Sarat Sasikumar

Nine programs, and what changed because of them

From AI in manufacturing to Medicaid systems. Client details are limited to what is public or already on my resume.

A GenAI insight tool for plant and supply chain leaders

The situation
Plant and supply chain leaders had no real-time view of downtime, and delivery practices differed across a dozen data and AI programs.
What I did
Owned delivery of a GenAI chatbot and insight tool on Python, Streamlit and Azure AI with LLM and RAG, validated directly with business sponsors. Built the EPMO with templates, KPIs and Definition of Ready and Done, moved 12+ Waterfall programs to Agile, and took programs through the Technical Architecture Board.
The result
USD 5M in annual savings credited to the tool. Delivery predictability up about 30 percent and critical-path escalation about 50 percent faster.
  • Azure AI
  • LLM and RAG
  • Python
  • Streamlit
  • Snowflake
  • Power BI

Procurement forecasting and supplier analytics

The situation
Buyers did their cost analysis by hand, and tariff exposure on parts sourced from Mexico and Canada was hard to see.
What I did
Delivered procurement forecasting and automation on Snowflake, SAP, Python and AWS pipelines, ML models on warranty and supplier data, and tariff and duty costs fed into total delivered cost forecasting.
The result
More than 15,000 buyer hours returned, warranty claims down 10 to 15 percent across global suppliers, and USD 5M to 6M in cost optimization opportunities surfaced.
  • Snowflake
  • SAP
  • AWS
  • Machine learning
  • Power BI
  • Tableau

Purchase orders read by AI and posted into JD Edwards

The situation
Purchase orders arrived by email and staff keyed every one into the ERP by hand.
What I did
Led the proof of concept and own the roadmap through architecture governance. Ran discovery with stakeholders, stood up governance and a 9-week milestone plan, managed multiple vendors through SOWs and change orders, and secured security review and Technical Architecture Board approval. Also lead an AI and RAG platform build.
The result
About 20,000 purchase orders a year, roughly 80 every working day, move from manual keying to AI extraction straight into JD Edwards.
  • Azure AI
  • Azure Blob Storage
  • JD Edwards
  • Okta SSO
  • Jira

Recovering inventory lost between systems

The situation
Disconnected order, warehouse and store systems had produced USD 40M in inventory discrepancies across stores and distribution centers.
What I did
Led root cause analysis and SQL-based reconciliation with store operations, merchandising and finance. Built a three-phase stabilization and test program with phase-gate criteria, prioritized fixes by dollar impact, and standardized data definitions across IBM Sterling OMS, Manhattan WMS and NCR POS.
The result
The full USD 40M recovered, with the data platform then modernized from Teradata to Snowflake.
  • IBM Sterling OMS
  • Manhattan WMS
  • NCR POS
  • SAP FICO
  • Snowflake

Buy now, pay later at every checkout

The situation
The retailer wanted Klarna in online checkout and store POS, across several countries and currencies.
What I did
Led the integration across IBM Sterling OMS, NCR POS and global ecommerce. Managed vendor onboarding, planned a phased rollout starting in the US, led QA and UAT including multi-currency reconciliation, and brought legal and compliance into release governance.
The result
Launched in the US and then in international waves, contributing to a USD 19M revenue increase that year.
  • Klarna
  • IBM Sterling OMS
  • NCR POS
  • REST APIs
  • Kubernetes

One warehouse platform serving more than 200 clients

The situation
A shared multi-client platform faced constant change requests, tight deadlines and a fixed budget.
What I did
Ran 8 delivery pods as Scrum Master and Release Train Engineer, set up CAB governance and ServiceNow change control, built a consolidated release calendar, and onboarded each client on Korber HighJump WMS.
The result
Deployment incidents and production defects each down about 30 percent, and delivery predictability up 20 to 30 percent.
  • Korber HighJump WMS
  • ServiceNow
  • TMS
  • SAFe

Medicaid and integrated eligibility systems

The situation
The state MMIS and eligibility systems serve five benefit programs under CMS rules.
What I did
Built the multi-year roadmap and WBS for MMIS, Integrated Eligibility, SailPoint IAM and ServiceNow portals, produced CMS-compliant requirements, supported RFI, RFQ and RFP procurement, and ran testing and data mapping for member, claim and payment data.
The result
Integration and data defects down about 35 percent.
  • MMIS
  • Integrated Eligibility
  • SailPoint IAM
  • ServiceNow
  • CMS compliance

An ERP upgrade and eight programs under one plan

The situation
More than eight enterprise programs, including a legacy ERP to SAP upgrade, were running in parallel with separate plans.
What I did
Ran them under one integrated program plan with a consolidated RAID log, delivered a SureCloud third-party risk platform, and migrated 25 legacy reporting systems to Power BI for more than 190 users.
The result
About USD 800K saved in licensing (about USD 1M across the full cloud analytics migration), with zero critical defects after launch.
  • SAP
  • Power BI
  • SureCloud TPRM
  • iCIMS
  • Conga

Global delivery for banking, retail and an airline

The situation
More than 10 global programs ran with onshore and offshore teams in the US, Ireland and India.
What I did
Owned full lifecycle delivery as the single point of contact for status, risk and escalation, led the move from Waterfall to Agile, and built Testing Centers of Excellence for three clients.
The result
Six client projects raised from CMMI Level 3 to Level 5, supporting contract renewals and expanded scope.
  • Loan origination
  • IBM ESB
  • Oracle EDW
  • HP UFT

Hiring for a senior program or AI delivery role?

I'm open to Senior TPM, Program Director, Delivery Head and AI program leadership roles. Remote, hybrid in Columbus, or relocation for the right role.