UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
“ We are utilising techniques that private equity firms might use for optimising their portfolio companies ”
DAVID CHO CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR , UMASS
Technology adoption and an overarching digital transformation have been crucial to UPST ’ s results . The organisation leverages tools like Jaggaer for daily procurement activities , Salesforce for case management , and Tableau for business intelligence , among others . But in Cho ’ s mind , technology alone will only get you so far . More important is to prioritise , harmonise , and modernise policies and targets , upgrade procedures and processes to align with the policies , and ensure the team has the core competencies to operate within them .
“ When you have all those pieces together , the rollout of technology enablement becomes much more elegant , and it gets you to the outcomes and the output that you ' re looking for ,” Cho says , pointing to ensuring applications are uniform across both desktop and mobile devices to enable flexible work , as an example . “ The more important thing is being able to leverage your suppliers ’ technologies , as well . We can ' t be
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