How Prasanna Kumar Reddy Gurijala is Transforming Global Supply Chains: From Chaos to Clarity

When I talk to supply-chain managers, the same complaint comes up again and again. Their data sits in too many places. One team works in one program, another team uses a different spreadsheet, and no one sees the full picture until something goes wrong. Orders arrive late, shelves run empty or warehouses overflow. Money is lost in the tangle.

I wanted to understand how a single piece of software can untie that knot, so I spoke with Prasanna Kumar Reddy Gurijala. He is certified in SAP Sales and Distribution as well as Material Management, and has spent years fixing disconnected systems for large companies. Prasanna insists that most of the pain stems from scattered information. “When sales, stock and purchasing cannot talk to each other, mistakes grow fast,” he told me.

He shared the story of a global electronics maker that once ran half a dozen different tools. Each factory tracked its own stock, so the head office never knew how many parts were really on hand. To stay safe, managers kept huge piles of spare components, tying up millions in idle inventory. Forecasts were little more than educated guesses.

The company switched to SAP S/4HANA, moving finance, sales, production and logistics data into one place. Because the system updates in real time, planners now see the exact stock level and new orders the moment they appear. Within a year the firm slashed surplus inventory, freed up cash and improved its order-fill rate by about a third. When demand swings, managers can respond the same day instead of weeks later.

Another example comes from a large retail chain that struggled with slow purchasing. Buyers faxed or e-mailed orders, suppliers phoned to confirm, invoices arrived late and payments were often delayed. Relationships were strained, and the retailer paid higher prices to offset the risk. By adopting SAP Ariba, a cloud platform for procurement, the company brought every supplier onto one dashboard. Purchase orders, delivery receipts and invoices now move electronically and are matched automatically. Cycle times fell sharply, vendor scorecards revealed weak spots, and the chain saved substantial money on everyday goods.

These gains matter because a smoother supply chain keeps customers happy and protects profit margins. If a rival can restock overnight while you wait two weeks, you will soon feel the loss.

Prasanna sees three new forces shaping the next chapter. First, boards and regulators want proof that products are made responsibly, so SAP is adding tools to measure carbon footprints and labour standards across the chain. Second, artificial-intelligence add-ons can scan live data and warn of a factory breakdown or port delay before it causes a crisis. Third, some brands are testing blockchain records inside SAP to show buyers an unbroken trail from raw material to store shelf.

For firms thinking about such a change, Prasanna offers simple advice. Start by writing down your biggest headaches. Maybe it is late deliveries, maybe piles of unsold stock, maybe purchase orders that vanish. Choose only the SAP modules that answer those pains. Bring in a trained consultant early to map old data to the new system. And do not forget people. A shiny platform fails if staff retreat to their private spreadsheets. Plan plenty of hands-on training until the software feels natural.

None of this is magic, he reminds me. It is careful work that turns messy data into one clear story. But once that story is visible, decisions come faster, costs drop and customers notice. When warehouses no longer feel like black holes and every link in the chain can see the same numbers, the business can finally move at the speed it needs.

Prasanna Kumar Reddy Gurijala has helped many companies reach that point. His message is straightforward: Bring your information under one roof, let the numbers speak, and the rest of the chain will follow.