How to Design and Run a Successful Pilot Program for Procurement Automation
How to Design and Run a Successful Pilot Program for Procurement Automation
Adopting new procurement automation software is a significant investment, promising to streamline workflows, control costs, and eliminate manual tasks. But for finance and operations leaders, the transition can feel daunting. How can you be sure the platform will deliver on its promises and that your team will embrace it? The answer is a well-designed procurement pilot program.
A pilot program allows you to test drive procurement and finance automation in a controlled, low-risk environment. It’s a strategic way to validate a platform’s impact on a small scale, gather invaluable feedback, and build a rock-solid business case before committing to a company-wide rollout. This guide provides a comprehensive framework for designing, executing, and measuring the success of your pilot program.
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What is a procurement pilot program?
A procurement pilot program is a small-scale, controlled test of new procurement software with a select group of users. Its purpose is to evaluate the platform's functionality, ease of use, impact on key performance indicators (KPIs), and overall fit for your organization before a full implementation. Think of it as a proof of concept that uses real-world scenarios to confirm the software's value.
Unlike a full rollout, a pilot is time-bound and focused on specific, measurable objectives. It isn’t just about checking if features work; it’s about validating that the new system solves the specific pain points you’re trying to address, whether that’s rogue spending, slow approvals, or a lack of spend visibility.
The Procurement Strategy Playbook for Modern Businesses
Learn the key pillars of a strong strategy, valuable procurement metrics to track, and initiatives you can start implementing today.
The key benefits of running a procurement software pilot test
The primary benefits of running a procurement software pilot testing program include validating ROI with real data, mitigating implementation risks, securing user buy-in, and gathering practical feedback for a smoother company-wide launch. A pilot program moves the conversation from hypothetical benefits to tangible results.
Validate ROI and build the business case
A successful pilot provides concrete data to prove the software's value. Instead of relying on vendor estimates, you can go to stakeholders with hard numbers from your own operations. For example, you can demonstrate exactly how many hours your team saved on manual data entry or the percentage of cost savings achieved through better sourcing. This data-driven approach makes securing budget and executive approval for a full rollout straightforward.
Minimize risk and identify challenges early
Every organization has unique workflows and technical environments. A pilot program acts as an early warning system, uncovering potential integration issues, process gaps, or training needs in a low-stakes setting. It’s far easier and less disruptive to solve a workflow problem for a team of 10 than for a team of 1,000. Staying proactive ensures a much smoother and more predictable full implementation.
Secure user buy-in and create internal champions
Change management is one of the biggest hurdles in adopting new technology. A pilot program addresses this head-on by involving employees from the start. When users participate in the selection and testing process, they feel a sense of ownership and are more likely to embrace the new system. These early adopters become your most powerful advocates—internal champions who can help train their peers and build positive momentum for the full launch.
Refine the implementation and training strategy
The feedback you gather during a pilot is pure gold. You’ll learn which features are most valuable to your team, where they get stuck, and what questions they have. This insight allows you to tailor your training materials and rollout plan to your company’s specific needs, ensuring the broader team can get up to speed quickly and efficiently.
How to build a successful procurement pilot plan
A successful procurement pilot program is built on a clear, structured plan. This plan should outline your goals, participants, testing environment, and success metrics. By breaking the process down into phases, you can ensure your pilot is focused, manageable, and produces actionable insights.
A successful pilot plan is a small-scale trial that validates your new system in a real-world environment. It involves selecting a representative user group, defining clear test objectives, and measuring specific KPIs to confirm the platform’s effectiveness and ease of use before a company-wide launch.
Phase 1: Define the pilot scope and objectives
Your pilot should be designed to answer specific questions. Are you trying to prove that the new system reduces approval times? Or that it successfully prevents out-of-policy purchases? Set clear, measurable goals to focus your efforts and define what success looks like.
Examples of pilot objectives:
- Achieve a 95% user satisfaction rate among the pilot group.
- Reduce the average time from requisition to approval by 3 days.
- Ensure 100% of pilot purchases are correctly coded to the proper GL account.
- Confirm that all test invoice data syncs accurately to the ERP.
- Reduce the number of invoices processed for pilot vendors by 80% through consolidated billing.
Phase 2: Select the right pilot group and vendors
Choose a pilot group that represents a cross-section of your organization. This should include users from a specific department or location who make frequent purchases. Be sure to select a mix of employees, including some who are tech-savvy and some who may be more resistant to change. Their feedback will be invaluable for creating a training plan that addresses everyone’s needs. This group will become your internal experts and advocates during the full rollout.
Alongside your user group, select a small number of strategic or high-volume vendors to include in the pilot. This allows you to test key vendor management and purchasing workflows without the complexity of onboarding your entire supplier base at once.
