The situation
A purchase order and an invoice move through one connection, with exceptions flagged automatically. The first pilots are live before the program is scaled.
All work
PlatformsDigital TransformationCX Ops
One path instead of a pile of portals
Replaced a pile of customer procurement portals and manual PO checks with a single integration path, starting with a small pilot before scale.
Figures are illustrative; client details anonymized. A 24-hour reply is a target, not a result.
- Organization
- A global industrial manufacturer
- Role
- CX and customer-operations lead
- Timeframe
- 2026 – Present
- Tools
- Punchout / procurement middleware, SFTP, ERP
What I found
Customer portals were being checked by hand, across several systems. Price, address, and entity errors showed up as delayed orders.
What was in the way
Each large customer brought its own procurement path. The operation adapted one inbox at a time. There was no standard onboarding pattern.
What I did
A middleware path, a revised short account list, one first partner then small batches, and a minimum success line before anyone talks about scale.
Why it mattered
Large industrial buyers bring their own procurement path. If the operation babysits each portal by hand, customers feel the delay and the team never has time for exceptions.
Summary
Staff were checking a long list of customer procurement portals by hand. The work was to choose one integration path, write a proof-of-concept rule, and define success as a short list of live connections — not a landscape diagram.
Context
This is a customer-experience problem that looks like an IT problem. CX stayed in the room so the first connection would actually be usable.
The program was deliberately sequenced: finish a pilot, then add the next group of accounts.
The problem
- Customer purchase orders and invoices were spread across many portals and manual checks.
- Price, address, and legal-entity errors showed up as delayed orders.
- There was no standard way to onboard the next trading partner.
The approach
- 01Chose a single integration path rather than a new custom connection per account.
- 02Wrote a proof-of-concept rule: a short list, one first partner, then small batches.
- 03If capacity was tight, finish one business unit before the next.
- 04Treated secure file transfer, catalog, and entity mapping as part of the operating work.
Illustrative figures
Figures are illustrative; client details anonymized. A 24-hour reply is a target, not a result.
Pilot scope
Illustrative
The first pilot runs on one integration path, not a new connection per account.
PO-to-confirmation cycle (pilot)
Illustrative
Purchase orders and confirmations move on that path instead of waiting on a manual check.
What exists
Pilot definition of done
What “live” means before the next group of accounts is added.
Onboarding pattern
First partner individually, then small batches.
Takeaways
- A pilot with a definition of done is more honest than a landscape diagram.
- Onboard the first partner carefully. The second through the fifth will go faster.
- This is a customer-experience problem that looks like an IT problem.
Bring a problem
Tell me where customers are waiting.
A short note is enough: what is breaking, what you have already tried, and what a good month would look like. If I am the wrong person, I will say so.