NEC Introduces "NEC Procurement Negotiation AI Agent Service" to Automate Delivery and Quantity Negotiations in Procurement Operations

NEC has launched the "NEC Procurement Negotiation AI Agent Service," utilizing its proprietary AI technology, "Autonomous Negotiation AI," to automate complex delivery and quantity negotiations within its group companies as of this April. By offloading tasks previously handled by procurement officers to AI, NEC aims to drastically reduce the enormous amount of time spent on transaction negotiations, contributing to rapid responses to demand fluctuations and significant improvements in operational efficiency.

Background In recent years, the diversification of demand and the expansion of supply chains in the manufacturing industry have made negotiations between stakeholders increasingly complex. Consequently, accelerating and improving the efficiency of procurement operations through digital transformation (DX) is urgent, including shortening lead times throughout the supply chain, adapting to high-mix, low-volume production, and responding to risks in a VUCA environment.

Many companies face challenges in optimizing production and procurement systems to flexibly adapt to demand changes and diversification due to labor shortages, reliance on specialized individual skills, and cost pressures. In particular, negotiations for the delivery dates and quantities of parts and raw materials are critical tasks directly linked to production plans, yet they are often inadequately adjusted due to their complexity and the significant amount of time they require.

To address these issues, NEC has developed "Autonomous Negotiation AI," leveraging its proprietary AI technology cultivated through years of research. This technology enables the system to autonomously negotiate with suppliers without human intervention, supporting the formation of optimal agreements. This enables the adjustment of procurement timing for vast numbers of items that could not be handled manually, realizing a supply chain system resilient to demand fluctuations by curbing excess inventory, preventing stockouts, and avoiding delivery delays.

Verification Experiments Prior to Service Launch Prior to the launch, NEC conducted verification experiments at its group companies from September to October 2024, successfully automating delivery and quantity adjustments with suppliers for approximately 1,300 items. In these experiments, the "Automated Agreement Success Rate," which indicates the proportion of agreements reached solely by AI without the involvement of purchasing personnel, reached 95%. Negotiations were successfully concluded under optimal conditions for both suppliers and NEC. Furthermore, it was confirmed that negotiation time, which previously required several hours to several days, could be shortened to approximately 80 seconds, leading to the full-scale implementation of the service.

Future Outlook Moving forward, the NEC Group aims to build a flexible and resilient supply chain that supports sustainable growth by achieving rapid responses to demand fluctuations and significant overall efficiency in procurement operations.

Under its value creation model "BluStellar," NEC transforms business models using cross-industry expertise and cutting-edge technology to solve social and management challenges faced by customers. In AI, a core technology, NEC is deploying AI services centered on its proprietary core AI technology, "cotomi." NEC continues to aim for solving customer challenges by providing secure, safe, and reliable AI services, while creating further value through the expansion of services and functions.