PMA Perspective on the “AI Enablement in Corporate Functions – Experience Report” Webinar

AI is moving fast — and organisations are exploring how to harness its many possibilities.

In our recent PMA Academy webinar “AI Enablement in Corporate Functions – Experience Report” with Daniel Zinner (PMA Co-Founder), Alexia Schmolling (PMA Academy Lead), Alexander Wiesner (Zalando Procurement Excellence Lead) and Alexander Lieder (AI Expert), we shared learnings from our in-house AI Enablement in Procurement programme with Zalando and discussed what truly makes AI adoption successful across corporate functions.

We explored what works, what fails — and why organisations need to rethink how they introduce AI into daily work. One thing became clear: AI Enablement is not about tools. It’s about capability, mindset and leadership.

Here are our key insights from the session:

1. AI needs a Playground — not just policies

• try prompts
• make mistakes
• explore real use cases

This made AI tangible, not theoretical.

People don’t learn AI by being told — they learn by trying.

Why it matters:

• Reduces fear of “doing it wrong”
• Builds confidence
• Accelerates adoption

“AI needs a playground without too much pressure, so employees have a safe space to explore the tools.” – Alex Lieder

2. We don’t want to create prompt engineers

A core message from the programme was simple but powerful: “We don’t want to create prompt engineers.” – Alex Wiesner

AI Enablement is not about technical perfection. It’s about helping employees think better, work faster, and make smarter decisions.

What really matters:

• Knowing what to ask
• Knowing how to frame problems
• Knowing how to validate outputs

AI becomes useful when it supports business thinking — not when people memorize syntax.

3. You need to show what the tool can do

People don’t adopt what they don’t understand. One of the biggest barriers to AI adoption is abstraction. Employees hear about AI — but don’t see what it means for their work. “You need to show what the tool can do.” – Alex Wiesner

That’s why Zalando’s programme focused on:

• real procurement cases
• real data
• real workflows

Once people saw:

• how fast reports could be generated
• how contracts could be analysed
• how scenarios could be simulated

… concerns disappeared.

4. Leadership involvement is non-negotiable

AI Enablement fails when it’s treated as a bottom-up experiment. “Leadership involvement is necessary and required as role model.” – Daniel Zinner

They should:

• use AI themselves
• talk about it openly
• encourage experimentation

Why? Because employees don’t follow tools — they follow behaviour.

When leadership uses AI visibly, it creates:

• permission
• psychological safety
• strategic legitimacy

Without this, AI remains a side project instead of a business capability.

5. Organisations need to think beyond the prompt

AI maturity is not about better prompts — it’s about better systems. “Organisations need to think beyond the prompt.” – Alex Lieder

True AI Enablement means integrating AI into:

• workflows
• decision-making
• governance
• KPIs

This includes:

• data quality
• process design
• compliance
• change management

AI doesn’t replace structure — it amplifies it.

“Creating room for experiments, mindset development and providing learning opportunities for different levels of understanding and knowledge is what makes AI stick.” – Daniel Zinner

Final Thoughts: AI Enablement is a Business Capability

What the Zalando programme and this webinar made clear is this:

AI Enablement is not IT training. It is organisational capability building.

“We see enablement as a cultural shift. It’s not about replacing expertise with AI, but about giving people the confidence and skills to make AI work for them — responsibly, efficiently, and creatively.” – Alexia Schmolling

It requires:

• a playground
• leadership role models
• real business use cases
• and learning that goes beyond prompts

How PMA Academy Supports Your AI Enablement Journey

At PMA Academy, we help corporate functions turn AI from hype into real performance.

“Our PMA Academy motto ‘Enable rather than teach’ means that our participants don’t just listen — they do. In our AI Enablement in Procurement course, for example, we start by building a shared understanding of what AI and large language models actually are and then move into practical exercises.” – Alexia Schmolling

Our programmes are designed to:

• build confidence
• embed AI into daily workflows
• and create lasting organisational capability.

Whether in Procurement, Global Mobility, HR or Finance — AI Enablement is becoming a core professional skill.

Explore our upcoming AI Enablement courses or contact us for an in-house offer here. 

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