

"This research is a wake-up call," says Dennis Bruder, Chief Product Officer of AI at Coupa.

"The days of funding AI based on unproven potential are over. The bar for ROI on AI investments has been raised and decision-makers are looking for technology to deliver meaningful value.

"To achieve aggressive projections leaders must move past theoretical commitment and focus on strategic platforms that provide the necessary infrastructure and governance to enable workforce adoption. Execution now depends on platform selection."

Unified platforms and governance in supply chain AI

To overcome these hurdles, the market is moving towards unified AI platforms. The Coupa report shows 80% of companies prefer to buy AI through external platforms rather than build solutions internally.

Yet a disconnect remains, as only 2% of AI investment is currently dedicated to orchestration, despite 77% of leaders prioritising simple task automation. This could show a failure to move beyond isolated AI tools to achieve enterprise-wide value.

Governance also remains a concern. While 65% of executives favour “human-in-the-loop” oversight, 56% are unsure if their company has a formal AI governance policy.

Without strong governance, human oversight could become a bottleneck that slows down automation.

For supply chain leaders, AI success demands a move from theoretical ambition to sustained strategies that prioritise unified platforms and clear governance to deliver tangible value.