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Purchasing
The eProcurement Equation
11/1/2007
Rensselaer moved from its manual procurement system in late 2005; today, it employs SciQuest HigherMarkets, which RPI has integrated with the SCT Banner ERP software that it uses for managing financial and business processes. (In 2002, SciQuest acquired HigherMarkets, a company focused on the procurement needs of higher ed.) Some 450 users, ranging from administrative assistants, financial managers, deans, and professors, all the way to the institution’s president, use the system to make purchases. Rensselaer specifically sought out an eProcurement partner with the ability to manage online catalogs for purchasing, as well as online requisitions for those vendors without electronic catalogs. But through SciQuest, RPI purchasers also can submit paper requisitions to those vendors that lack e-catalogs.
Rensselaer administrators performed an initial—and favorable—projected ROI assessment when they prepared the internal business case, Crislip discloses. With a solid year-and-a-half of eProcurement under its belt, RPI now has another report in the works that will examine both actual hard- and soft-dollar savings, including efficiencies in the purchasing department. Even without numbers in front of them, both Smith and Crislip say the savings are clearly there. For one thing, a full-time position in accounting has been reallocated due to system efficiencies.
Since pressure on schools to rein in spending won’t subside anytime soon, ePurchasing is likely to continue to expand. That means more vendors participating, further refinements of software systems—and more benefits for schools that jump on board.
::WEBEXTRAS ::
When schools band together to
purchase technology, buying power
and benefits abound.
More eProcurement case studies.
Linda L. Briggs is a freelance writer based in San Diego, Calif.
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