Vidhya D. Kulkarni

CIO Budgeting & Financial Management

• Led annual and multi-year CIO budgeting for OpEx and CapEx portfolios.
• Managed budget planning, forecasting, and variance analysis for IT spend.
• Partnered with Finance and IT leadership to align budgets with strategic priorities.
• Monitored budget vs. actuals and implemented cost control measures.
• Developed executive dashboards and financial reports for CIO leadership.
• Ensured compliance with corporate finance policies and audit requirements.

PR-to-Invoice (P2I) / Procure-to-Pay Governance

• Owned end-to-end PR-to-Invoice (P2I) process for IT procurement and services.
• Standardized purchase request, approval, PO, goods receipt, and invoice workflows.
• Coordinated with Procurement, Finance/AP, and vendors to resolve invoice discrepancies.
• Reduced P2I cycle time and improved first-pass invoice accuracy.
• Ensured timely accruals, financial close, and accurate cost allocation.
• Drove P2I process automation using ERP and procurement systems.

IT Contract Governance & Vendor Management

• Established and managed IT contract governance frameworks and controls.
• Tracked contract spend, renewals, milestones, and compliance obligations.
• Monitored vendor performance against SLAs, KPIs, and commercial terms.
• Partnered with Legal and Procurement on contract negotiations and renewals.
• Mitigated financial, commercial, and compliance risks across IT contracts.
• Maintained audit-ready contract and vendor documentation.

Cost Optimization & Value Realization

• Led IT cost optimization initiatives across infrastructure, applications, and services.
• Conducted spend analysis to identify cost reduction and efficiency opportunities.
• Drove vendor rationalization, contract renegotiation, and license optimization.
• Implemented demand management and service right-sizing initiatives.
• Developed business cases and tracked realized vs. planned cost savings.
• Embedded sustainable cost savings into future budgets and forecasts.

Program & Stakeholder Management

• Managed cross-functional programs involving IT, Finance, Procurement, and Legal.
• Developed program plans, timelines, risk registers, and dependency tracking.
• Presented program status, financial impacts, and risks to senior leadership.
• Facilitated governance forums and executive steering committees.

Controls, Compliance & Reporting

• Implemented financial and contractual controls aligned with corporate governance.
• Supported internal and external audits with accurate documentation and reporting.
• Maintained SOPs, process documentation, and governance playbooks.
• Delivered regular executive reporting on IT spend, contracts, and savings.

• Led procurement strategy resulting in a 10% decrease in procurement costs
• Served as procurement subject matter expert and managed supplier relationships
• Developed and maintained procurement policies in accordance with regulations
• Collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to ensure procurement goals were met
• Manage overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of procurement for the facility
• Implement procurement strategies to maintain security of supply and optimum value for money
• Perform all procurement and contracting activities including pre-qualification, tender management, negotiation, and preparation of contracts
• Set policy and guidelines for delivering commercial and cost-effective procuring process for the business
• Develop key relationships with business stakeholders and strategic supply partners to improve business
• Implement change and develop new processes to better procure goods and services
• Negotiate contracts with suppliers to obtain best price and service
• Identify cost reduction opportunities to achieve financial goals
• Analyze market and delivery trends to develop procurement technologies and processes that support those trends
• Identify areas for improvement to continually drive performance and business results
• Conduct business review meetings with key stakeholders to assess risk, review future strategies, and identify potential cost down and improvement opportunities
• Review current processes for procurement and make recommendations where appropriate
• Provide periodic reporting for management on purchasing, controls, and processes.
• Researched and evaluated new and current vendors to determine suitability of products and contract and pricing negotiations.
• Utilized procurement tools to manage quote process, invoicing, order entry and receiving.
• Negotiate contracts with vendors, securing best prices and terms for materials, equipment and services.
• Maintained effective and lasting vendor relationships through dynamic communication, collaboration, and intelligent questioning skills.

• Implemented new procurement processes resulting in a 15% increase in efficiency
• Drive discussions on different engagement models enabling support for IT projects
• Liaise with stakeholders, business & vendor for execution of professional contracts
• Ensure that the contracts raised in the contract management tool are drafted in accordance with the norms laid down for the strategic vendors
• Review of all contracts, raised in the contract management tool
• Provide feedback and ensure that the required updates are made before approving and cascade it to the next level of approvers
• Ensure the non-strategic vendor contracts have the required information
• Co-ordinate with approvers to ensure that the contracts are approved within the deadlines
• Facilitate data analysis for weekly reporting of contract status dashboard
• Accruals monitoring & management for Business/Stakeholders.

• Work as Strategic sourcing and the operations purchasing teams to streamline and improve sourcing processes
• Track forecasted vs actual savings for the IT Category and be responsible for communicating performance against these measures and their potential budgetary impact
• Develop and implement commodity strategies and establish and maintain strategic relationships with suppliers to ensure successful implementation and support
• Work with business unit leadership to monitor contract compliance
• Manage supplier development/relationships to ensure continuity of good and services that meet the quality, service and price performance standards of the company
• Develop negotiations strategies and drive negotiations to achieve stated goals and objectives
• Drive improvement of procurement efficiency and effectiveness
• Remain current with market trends through relationships with suppliers and market experts; identify and communicate new technologies and solutions to key problems in the assigned spend areas.

• Responsible for managing end-to-end Procurement Process covering the following areas: procurement planning, category management, procurement analytics, purchasing & expediting and P2P, Source-to-Pay, Accounts Payable
• Analyzing the marketplace to find the broadest set of capable suppliers globally who provide the best product cost, quality and delivery objectives - insuring maximum bottom-line impact
• Negotiating with suppliers in terms of New contracts and working on the agreements
• Creation of contract – SOW, MSA, Change Order, etc.) as and when required per requirement Review contracts and update required details – Payment terms, service start & end, effective date) on PO before issuing to suppliers
• Completing Purchase Order forms and issuing Purchase Orders in accordance with applicable Client Purchasing Policies and Procedures
• Assisting in the development of procurement reporting metrics, e.g
• Open PO reports, PO closures, database clean up, etc
• Coordinating with the Client, On-shore team, and internal teams on process and other issues Attending Process and Operations calls, both internal and external Training of new joiners and provide floor support and manage the team Gave various ideas / suggestions related to Client Value Creation thereby reducing overhead costs
• Design and implement methods to improve procurement data collection and analysis and a reporting framework monitoring the deliverables within each procurement category
• Did spend analysis to identify areas of opportunity for VBR – Volume base rebate) where more effective and improved procurement can provide greater value to the business
• Did saving up to 5%.

• Maintaining records and databases containing information regarding licenses, warranties, and service agreements for the organization's hardware and software
• Minimizing organizational cost through product standardization and tracking
• Tracks quality throughout the product lifetime
• Managed Asset Inventory and performing asset verification and timely audit to ensure asset maintenance
• Responsible for managing Data Center and IT operations, in addition to capital budget preparation and oversight
• Managing sourcing through identification of cost effective vendors / suppliers for procurement with an aim of reducing cost while improving quality and reliability.

• Worked as Admin Assistant
• Manage all procurement and admin related tasks.