How Indirect Buyers Are Using ChatGPT
Buyers of indirect categories such as energy, capital equipment, MRO, and packaging are using ChatGPT and other AI chatbots in a couple of different ways.
First, they look to the chatbots to advise on best practices, recommend tactics for specific scenarios, and help them craft clear and concise communications. They treat ChatGPT like a mentor that can bring a wealth of knowledge to provide expert advice. Here’s some examples.
| Use Case | Situation | Example Prompt |
| Identify current market trends | You want to understand the current market trends to prepare for a negotiation | You are a buyer for a manufacturing company preparing to negotiate a long-term supply agreement with a corrugated packaging supplier. Search the web and summarize current market trends for corrugated packaging. |
| Develop negotiation strategies | You want to defer price increases while maintaining a positive relationship | You are a buyer for a manufacturing company and several capital equipment suppliers are proposing cost increases due to their increased labor costs. Your goal is to defer any price increases for 1 year while keeping a good relationship with these suppliers. What negotiation strategies should you consider to achieve this goal? |
| Prepare for a negotiation | You want to anticipate likely questions from a salesperson during a negotiation | As a salesperson for a supplier of corrugated cardboard, you are meeting with the buyer for a potential new customer. Create a bullet point list of 20 questions you might ask the buyer. |
| Identify factors to evaluate suppliers | You need to evaluate potential suppliers for a commodity that is new to you | You are responsible for the initial sourcing of various commodities that will require new suppliers for your commercial truck manufacturing company. What are important criteria you should consider when evaluating the capabilities of high voltage cable suppliers? |
| Draft contract language | You want to add a clause to a proposed supplier agreement. | You are a buyer in a manufacturing company negotiating a contract with a new supplier. Write a clause using standard industry terms for including indemnification and limitation of liability in a contract with a supplier of marketing services. |
Second, indirect buyers use chatbots like an intern that can follow orders to complete time-consuming tasks. Note: just like when you use an intern, you have to give clear instructions and check the output. Here are some examples:
| Use Case | Situation | Example Prompt |
| Create supplier onboarding materials | You need to summarize supplier information on your company’s website | As a buyer in a manufacturing company, read and create a short description (no more than 50 words each) for the attached documents to provide suppliers guidance documents available to them on the company website. |
| Extract critical supplier information from documents | You need a list of suppliers with active NDAs and upcoming expiration dates | You are a buyer in a manufacturing company. You need to develop a list of suppliers with which you have active non-disclosure agreements. Read the attached files and extract the information to populate a table with supplier names and NDA expiration dates. |
| Streamline PO creation | You need to generate a P.O. after a supplier’s quote is approved | You are a buyer and have received a request to issue a purchase order for services purchased previously. Read the attached P.O. and extract the information needed to describe the line item details for [ITEMS AND QUANTITIES]. |
| Analyze past contracts | You need to compare specific terms in current or past supplier agreements | You are a buyer in a manufacturing company. Read the attached supplier agreements and create a table showing how each agreement addressed the following terms: billing category, hourly rate, customer support, guarantees, payment terms. |
| Identifying prospective suppliers | You need to identify potential suppliers from the web with specific capabilities and location. | As a buyer for an automotive supplier, list 10 plastic injection molding suppliers that are IATF 16949 certified, have manufacturing locations in Northern Mexico, and identify overmolding as a service. Provide links to their web sites (English-language if available). |
Bonus
Chatbots are great for managers and executives as well. Here are some examples for management-level prompts:
| Use Case | Situation | Example Prompt |
| Create interview questions | You need to create interview questions when filling a specific position. | As a purchasing manager, you are hiring to fill a [POSITION] role. Read the attached document and craft 10-15 interview questions directly related to the Key Responsibilities and Knowledge and Experience sections. |
| Generate training content | You need to generate role-specific training content for a new hire. | Aa a purchasing manager in a manufacturing company, read the attached description and create an outline for training a new Capital Equipment Buyer hire to successfully perform their job duties. Next, search the web to create a detailed training outline. |
| Write job descriptions | You need to brainstorm a job description for a newly created role. | You are a purchasing manager at an automotive stampings supplier and need to identify the job responsibilities for a newly created MRO Purchasing Manager role. Search the web to create a bullet point list of typical job duties for an MRO Purchasing Manager. |
| Develop category strategies | You need to include scenario planning in your commodity strategy | As an electrical components category manager for an industrial equipment manufacturer, you need to assess different scenarios. What changes should you make if shipping costs from Asia rise sharply (3X in 6 months)? |
| Draft professional communications | You need to create a team meeting agenda | I need to create an agenda for a 60-minute team meeting with my indirect purchasing team. The purpose of the meeting is to review current supplier performance, discuss upcoming contract renewals, and address any bottlenecks in our procurement process. |
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