Abid Yousuf , Senior VP of Professional Services at Avetta
TECHNOLOGY
Abid Yousuf , Senior VP of Professional Services at Avetta
Abid Yousuf , offers key points for successful digital transformation
• A digital transformation initiative has to be rooted in the overall corporate objectives and should be aligned with stakeholder goals .
• Goals can include earnings improvement , cost management , asset reliability , improved quality , user experience , etc .
• Aligning with corporate objectives and stakeholder goals ensures higher adoption across the organisation , which results in higher ROI .
• Having a well-defined / documented purchase-to-pay process is a prerequisite to selecting the right technology partner .
• Clean master data and consistent taxonomy for spend categorisation are essential .
• A cross-functional team that includes representatives of the various stakeholder groups promotes early buy-in and part ownership of the initiative .
• Executive sponsorship is key .
• Depending on the maturity of the organisation ’ s capabilities , it ’ s best to take a phased approach starting with the highest priorities ( solve the most critical problems first ).
• A realistic and transparent assessment of legacy systems is important in order to avoid implementation and integration challenges .
• Cloud-based solutions provide faster ROI and can be easier to integrate if the appropriate API ’ s are available .
• Third-party integrators play a value add role if they know the technology , business process and have sector experience .
• Build in a mechanism to measure progress and promote continuous improvement .
• Prioritise dashboards and self-managed reporting over advanced analytics and automation since most organisations manage what they measure .
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