Technology distributor StarLink partners with IBM for agentic AI in procurement
StarLink, a distributor of global technologies in the Middle East market, has teamed up with technologists and consultants from IBM to upgrade its procurement process.
Based in the UAE, StarLink is a certified reseller and distributor of solutions from global technology vendors, including Acronis, AWS, Informatica, OutSystems, SailPoint and Symantec. The company’s focus is on four domains: cybersecurity, cloud, artificial intelligence and agentic AI, and digital infrastructure, with its client base consisting of enterprises and mid-sized businesses.
The project in StarLink’s Procurement function aimed to address operational challenges in processes, including manual purchase order processing, slow quote cycles, fragmented workflows and inefficiencies in extracting data from unstructured documents.
Working with IBM, StarLink developed an agentic AI solution and workflow that reduces manual work and improves the efficiency and consistency of procurement operations.
The solution uses AI agents to automate key steps across the purchase order lifecycle, including email intake and classification, enterprise resource planning validation, document processing and accounts payable execution. It integrates with Oracle NetSuite, Docling and Automation Anywhere to coordinate end-to-end workflows with greater visibility, governance and control.
According to StarLink, the solution is projected to save an average of 11,500 hours annually: 6,000 hours from automating 9,000 purchase orders, 1,500 hours from automating 14,000 quotes and 4,000 hours from quote comparison.
Citing one example, StarLink said the agentic AI solution reduces the time required to compare internal documents, partner purchase orders and vendor quotations from 30 minutes to just 3 minutes – a 90% reduction – while helping sales and accounts payable teams verify that the required documentation is complete.
The solution is powered by two major IBM technologies. IBM Bob is an agentic development partner that understands enterprise complexity and facilitates the planning, development, testing, deployment, maintenance and refinement of agents and tools. IBM watsonx Orchestrate manages and governs the agents as they process incoming emails, validate information and coordinate activities across enterprise systems.
“IBM Bob and IBM watsonx Orchestrate provide a governed approach to building, running, managing and optimising AI agents, enabling partners such as StarLink to apply these capabilities to practical business workflows,” said Zaidoun Arbad, a Vice President at IBM.
Meanwhile, consultants from IBM Consulting supported the implementation process through a range of project management and change management activities, ensuring that the Procurement function was equipped to adopt the new way of working. “This collaboration demonstrates the role our ecosystem can play in moving agentic AI from development into operational use,” said Arbad.
Building on these results, Arbad hinted that StarLink will explore developing similar solutions with IBM in other domains, including sales, legal, finance and credit management.
