By Kate Jeter, Director of Field Marketing
Enterprise procurement teams live with fragmentation every day: multiple ERPs, separate tools for sourcing, contracting, and purchasing, and requestors forced to jump between systems just to get a single purchase over the line. The result is friction for users, duplicated data, and processes that bend around technology instead of the other way around.
In this edition of Inside the Implementation, two ORO implementation leaders, Janani Selvan and Shravani Naik, share what it takes to turn that complexity into something more connected, intuitive, and scalable. Across their work in industries ranging from pharma and life sciences to cybersecurity, engineering, and manufacturing, both have experienced the challenge of finding the right balance between keeping humans in the loop, and leveraging automation effectively.
That is one of the reasons Janani was drawn to ORO in the first place. “With the AI revolution that’s going on, we are more keen on humanising procurement,” she says. “Not putting them out of the loop, but just involving them wherever they are, only in times of need, while leveraging the AI and the technological advancements that we have.”
Shravani describes a similar mindset in her own work. “My expertise lies in designing and implementing end-to-end procurement workflows, encompassing strategic sourcing, contract lifecycle management, catalog-based purchasing through buying channels, and supplier management,” she explains. “Currently, I collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to streamline procurement operations, enhance process efficiency, and ensure alignment with organizational objectives and compliance requirements.”
For both Janani and Shravani, implementation often begins with the same reality: fragmented experiences spread across too many systems. Enterprise customers may have mature technology stacks, but from a user perspective the process can still feel disjointed, forcing employees to figure out where to go, what to enter, and how to track progress across multiple tools.
Janani saw this clearly in a major life sciences implementation, where users had to move across different systems to raise requests, follow up on tasks, or get a purchase order out the door. “All of these systems were siloed, and not talking to each other,” she says. “As a result, the user experience was highly fragmented and the purchasing process was extremely cumbersome for both the end users and the procurement team.”
Shravani describes a very similar pattern from one of her own projects. “The client wanted to simplify and unify their procurement processes, which were highly fragmented across sourcing, supplier onboarding, and purchase order creation,” she explains. “I led the implementation of buying channels across these workflows, helping restructure them into a single, holistic experience.”
That shared challenge led both consultants toward the same kind of solution: a unified intake experience powered by buying channels, guided workflows, and orchestration behind the scenes.
Instead of asking users to interpret a maze of systems and policies on their own, ORO creates one clear front door and routes requests intelligently based on what the user needs.
Janani describes this as a multi-layered approach. First, her team addressed channel complexity with AI-driven buying channel orchestration across more than 150 buying paths. Rather than expecting a requestor to choose from an overwhelming list of options, the system was designed to intelligently guide the users to the right buying channel based on their need; category of purchase, spend threshold, and more. All the users were required to do was enter their need in ‘plain text,’ and ORO then recommended the appropriate category, suppliers, and suitable buying channel, all within seconds.
“The first user problem is solved, which is identifying the right purchasing mode,” Janani says. From there, the focus shifts to making the intake experience of these buying processes smarter and lighter. “We don’t ask them irrelevant questions,” she explains. “We ask them only when it is required and also eliminate redundancy with respect to the data that they need. This is something that we can pick up from somewhere else that they have given already.”
Shravani reinforces that same emphasis on guided simplicity. “We designed a unified intake and configured ORO to connect sourcing, contracting, and purchasing with integrated ERP systems,” she says. “This eliminated the need for users to navigate multiple processes — everything was routed through one guided workflow.”
She also points to what makes that experience materially different from more traditional procurement solutions: “What stood out was the use of intelligent routing and end-to-end orchestration, enabling a seamless, user-friendly experience that wouldn't be possible in traditional, siloed procurement systems.”
Together, their examples show that ORO’s differentiation is not just automation for automation’s sake. It is the ability to combine intelligent intake, orchestration, and system connectivity into one experience that feels simple to the user, even when the underlying environment is anything but simple.
Another common theme shared by Janani and Shravni is that the best implementations are co-created, not handed over as fixed requirements. Janani describes early implementation as an active design exercise where clients and consultants work together to define not just what exists today, but what the future should look like.
“Most of the customers that I've worked with have come with a co-working and a co-creation spirit,” she says. “Clients will say, ‘This is what our current state looks like, these are the challenges and pain points we have. This is what we would like to achieve in the future,’ asking us for our expertise and recommendations.
Shravani articulates a similar philosophy in more formal terms. “During the initial stages of any implementation, clients are typically focused on establishing a streamlined, efficient, and user-friendly procurement workflow that aligns closely with their organizational vision and strategic objectives,” she says. “To ensure alignment, I begin by conducting a thorough assessment of their existing processes, business practices, and key pain points.”
That consultative layer matters because transformation is rarely about simply replicating the current state in a new platform. “My approach is to strike a balance between standardization and customization,” Shravani says, “delivering solutions that not only meet the client's functional requirements but also drive process optimization, scalability, and long-term value.”
The first 30, 60, and 90 days are especially important in helping clients see that future state coming to life. For Janani, that often means working through ideas collaboratively, iterating with client stakeholders, and using clear communication and visual thinking to align everyone around the same end goal.
“It’s essential to communicate clearly to ensure alignment on the future-state vision. Equally important is approaching problems creatively while solving them in a simple and practical manner,” she says. “I strongly believe in fostering visually engaging, open conversations with customers to work through ideas consistently and to perfect them. Demonstrating tangible progress through actions is critical to building alignment, strengthening relationships, and maintaining momentum.”
For Shravani, early momentum often comes from delivering guided experiences quickly enough that users can feel the difference. “In the first 30-60-90 days, I focused on designing streamlined buying channel routes with agentic AI across key modules such as purchase orders, catalogs, sourcing, and contracting, aligned with the client's goal of simplifying procurement,” she says. “These workflows reduced clicks and enhanced user experience.”
That immediate usability is part of what makes the broader transformation believable. As Shravani puts it, “By delivering these early, the client was able to clearly visualize the full potential of ORO, seeing how it could drive efficiency, standardization, and a seamless end-to-end procurement process.”
A larger theme identified is that ORO is not simply improving isolated procurement steps; it is changing how procurement operates across the enterprise. Janani frames that change around balance: using AI and automation to remove friction while keeping the right people involved at the right time. “ORO is driving meaningful impact in procurement operations through intelligent workflows powered by advanced AI agents. Keeping humans in the loop where required redefines the agentic procurement experience ensuring a human touch,” she notes.
Shravani expands that into a broader operating model. “ORO transforms procurement into a connected, experience-driven function rather than disconnected processes,” she says. “It enables a unified workflow across sourcing, supplier onboarding, contracting, and purchasing through buying channels and guided intake.”
She also points to the operational impact of that model: “With strong orchestration and seamless integration across multiple ERP systems and platforms, it ensures end-to-end visibility and consistency.” The result, she says, is not only better efficiency, but stronger adoption and long-term scalability.
Taken together, Janani and Shravani show that implementation is not just about deploying software. At its best, it is about reimagining procurement as a human-centric, orchestrated experience, one that hides complexity, connects fragmented processes, and gives organizations a more strategic foundation for the future.
Want to learn more about how ORO can transform procurement at your organization? Book a demo with one of our experts.