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Gartner Expert
Kaitlynn Sommers
Sr Director Analyst, KI Leader
Kaitlynn Sommers is a part of the Sourcing and Procurement team within Supply Chain Research. She advises Chief Procurement Officers and Procurement Technology Leaders on digital transformation initiatives in procurement. This includes helping define and identify technologies across the source-to-pay process and create procurement technology strategy. She helps clients understand the market landscape, prioritize investments, evaluate vendors and determine best-fit, negotiate contracts, and deploy best practices across a variety of market segments including Source-to-Contract (S2C) (spend analysis, supplier management, e-sourcing, and contract life cycle management) and Procure-to-Pay technologies. She also assesses and advises clients on the use of emerging technologies, such as AI, RPA, and advanced analytics, across sourcing and procurement.
Ms. Sommers is also a Key Initiative Leader for Procurement Digital Transformation. She is responsible for curating content and working with the analyst team to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of research that addresses client questions and provides topical thought leadership.
Previous experience
Prior to joining Gartner, Ms. Sommers had more than eight years of experience in strategic sourcing, contracting, procurement, and supply base management as a practitioner in the retail industry. She held a variety of positions managing the procurement of indirect good and services. She also managed the selection, implementation and continuous improvement projects for multiple procurement and sourcing technology initiatives.
Professional background
Kohl's Department Stores, Assistant Manager of Procurement, 7 years
Lowe's Companies, Operations Improvement Analyst, 1 years
Areas of coverage
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Supply Chain Technology Strategy and Selection
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Procurement Digital Transformation
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Sourcing and Procurement
Education
B.S., Supply Chain and Information Systems, The Pennsylvania State University
Top Issues That I Help Clients Address
Creating a sourcing and procurement technology roadmap that best aligns with business objectives
How to create a shortlist of vendors to evaluate for source-to-contract (S2C) applications
Comparing the various P2P suites and choosing a best-fit solution
How emerging technologies like AI and RPA will deliver value to sourcing and procurement organizations
Assessing whether a full source-to-pay suite or ecosystem approach is needed