Sagi Eliyahu is well-known for solving the “unsolvable” problems.
In this episode of AOP Introducing, Sagi, Founder and CEO of Tonkean, a no-code process experience platform, shared how he hopes their platform will be a game-changing solution for procurement.
Sagi’s professional journey has taken him from software engineering and product management to procurement innovation. When he founded Tonkean, he saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between what enterprise software typically offers (data-centric solutions) and what practitioners truly need: a human-centric approach to solving problems, achieving goals, and ensuring efficient compliance.
At its core, Tonkean aims to personalize the procurement process, ensuring that every stakeholder – from power users to occasional users – can engage seamlessly by orchestrating processes, policies, and compliance without forcing users down a rigid path. Instead, Tonkean adapts to users’ notification preferences, whether that means email, Slack, Teams, or other tools.
One critical aspect of Tonkean’s approach is recognizing that personalization and instant resolution are key drivers of efficiency and compliance. In procurement, where complex processes often deter stakeholders, Tonkean believes in simplifying interactions, making it easy for users to navigate the procurement landscape while adhering to the necessary processes… processes that are often lost or forgotten when managed manually.
For example, Tonkean employs AI to allow users to express their product and service needs in natural language, making the process more intuitive and user-friendly. Their platform integrates with existing procurement tools, serving as an intelligent layer that guides users to the right steps, and ensuring that every purchase follows the established process.
Sagi emphasized that Tonkean doesn’t aim to replace existing tools but rather enhance their value by optimizing the end-to-end procurement process. This holistic approach acknowledges the diversity within procurement – different stakeholders, varying priorities, and unique infrastructural constraints – so the tool can adapt and provide a tailored experience for each user, ultimately leading to greater adoption and more effective spend management.
One of the key takeaways from my conversation with Sagi is that a self-serve model isn’t always the answer. Procurement stakeholders seek instant resolution and ease of use as well.
“The biggest misconception of the last ten years was that, to get better efficiency, better compliance, you need to create a self-serve model,” said Sagi. “I always start to laugh, because who wants to self serve? You’re never going somewhere to work only by yourself. What people care about is resolution – instant resolution.”
For procurement, adopting new technologies can sometimes cause friction, but choosing the right solution means going where your stakeholders are comfortable, connecting the dots across different business processes, and ensuring that everyone feels supported and empowered to work toward a shared resolution.
