AI Automation / n8n Developer – Procurement Automation Project

I am exploring the development of an AI-powered solution for procurement process automation and I am currently looking for an experienced AI automation developer to discuss the technical feasibility and possible architecture of an initial MVP. At this stage, I am not looking for someone to immediately build the entire product. I would first like to have a short 20–30 minute technical discovery call with experienced developers to understand how they would approach the project from a technical perspective. The solution will involve AI-powered automation of different procurement activities, potentially including areas such as: - supplier discovery - sourcing / RFQ processes - supplier communication - quotation and document processing - price comparison - supplier evaluation - savings analysis - procurement reporting The exact workflow and requirements will be discussed during the call. What I would like to discuss During the call, I would like to understand: 1. How would you architect an AI procurement automation MVP? 2. Would you use n8n, custom code, or a combination of both? 3. Which LLMs/APIs would you recommend? 4. How would you handle PDF, Excel and other procurement documents? 5. How would you approach external data/API integrations? 6. What type of database/backend would you recommend? 7. Which parts should be automated and which should remain human-in-the-loop? 8. What would you build first to validate the concept? 9. What would you avoid building at the beginning? 10. What do you consider the technically most challenging parts? After the discussion, I would also be interested in receiving your rough estimate of timeline and cost for developing an initial functional MVP. Ideal profile I am looking for someone with experience in: - n8n - AI automation - OpenAI / Claude APIs / Claude code - AI agents and LLM workflows - REST APIs / webhooks - structured data / JSON - PDF and Excel processing - databases - basic backend development - Experience with procurement, sourcing or supply chain is a strong plus, but not mandatory. I am particularly interested in someone who can think through the architecture and challenge assumptions, rather than simply execute instructions.