Policy Before Platform: The UMass Blueprint for Modernizing T&E

Episode notes

Modernizing travel and expense management is never just a tech upgrade, especially at a large, complex institution like the University of Massachusetts (UMass). In this episode, UMass Associate Vice President for Strategy & Innovation Dave Nero and Supply Chain Partner principal consultant Shannon Nortier pull back the curtain on one of the most successful T&E transformations in higher education. You’ll hear how UMass turned a long-standing pain point into a system-wide modernization initiative powered by clarity, collaboration, and a “policy before platform” strategy. Dave explains why T&E rose to the top of the innovation agenda, how two years of meticulous preparation laid the foundation for real change, and why investing in an internal transformation muscle is now table stakes for any organization. Shannon shares the partner perspective: what made UMass uniquely prepared, how their alignment accelerated implementation, and why the right partner relationship can make or break a project this complex.

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