Lisa AI: The Future of Purchasing and Planning Starts Today
Originally published January 2025
Welcome to a new era of intelligent supply chain operations. Today we mark the launch of Lisa AI — an agent that is redefining how purchasing and material planning get done.
Why is the work changing?
We're in the middle of a shift toward agentic AI — technology that doesn't just handle isolated tasks but increasingly takes on whole processes and, eventually, entire value streams. A three-phase model makes the trajectory concrete:
Today: AI coworkers take on individual tasks within existing value streams.
► Lisa classifies incoming emails, reads order confirmations, and drafts responses — freeing buyers and planners to focus on the work that needs judgment.
Tomorrow: AI coworkers manage entire processes and roles.
► Lisa handles material requirements planning and order confirmation end to end, adjusting quantities and delivery schedules and resolving routine deviations on her own.
The day after tomorrow: AI coworkers orchestrate operational value streams.
► Near-autonomous planning and procurement, with human judgment reserved for the genuine exceptions — the cases that actually need a person.
The point was never "minimal humans." It's that the human moves from triage to the decisions that matter, while the routine runs itself.
Why Lisa?
Supply chains keep getting more complex, and shortages push companies toward stockpiling — which ties up working capital and still leaves too little time for strategic priorities. Lisa takes on the routine, keeps processes moving around the clock, and gives buyers and planners room to focus on what truly matters: decisions, not spreadsheets.
What can Lisa do?
Lisa isn't just another software tool — she's an AI coworker built on Recall Intelligence, our intelligence layer. She integrates into existing workflows, connects with ERP systems like SAP, and handles:
- Purchasing and material planning: ensuring availability by planning individual materials or material groups, and checking order confirmations against the purchase order.
- Supplier management: early detection of bottlenecks and proactive communication — including reaching back to suppliers to resolve deviations before they reach a human.
- Parameter and inventory quality: MRP is only as good as its parameters and master data; Lisa continuously tunes the parameters of the materials she manages.
- Deadline tracking: automatic follow-ups and reminders for orders and deliveries.
- Process automation: more output through agentic automation inside existing processes — without large-scale transformation projects or new planning software.
Measurable impact
In early projects, Lisa has reduced manual planning effort by around 30%, improved inventory quality, and cut bottlenecks — companies report achieving more with the same resources.
And because Lisa learns, the gains compound: every case a human resolves becomes something she retains, so the pile of work that needs a person shrinks over time rather than resetting.
Reduced friction along the value stream
Lisa's impact along the operational value stream shows up as:
- shorter lead times through proactive, around-the-clock action,
- reliability through high process conformity,
- working within existing customer tools, or adding new ones only where they genuinely improve execution.
Fast to deploy — no months-long IT projects
Lisa doesn't require a months-long implementation or a change-management fire drill. She works inside your existing processes and ERP, so you see efficiency gains early rather than waiting quarters for a transformation project to land.
Conclusion
- AI coworkers like Lisa represent a shift in operational value creation — from handling isolated tasks to carrying whole processes.
- The human role moves from triage toward judgment, not toward the exit.
- Without a heavyweight implementation, getting started has never been easier.
Ready to take the next step toward intelligent purchasing and planning? Get in touch — let's shape it together.
