The inaugural AP Honors Ceremony celebrated the accounts payable profession and recognized excellence in the field. During the ceremony, Ardent Partners presented awards for outstanding performance and execution in the last year — “The AP Honors” — to a variety of high achievers including Accounts Payable and P2P leaders and teams, as well as ePayables (AP Automation) solution providers and other experts.
Let’s look at the AP Leadership Award (AP Manager of the Year) Award winner.
The AP Leadership Award (AP Manager of the Year): This award is presented to the AP leader who has driven new performance heights due to their direct involvement, leadership, and overall exceptional managerial achievements.
Winner: Hemangi Kambli, Joint General Manager – Finance & Accounts for Larsen & Toubro Limited [L&T Energy-Hydrocarbon]
Company: Headquartered in Mumbai, Larsen & Toubro is an Indian multinational engaged in EPC Projects, Hi-Tech Manufacturing, and Services. It operates in over 50 countries worldwide. A strong, customer-focused approach and the constant quest for top-class quality have enabled L&T to attain and sustain leadership in its major lines of business for over eight decades.
The Company’s manufacturing footprint extends across eight countries in addition to India. L&T has several international offices and a supply chain that extends around the globe. The business is structured into the following verticals/business units:
- Onshore
- Offshore
- Construction Services
- Modular Fabrication
- AdVENT (Advanced Value Engineering & Technology)
- Asset Management.
Employees: Employees as stated in the 2022-23 annual report: 55,000+.
Global Operations: Global operations include multiple geographies such as India, the Middle East, Africa, Caspian Sea, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the North Sea. The company has delivered Offshore projects to reputed international companies like ONGC, Saudi Aramco, GSPC, British Gas, Songas, Qatar Petroleum, ADMA-OPCO, GASCO, PTTEP, Petronas Carigalli, Shell, MODEC, Technip, Maersk Oil and Bunduq.
Group Website: L&T India | Larsen & Toubro
*All data given above is based on publicly available information.
Embarking on a Transformative Journey
When the pandemic struck in 2020, L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Limited initiated an accounts payable and procure-to-pay transformation — one that would ensure business functionality and future competitiveness. To lead this strategic initiative, the company looked to Hemangi Kambli, who (at the time) took the reins as head of accounts payable for the L&T Hydrocarbon division to execute a transformation complete with automation and process innovation. With 29 years of serving Larsen & Toubro Limited in a variety of leadership roles, Kambli embraced this next stage of her journey at the company.
She says her mandate was to tackle the challenge of streamlining the procure-to-pay (P2P) process, offering business solutions, and modernizing legacy AP procedures to ensure the seamless functioning of business.
“This transformation in the P2P process was deemed essential to align with the company’s overarching philosophy, emphasizing on-time delivery, cost competitiveness, adherence to high-quality standards, and a focus on robust automation,” Kambli says.
“With the unwavering support of management, the supply chain management (SCM) team, and the SAP-IT team, we embarked on a methodical journey of transformation, implementing changes step by step.”
Overcoming Challenges With Transformation
Before the pandemic, the majority of L&T’s P2P processes were manual. Following a six-month lockdown in India and globally, vendor payments were severely delayed. Kambli says vendors were actively pursuing overdue payments, and teams working from various locations were grappling with the challenge of managing invoices received via email. As the lockdown lifted, the dual challenge of processing both backlog and current invoices became apparent — necessitating a transformation.
The path towards automation and process efficiency was not devoid of challenges. Kambli says the transition from manual processes to a tech-driven ecosystem faced resistance, necessitating extensive collaboration with both internal business units and apprehensive suppliers.
However, through methodical steps and strategic engagement, significant automation was achieved. Leveraging tools like Ariba for vendor interface, deploying bots to validate digitally signed invoices to eliminate paper copies, and consolidating AP operations into two shared service centers were instrumental in streamlining processes and ensuring transparency.
“We achieved faster turnaround times with enhanced efficiencies around digital tracking of vendor bank guarantees (BGs) as well as receiving physical copies thereof with minimal change of hands,” Kambli says.
“And by consolidating all AP operations of the organization (across 20+ geographically separated project sites and numerous capability centers) within two shared services centers, it delivered significant productivity gains.”
Success Factors and Future Vision
The execution of this transformation was fortified by collaboration with procurement, inclusive stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, rigorous timelines, stakeholder empowerment through training, and a systematic, professional approach. The dedication to post-implementation support ensured a seamless transition and ongoing assistance.
Looking ahead, the company’s philosophy around AP emphasizes innovation, automation, and digitalization to ensure timely vendor payments in a globally dispersed landscape. The vision for the next five years sees AP evolving into a strategic hub driving cash-flow management, embracing AI and machine learning, and actively contributing to decision-making through analytics and forecasting.
“AI-powered AP automation solutions are on the horizon, promising a transformative impact. As a result, the AP landscape is poised to witness full automation, incorporating advanced features like three-way matching,” Kambli notes.
“This paradigm shift underscores a future where AP transcends its traditional role, becoming a strategic hub for business operations and empowers the AP team to contribute proactively to decision-making, paving the way for enhanced organizational efficiency and resilience.”
Sidebar
Delivering Excellence Through Transformation
The decision to pursue digitization must be approached methodically from various aspects. Technology implementation is only one aspect of a digital transformation. Hemangi Kambli, joint general manager – finance & accounts for Larsen & Toubro Limited [L&T Energy-Hydrocarbon], led an award-winning AP and P2P transformative initiative with significant results for her company.
She details the major success factors in the execution of the transformative strategy for L&T Limited.
1) Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement – Comprehensive joint meetings were conducted involving all stakeholders, ensuring regular and timely updates were provided.
2) Strategic Planning. Concrete action plans and process roadmaps were devised to guide the implementation process.
3) Rigorous Timelines. Clear timelines were established before implementation, and diligently tracked throughout the process to ensure milestones were met.
4) Step-by-Step Approach. A methodical step-by-step approach was adopted, executing developments in a phased manner. Each phase’s completion marked a transition to the subsequent step.
5) Stakeholder Empowerment. Extensive support for all stakeholders was ensured through training sessions, the creation and distribution of user manuals, and informative recordings.
6) Systematic and Professional Approach. The entire process was characterized by a systematic and professional approach, emphasizing precision and efficiency.
7) Post-Implementation Support. Commitment to dedicated support after implementation, ensuring a seamless transition and ongoing assistance for stakeholders.
