Velkumar Bahulayan

Velkumar is a dynamic and transformative supply chain and procurement leader with over 30 years of experience in both direct and indirect procurement for global organizations. His areas of expertise include global procurement strategy, procure-to-pay processes, procurement policy, risk management, process excellence, predictive analytics and stakeholder management. Velkumar is proficient in industry-leading tools such as COUPA, Oracle, CLM Smart Contract, and other advanced procurement technologies.

Velkumar is passionate about driving procurement excellence and developing high-performing teams. He is committed to leveraging technology and innovation to achieve strategic, operational, and financial objectives.

Starting his career as a Project Engineer in a manufacturing company in Mumbai in 1991, Velkumar rose to become the Chief Procurement Officer of Juniper Networks, a MNC in AI Networking, Cloud, and Connected Security Solutions. Prior to that, he served in various global/regional leadership roles at Cisco, NetApp, and Tyco Electronics. He also led operations and supply chain at ITIL, a tower company. In 2004, he helped establish a contract manufacturing setup for Valere Power, a US-based startup.

In 2022, Velkumar founded Simplyprocure, a strategic procurement advisory firm offering procurement team assessment, category management, spend management, and digital transformation services. The primary focus of Simplyprocure is to help SMEs grow holistically by providing access to global best practices. Velkumar is currently engaged in growth consulting with three Bangalore-based startups.

Velkumar strongly believes the SME sector is poised for significant growth, and he is dedicated to helping these companies realize their potential through his EASE approach.