Inside SievoFriends 2025: Key Takeaways on Data and AI

SievoFriends 2025 brought together the brightest minds in procurement, analytics, and technology for another unforgettable gathering in Helsinki. As Sievo continues to lead the way in procurement analytics, this year’s event focused on the transformative power of AI, data orchestration, and the collective intelligence of our global community.

Event Highlights

The 17th edition of SievoFriends revolved around "Connected by Data."

Image: Sammeli Sammalkorpi - CEO & Cofounder, Sievo

Keynote Speakers & Industry Voices

• Sammeli Sammalkorpi opened the stage by sharing his vision beyond static dashboards to a future where data and AI orchestrate smarter and faster decisions across industries. “We’ve been perfecting the dashboard, but dashboards aren't enough anymore—there’s a new paradigm that helps procurement drive much more value.”
• Heta Pirttijärvi, VP of Product, unveiled Sievo's newest product innovations that are set to transform how we work with procurement data. “The point is not that the decisions will go up by tenfold or a hundredfold, but it's going to be 1000-fold. The AI doesn't need to sleep, it doesn't need to eat, but it can constantly work towards your goals,” Heta explained.
• Andrea Paolo Lai from Oerlikon highlighted the evolving complexity of supply chains, emphasizing that while digitalization and AI are essential, true success depends on human adaptability and speed. “We need to be fast and flexible; technology alone isn’t enough. Without us, we’ll get nowhere,” Andrea stated.  
• Tuija Lehvonen and Konsta Rauhala from Fazer spotlighted how initiative management is the missing link between strategy and results.  Their shift to a centralized system brought clarity and alignment, allowing teams to track progress and stay focused on shared goals. As Konsta put it, “Procurement needs a centre of gravity where everything gets anchored—so nobody just gets to do whatever they want.” 

Image: Shashi Mandapaty - CPO, Synapsys

• Shashi Mandapaty from Synapsys emphasized that the leap to autonomous procurement starts with a bold, intentional data strategy, urging CPOs to finally prioritize it: “Most CPOs have strategies for everything, but one strategy that they have neglected is the strategy on data. Is it worth investing so much in data at this time for the procurement function? And the answer would be yes."
  
• Tomi Mansio from BCG presented how GenAI is unlocking value in procurement by transforming both efficiency and ways of working: "GenAI is particularly powerful in unlocking value in indirect spend categories where manual processes have traditionally dominated."
• Natasha Gurevich from Candor Procurement emphasized that the real key to transformation is helping teams understand that staying relevant means embracing change, even when it feels uncomfortable. As she put it, "What is even worse than fear of change, is the fear of being irrelevant."

Image: Natasha Gurevich - CEO, Candor Procurement

Panel Discussions

Our panels delved into the practical implications of GenAI on procurement:

• The evolving IT landscape in procurement featured insights from Nitin Gupta, Lance Younger, and Antonio Castillo, who discussed the evolving IT landscape in procurement. Antonio noted, "The train has left the station already, people need to learn to augment with AI or get left behind." The panel stressed a crucial point: Technological innovation must be driven from the top down, not the other way around.
  
• Will AI take our jobs? featured Eveliina Dahl, Alexander Streif, and Julio Peironcely discussing how AI is reshaping working life. The panel emphasized that AI is not about taking jobs away, but about freeing people from repetitive tasks so they can focus on curiosity, problem-solving, and work that makes a real difference. "Investing in people's capabilities to recognise the opportunity coming out of AI, that's the essential", Alexander emphasized.
   

Image: The Evolving IT Landscape in Procurement panel

Customer Success

In "Beyond the Numbers: Turning Procurement Data into Client Success," Johan-Peter Teppala, Chief Customer Officer at Sievo walked us through how Community Data creates exponentially more value than any single organization could achieve alone. "Where the real value comes is the opportunity. Community data can give you three times more savings, three times more working capital impact compared to your own internal data insights."

Closing Remarks

As we draw the curtains on SievoFriends Helsinki 2025, we have one thing in our hearts: everything we're building is better because of the incredible community shaping it alongside us.