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The Six Stages of AI Procurement
Understanding the critical phases of the AI buying journey and how Kowalah guides you through each one
Navigating your buying journey
The modern technology buying process is complex, with 77% of B2B buyers rating their purchase experience as extremely difficult. This complexity is even more pronounced for AI technologies, where the landscape is changing rapidly, claims from vendors often overlap, and the consequences of making the wrong choice can be significant. Kowalah’s platform is structured around the six essential stages of the buying process, based on research from Gartner on how organizations successfully navigate complex technology purchases. By understanding these stages, you can approach your AI buyign decisions more strategically and confidently.Why a Structured Buying Process Matters for AI
Unlike conventional software purchases, AI procurement presents unique challenges:- Technical complexity: Understanding differences between models, capabilities, and approaches
- Rapid evolution: The AI landscape evolves weekly with new models and capabilities
- Implementation hurdles: Data quality, integration, and governance requirements
- Stakeholder alignment: Bridging knowledge gaps between technical teams and business leaders
- Risk management: Addressing security, compliance, and ethical considerations
Stage 1: Problem Identification
Key question: “Do we have a valuable problem to solve with AI?”What Happens in This Stage
In this initial stage, you define the specific business challenge you’re trying to address with AI technology. Rather than starting with a desire to “implement AI,” successful organizations identify concrete problems where AI can deliver measurable value.Common Challenges
- Difficulty translating general AI enthusiasm into specific use cases
- Struggling to quantify the business impact of the problem
- Gaining agreement on which problems are the highest priority
- Building a compelling business case that connects AI capabilities to business outcomes
- Overcoming skepticism about AI’s practical applications
How Kowalah Helps
Kowalah guides you through a structured approach to problem definition:- Creating clear, concise problem statements that focus on business outcomes
- Quantifying the current impact of the problem in financial terms
- Gathering and synthesizing feedback from different stakeholders
- Developing comprehensive business cases that establish the ROI of AI implementation
- Prioritizing potential AI use cases based on feasibility and impact
Stage 2: Solution Exploration
Key question: “What’s out there that could solve our problem?”Solution exploration looks at all possible solutions, not just buying new technology. It includes evaluating technology you already own, consulting firms, partnerships and changing your own process and staffing.
What Happens in This Stage
Once you’ve clearly defined your problem, you need to understand the range of potential solutions available. Solutions do not always have to mean new technology purchases, they can include customising technology you already have, adding more people, consultants, or changing the process you have today.Common Challenges
- Undertsanding the capabilities you already have access to through existing vendors
- Understanding technical differences between AI models and approaches
- Determining whether to build custom solutions or buy existing ones
- Evaluating open source versus commercial AI offerings
- Identifying solutions that align with existing technology infrastructure
How Kowalah Helps
Kowalah provides expert guidance to help you explore the solution landscape effectively:- Creating structured comparisons of different technical approaches
- Building comprehensive vendor shortlists based on your specific requirements
- Analyzing the pros and cons of build vs. buy options for your situation
- Evaluating the implications of open source vs. closed source models
- Identifying quick wins that can demonstrate value while building toward larger goals
Stage 3: Requirements Gathering
Key question: “What exactly do we need the AI solution to do?”What Happens in This Stage
This critical stage involves defining detailed requirements for your AI solution, covering technical, business, and governance aspects. Clear requirements form the foundation for effective vendor evaluation and successful implementation.Common Challenges
- Defining AI-specific requirements beyond traditional software criteria
- Aligning technical specifications with business outcomes
- Anticipating data quality and integration requirements
- Identifying necessary internal skills and capabilities
- Ensuring requirements are specific enough to evaluate vendors but not overly restrictive
How Kowalah Helps
Kowalah provides specialized frameworks for AI requirements:- Creating comprehensive requirements documents tailored to AI technologies
- Facilitating requirements gathering workshops with diverse stakeholders
- Ensuring requirements cover data, model capabilities, integration, security, and governance
- Identifying skill gaps and necessary internal capabilities
- Developing technical integration requirements for your existing systems
Stage 4: Supplier Selection
Key question: “Which supplier best meets our requirements?”What Happens in This Stage
With clear requirements established, you can systematically evaluate potential vendors, comparing their offerings against your criteria and making an informed selection decision.Common Challenges
- Seeing through marketing hype to understand real AI capabilities
- Creating effective evaluation criteria for AI technologies
- Running productive vendor demonstrations and technical evaluations
- Negotiating appropriate terms for AI solutions
- Deciding between single-vendor versus multi-vendor approaches
- Communicating selection decisions to stakeholders
How Kowalah Helps
Kowalah provides specialized tools and guidance for AI vendor evaluation:- Developing AI-specific RFP templates that ask the right questions
- Creating customized supplier scoring models based on your priorities
- Preparing for vendor meetings with questions that reveal true capabilities
- Designing effective multi-vendor architectures when appropriate
- Facilitating internal selection meetings to drive consensus
- Creating clear communication about vendor selection decisions
Stage 5: Validation
Key question: “We think we know the right answer, but we need to be sure.”What Happens in This Stage
Before making a final commitment, organizations validate their AI solution choice through proof of concepts, reference calls, pilot implementations, and detailed planning for the full rollout.Common Challenges
- Designing meaningful proof of concepts that test real-world conditions
- Getting valuable insights from vendor references
- Developing realistic implementation plans
- Assessing and mitigating implementation risks
- Calculating comprehensive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
- Defining metrics to measure success and demonstrate early wins
How Kowalah Helps
Kowalah provides validation frameworks specifically designed for AI:- Structuring effective proof of concepts with meaningful success criteria
- Preparing targeted questions for customer reference calls
- Creating detailed implementation plans with appropriate milestones
- Developing comprehensive risk assessments and mitigation strategies
- Building AI-specific TCO models that account for data, training, and maintenance
- Defining clear success metrics that align with business objectives
Stage 6: Consensus Creation
Key question: “How do we get everyone on board with our decision?”What Happens in This Stage
The final stage involves building agreement among all stakeholders and securing formal approval to move forward with the selected AI solution.Common Challenges
- Addressing concerns from different stakeholder groups
- Communicating technical details to non-technical executives
- Securing budget and resource commitments
- Overcoming resistance to change and fears about AI
- Building excitement and support for implementation
- Aligning the organization around the chosen direction
How Kowalah Helps
Kowalah provides tools to build consensus across your organization:- Facilitating structured feedback from the buying group
- Creating compelling executive presentations that focus on business outcomes
- Developing strategies to address common concerns and objections
- Preparing materials to secure executive buy-in
- Creating change management approaches to address AI-specific concerns
- Building alignment plans to ensure successful adoption
The Buying Process Is Non-Linear
While these stages provide a helpful framework, it’s important to recognize that the actual buying process is rarely linear. New information may require revisiting earlier stages, and different workstreams may be at different stages simultaneously. Gartner research shows that 95% of buying groups report having to go back and revisit decisions at least once as new information emerges. Kowalah’s flexible approach accommodates this reality, allowing you to navigate each stage in the way that makes sense for your organization’s specific situation.
How Kowalah Supports Your Journey
Kowalah serves as your AI buying guide, providing specialized knowledge, frameworks, and tools at each stage:- Personalized guidance: Ask specific questions about your situation and get targeted advice
- AI-specific frameworks: Templates and tools designed specifically for AI procurement
- Knowledge management: Upload documents and capture insights throughout your journey
- Team collaboration: Bring your entire buying group into the process for better alignment
- Institutional memory: Maintain consistency even as team members change