When a new system goes live, it has a unique way of shining a light on every weak spot in the process. In other words, the technology performs exactly as designed, which makes it impossible to ignore where work is stalling, where data is unreliable, and where handoffs were never clearly defined. Teams that expected life to get easier post-go live quickly find themselves creating workarounds just to manage day-to-day work, leaving little room for the strategic progress they were promised.
This pattern has been clear in many of our conversations:
"The systems are technically up and running, but we still have people doing the same manual workarounds. Nothing feels easier."
— Procurement Transformation Contact, Multinational Manufacturer
System owners share the frustration:
"Our adoption numbers look great, but in reality, people are just doing the minimum required steps in the tool and then taking the rest of the process offline. The reports make it look like things are working, but they are not."
— Procurement Systems Manager, Fortune 500 Retailer
The Hidden Problem: The Process Was Never Rebuilt
This isn’t an adoption issue; it’s a process issue. Most procurement workflows have been pieced together over time, with steps added whenever something went wrong and controls layered on top of one another without ever redesigning the full flow.
When technology locks those outdated steps into place, it amplifies the complexity and makes the pain points more visible.
If Your System Is Already Live
The most successful organizations use the post–go-live period as an opportunity to reset. They collect evidence of every workaround, side spreadsheet, and off-system request and use that data to re-map the workflow. They clarify ownership for each step and build approvals around roles (instead of individuals) so work doesn’t stop when someone is unavailable. They streamline unnecessary steps and make the preferred path the easiest path.
In one global implementation, an organization discovered that nearly half of requisitions were being manually rerouted because approval chains did not reflect real decision authority. By redesigning workflows and adjusting thresholds, they cut cycle times by more than 40% in a single quarter and saw measurable improvements in both adoption and stakeholder satisfaction.
If You're Preparing To Deploy
Leading organizations don’t wait until after go-live to think about process alignment. They use deployment as a chance to define how procurement, risk, and business stakeholders will work together from the start. That means clarifying thresholds for decision-making, aligning on documentation requirements, and setting turnaround expectations before the first transaction ever runs through the system. They design with “system-thinking” in mind, ensuring that the technology matches the way work really flows, not the way it looks on paper.
As Sheena Smith, SVP Growth at RiseNow, explains:
"When we talk about digital transformation, tech is a surprisingly small part of it. We have to rebuild the work itself, being hyper-critical about the ‘why’ of each step we’re considering systematizing or automating. Then you have to actually talk to your people and vet it out and try it in practice. At that point, the tech can come in and start to make processes sing."
Why This Matters
Technology accelerates whatever it’s given. If the process is unclear or overly complex, automation simply exposes those weaknesses faster. Redesigning the process so it is clear, scalable, and aligned with how work truly happens is what allows technology to deliver on its promise.
Next up in this series: why so many organizations say they want orchestration but still cannot agree on what intake should look like.
