Episode 039: Finding Success During Implementation and Adoption with Sumeet Kulshrestha

SAP Delivery VP Sumeet Kulshrestha shares valuable lessons on what derails procurement implementations and how to course-correct before, during, and after go-live.

Guest: Sumeet Kulshrestha – Delivery Vice President, SAP Customer Services & Delivery Host: Erik Derenne – Director, Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Sarah Nelson – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Jon Williams – Director, Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend

Why do so many procurement implementations fail to deliver on their promised value? Is change management just a matter of issuing a policy and expecting compliance? What happens when procurement moves forward without considering the impact on finance, AP, and HR? And if your go-live is behind you but results still haven't followed, is it too late to course-correct?

Our guest today, Sumeet Kulshrestha, found his way into the procurement world through Ariba's acquisition of Softface and has spent over twenty years sitting across the table from customers in crisis, building the frameworks that get organizations back on track. As Delivery VP for SAP Customer Services and Delivery, he leads the teams called in precisely when something feels off.

Sumeet is direct that the most expensive thing a customer can do is buy a solution and not use it. Before a single workshop is scheduled, he urges organizations to recognize that procurement touches far more of the business than most expect, including finance, AP, and HR. Customers who overlook those connections often find something broken the moment they go live. His prescription is to bring all affected stakeholders in early and establish a governance structure with a committee that has real authority and the mandate to make decisions and keep things moving.

Sumeet advocates for fit-to-standard processes as the default, noting that most procurement activity does not represent true competitive differentiation. Even where configuration makes sense, customization done for the right reasons can drive broader innovation: one of Ariba's most widely adopted features, invoicing against a contract, started as a customer customization that product engineers later standardized. The key is distinguishing configurations that solve a real strategic problem from those that simply digitize an old process. For organizations nervous about adoption, a phased rollout can help. Start with receptive users, build proof points, then bring along the holdouts.

Perhaps Sumeet's most counterintuitive insight is that ninety-five percent or more of the problems he sees occur after go-live, not before. Go-live is not the destination; it is where the real work begins. For organizations not getting expected value, his advice is simple: contact your account executive or CSM, request a health check, and work through SAP's three-step process of assess, stabilize, and optimize. Sumeet acknowledges that AI inevitable, but it’s not a replacement for people. The three-legged stool of people, process, and technology will not lose a leg; it will gain a fourth, preserving the human judgment that makes procurement matter.

So, let’s dive in, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. I am your host Erik Derenne, and you’re listening to The Future of Procurement Podcast.

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