Digital transformation expert calls for security-first approach in ERP, supply-chain modernisation

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Feb, 2026) As public and private sector organisations increasingly digitise procurement and supply-chain operations, a security-first approach must remain central to technology transformation, said senior ERP and digital transformation lead Rabia Khatoon.

Talking to APP, Rabia said digitised procurement and live inventory dashboards have improved transparency, reduced manual delays and enhanced operational visibility, but they also require stronger safeguards to ensure continuity and trust.

“When procurement moves online and inventory becomes a live dashboard, the focus quickly shifts from speed to assurance,” she said and added “Security doesn’t start at the firewall; it starts with disciplined access and clean data.”

Based in Pakistan, Rabia serves as a Senior ERP and Digital Transformation Lead in a government organisation, where she works across logistics-linked systems integrating procurement, warehousing, maintenance planning and HR processes. With nearly two decades of experience in software engineering and enterprise systems, she has been closely involved in implementation, governance, testing and user adoption in high-reliability environments.

She is an active professional member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the IEEE Computer Society, reflecting her continued engagement with global technology communities.

Highlighting her recent work, Rabia said she has been involved in developing and implementing a unified, web-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system consolidating fragmented inventory platforms and serving more than 1,000 end users. The transformation included migration from legacy IBM AS/400 mainframe systems to Intel-based enterprise servers within an Oracle-based ERP ecosystem.

Her responsibilities have included controlled extraction, mapping and migration of legacy DB2 databases into Oracle environments using Oracle Data Integrator and SQL Developer, supported by Oracle Data Guard for high availability and disaster recovery preparedness.

Beyond technical deployment, she has overseen supply-chain performance controls such as procurement discipline, warehousing governance, demand forecasting and distribution readiness. The work involved centralised planning across multiple locations, compliance checks, policy alignment and risk mitigation measures.

Rabia said digital transformation must be treated as a continuous governance process rather than a one-time system upgrade. “Security in transformation work is not a single control or audit. It sits in access permissions, change management, backup discipline and the ability to respond calmly when something goes wrong,” she added.

She has also led software quality assurance and help-desk coordination, responding to user queries, tracking release risks and conducting awareness sessions to reduce avoidable security lapses. Her efforts include improving stock-availability controls, shelf-life and batch management, as well as clearer incident reporting during disruptions.

In addition to conventional automation, Rabia has worked on AI-driven automation initiatives, including chat and voice agents, advanced workflow automation and cybersecurity-focused implementation strategies. “Automation only helps when it reduces risk and makes the system easier to trust,” she said.

Her earlier roles included transforming a legacy HR management system into an Oracle-based web platform and supporting the digitisation and archiving of over 30,000 personnel files for automated review boards. She also contributed as a system analyst on an industrial maintenance management system, focusing on reliability metrics, cost analysis and integration planning.

Rabia has also contributed to academic research in emerging technology domains. Her published work includes studies on deep learning-based image forensics for cyber threat detection and semi-supervised learning frameworks for ERP cyber security anomaly detection.

She has completed professional training in SAP S/4HANA MM in 2025 and continues to work at the intersection of enterprise systems delivery, incident readiness and operational resilience.

Emphasizing the broader public-interest dimension, she said that as governments and large institutions digitise essential services, secure and reliable systems are not optional. “When systems carry operational truth, they carry public trust. That trust must be protected through discipline, design and accountability,” she concluded.