Collab: Turning a Code Management Tool into a Procurement Orchestration Layer

Akhilesh joined the Collab project at a point where the tool was functioning as a standalone code management system for procurement managers, used to finalize product codes from sellers before items could reach shelves. The problem was that communication between procurement managers and suppliers was happening across Outlook, WhatsApp, calls, and other disconnected channels, creating friction and lost context at every step.

He was brought into the project by a manager who framed it as a potential game changer for the Walmart sourcing ecosystem. When he was introduced to the design, engineering, and product directors in India, the reception was skeptical. That skepticism became the fuel.

His first move was to understand the full sourcing ecosystem, which took months of mapping. He had no manager in India to back the vision, and stakeholders in central US were operating in a different time zone. He ran regular calls at night to keep alignment going, and when stakeholders pushed back on his design direction, he brought multiple side-by-side options to every session so they could see the difference rather than just hear it.

The core design challenge was building something generic enough to work across different sourcing workflows while still being specific enough to be useful. The solution was to decouple the code management function and rebuild Collab as an orchestration layer: a single channel through which all Walmart sourcing applications could pass, with approvals, negotiations, and supplier communication handled in one place.

The result was a tool that saved an estimated 8,000+ hours annually across product change requests, quote comparisons, and sell-through tag automation, while reducing hardware costs and improving documentation traceability.