The Procurement Strategy Playbook for Modern Businesses
Learn the key pillars of a strong strategy, valuable procurement metrics to track, and initiatives you can start implementing today.
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Phase 3: Configure the pilot environment
Work with your provider to create a controlled environment for the pilot group. This is where a platform like Order.co shines. Instead of trying to onboard all your vendors at once or manage clunky punchouts, you can build a curated catalog that centralizes products from all your vendors in one place. This simplifies the initial user experience and ensures your team can find what they need quickly, building confidence and positive momentum from the start.
In this phase, you should also configure pilot-specific approval workflows, budget limits, and user permissions. This allows you to test the platform’s spend control capabilities and ensure it can support your company's policies.
Phase 4: Establish a communication and training plan
Clear communication is crucial for a successful pilot. Schedule a kickoff meeting to explain the pilot’s goals, timeline, and what you expect from participants. Provide concise, targeted training that focuses on the specific workflows they will be testing.
Establish a clear channel for feedback, whether it’s a dedicated Slack channel, regular office hours, or weekly check-in meetings. Let your pilot users know their input is valued and that they have a direct line for support if they encounter any issues.
How to run your procurement pilot plan effectively
Once your plan is in place, the execution phase begins. Running an effective procurement management pilot plan involves actively engaging with your pilot group, systematically collecting data, and remaining flexible enough to make adjustments along the way.
Execute the pilot and provide support
On day one, ensure all pilot users can log in and have the resources they need to get started. Designate a project lead as the go-to person for any questions or troubleshooting. A frustrating initial experience can derail a pilot, so responsive support is critical.
This is also a chance to test your software provider’s support model. With Order.co, businesses never have to chase vendors for order mistakes, returns, or refunds. Its support team resolves issues on your behalf, a key benefit that your pilot program can validate and quantify in terms of time saved.
Gather feedback and measure against KPIs
Throughout the pilot, schedule regular check-ins with your user group to gather qualitative feedback. Use short surveys or informal interviews to ask about their experience: Was the platform intuitive? Did it save them time? What could be improved? This feedback helps you understand the user experience beyond the numbers.
Simultaneously, track the quantitative KPIs you defined in the first phase. Use the platform's analytics to monitor metrics related to the procure-to-pay (P2P) process, like order cycle time, budget adherence, and savings identified. This data will provide concrete evidence of the platform's ROI.
Analyze the results and make data-driven decisions
At the end of the pilot period, compile and analyze both the qualitative and quantitative data. Compare your results against the baseline metrics you established before the pilot. Did you meet your objectives?
Create a summary report that highlights key findings, user testimonials, and measured ROI. This report will form the foundation of your business case and guide your decision on whether to proceed with a full rollout, extend the pilot with a larger group, or make adjustments to the configuration.
From pilot to production: Scaling your procurement automation
A successful pilot is the perfect launchpad for a full-scale implementation. The data, feedback, and champions you’ve cultivated will make the company-wide transition smoother, faster, and more successful.
Scaling from a successful pilot to full production involves creating a final business case with pilot data, developing a phased rollout plan, and leveraging pilot participants as champions to train their peers. Start by presenting your pilot report to stakeholders to secure final approval and budget. Use the powerful, data-backed story you’ve created to align everyone on the value of procurement automation.
Next, use the lessons learned from the pilot to design a phased rollout strategy. Instead of a "big bang" launch, consider rolling out the platform department by department or location by location. This method minimizes disruption and allows you to provide focused training and support to each new group of users.
Finally, empower your pilot participants to act as ambassadors and trainers, helping their colleagues get comfortable with the new system.
Simplify your pilot program with Order.co
Running a procurement pilot program is the most effective way to de-risk your investment in automation and ensure a successful implementation. A platform designed for simplicity and control can make the pilot process itself easier and more impactful.
Order.co is uniquely built to support a streamlined pilot and a scalable rollout:
- Unified catalog: Quickly build a curated marketplace for your pilot group without needing to manage multiple vendors or punchouts.
- Automated workflows: Easily configure and test multi-level approval chains and budget controls to ensure policy compliance from day one.
- Consolidated billing: Your pilot team can order from dozens of vendors, but your finance team receives just one weekly or monthly consolidated invoice, immediately demonstrating the platform’s power to simplify AP.
- Real-time analytics: Order.co’s intuitive reporting dashboards make it easy to track your pilot KPIs and measure ROI, giving you the data you need to build a compelling business case.
With a strategic approach, you can move forward with confidence, knowing you’ve chosen a solution that will deliver real, measurable value to your organization.
Ready to see how an automation platform can transform your procurement process? Schedule a demo to see how Order.co can simplify buying for your business.
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