In a world where margins are tightening and supply chains remain unpredictable, manufacturers are laser-focused on the bottom line. But in the race to cut costs, the most valuable currency is often overlooked: time.

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It's the one thing we all experience the same way but never feel the same way. It rushes past us when we want it to last and crawls when we're desperate to move on. We track it obsessively with clocks, calendars, alarms,and countdowns, but we still lose it constantly. In lines. In traffic. In conversations, we wish we had ended sooner or moments we want to have lasted longer. Sometimes, we try to control it. We fill our days with lists, apps, and routines.But even the most organized life still runs on borrowed time. The minutes we spend are minutes we never get back. That's what makes time so powerful. It is the most impartial resource we have. No one can own it, and no one gets more than 24 hours in a day. The only real difference is how we choose to spend it.

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‍One of the clearest places we see this play out is in how teams spend their time at work. For too long, time in procurement has been treated as an invisible cost. It slips through cracks in the process. A manual entry here. A missed follow-up there. Before long, it adds up to days, weeks, or even months of lost momentum.

Rethinking time means putting it at the center of how we design workflows, choose tools, and define success. It means asking hard questions about what work is truly essential and what could be streamlined, delegated, or automated. Reclaiming time isn't just about speed; it's about setting procurement up to drive the business forward, not just keep it moving.

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According to a survey by Amazon Business, 37% of procurement professionals say they waste too much time on routine supplier sourcing. A LinkedIn industry report reveals that procurement managers spend nearly one-third of their day on repetitive tasks, such as managing purchase orders and organizing documents. Deloitte research adds that roughly 40% of procurement's time is still spent on transactional work rather than strategic initiatives. No need to read the study. Let's do the math. Across a team of five, that adds up to more than 60 hours a week spent on low-impact tasks. That is a full-time role with benefits, entirely devoted to busy work, minus the job satisfaction.

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These are hours that could be spent building supplier relationships, modeling cost scenarios, or getting ahead of disruptions before they hit. Instead, that time is quietly drained by admin work that delivers little return.

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When time is lost, money usually follows. The frustrating part is that much of that loss is avoidable. With the right tools, teams can get that time back.

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AI doesn't replace people. It replaces the parts of their job that drain time without adding value. What's left is space for more impactful work. AI does not eliminate jobs. It eliminates friction. It handles tasks that are predictable and process-driven, allowing teams to focus on strategic work that requires experience, insight, and judgment. Time saved becomes time invested in better decisions and stronger operations.

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Picture this. A procurement manager at a mid-sized manufacturer starts her day buried in spreadsheets. She spends hours tracking down vendor documents, re-entering pricing data, and following up on emails that should have been automated. By mid-morning, the day feels reactive. There's little time left for anything beyond putting out fires.

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Now, picture the same manager with better tools. The data is organized and up-to-date. Supplier inputs flow in without a chase. Her time is spent evaluating new materials, collaborating with the operations team, and staying ahead of pricing shifts. She is not doing less work. She is doing more of the work that matters.

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The scenarios above aren't just hypotheticals. They reflect what's possible when time is treated like the asset it really is. These are not abstract ideas. They are the foundation of a more agile and competitive operation.

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But they all require one thing most teams are short on: time.