AI & Automation Intern, Procurement (Jan - Jun 2027)

Introduction

We are seeking a AI & Automation Intern to support procurement operations while driving workflow transformation, process automation, and AI-enabled improvements. This internship provides hands-on exposure to procurement processes and the opportunity to deliver tangible enhancements to efficiency, cycle time, and stakeholder experience.

The ideal candidate is structured, detail-oriented, and motivated by improving how work gets done—combining process discipline with an interest in automation and applied AI.

Expectation and deliverables

• Work on a real, end-to-end business flow involving vendors, buyers , receipt creation and Accounts Payable
• Design and prototype automation + AI-assisted workflows in Workday to reduce manual effort, speed up cycle time, and improve accuracy. Deliver process maps, a prioritized transformation roadmap, and a working prototype / demo.

What success looks like (Outputs by end of 6 months)

• Clear As-Is + To-Be process maps and exception taxonomy
• A prioritized automation & AI opportunity backlog with estimated impact
• A working prototype/demo validated with process owners
• An implementation-ready requirements + rollout + metrics package
• Well-structured Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and job aids

Responsibilities

Discover & map the real process (As-Is) — Goods Receipt → Invoice

• Deep-dive the end-to-end flow: acceptance document verification, goods/services receipt confirmation , invoice verification and upload, matching, exceptions, approvals, and readiness for payment.

• Conduct stakeholder interviews and working sessions (Procurement, AP, requestors, receiving users, key vendors where relevant).
• Document process steps, decision points, handoffs, SLAs, controls, and pain points (e.g., missing PO/GR, mismatches, partial receipts, price/quantity variances, duplicates).

Diagnose bottlenecks & quantify improvement opportunities

• Identify root causes behind delays and rework (exception patterns, manual touchpoints, unclear ownership, data quality gaps).
• Establish baseline metrics where possible (cycle time, exception rate, touches per invoice, aging/backlog, rework loops).
• Prioritize opportunities using impact vs effort and dependencies (quick wins vs structural improvements).

Design the future-state (To-Be) workflow with automation + AI

• Propose streamlined workflows leveraging Workday capabilities (routing, approvals, validations, notifications, exception handling).
• Identify where automation makes sense (rules-based) vs where AI assists best (triage, classification, recommendation).
• Define “human-in-the-loop” controls for auditability and safe adoption (thresholds, approval gates, exception escalation).

Incumbent will be able to gain the following competencies

• Exposure to a real enterprise Procure-to-Pay environment on one of the industry top Enterprise Resource Planning application
• End-to-end ownership: discovery → design → prototype → business case
• Mentorship and regular check-ins with process and transformation leads
• A portfolio-grade project with measurable operational impact
• Appreciation of how business and system controls (policy, approvals, audit trail, Segregation of Duty) shape process desig

Requirements

• Pursuing Business Analytics, Information Systems, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Finance/Accounting, or similar.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and asking sharp questions to uncover how work really happens.
• Strong structured thinking: you can break down complex processes into clean workflows and decision rules.
• Confident communicator: you can align stakeholders and tell a clear transformation story.

Bonus (nice-to-have):

• Process mapping (BPMN, Visio/Miro), Lean/problem-solving (5 Whys, Pareto)
• Data skills (Excel, Power BI; SQL is a plus)
• Workflow/RPA interest (Workday workflows, Power Automate/UiPath familiarity)
• Applied AI/LLM interest (prompting, classification, summarization, human-in-loop design)