By McGill Reporter Staff
A luncheon was held recently to recognize the efforts of the people responsible for the McGill Marketplace (MMP) for having earned the first prize of the 2014 Quality and Productivity Award from the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO). The McGill MarketPlace is a virtual shopping mall providing faculty and staff members a comprehensive tool for making their day-to-day purchases. MMP is part of an initiative to automate and streamline the procurement process at the University.
With the support and visionary approach of the Provost Anthony Masi (in his former role as CIO & Deputy Provost back in 2004), McGill introduced the SciQuest Higher Market eProcurement system to its community by first rolling out a standalone form of a virtual shopping mall (“McGill Marketplace or MMP”), restricted to credit card payments.
Following this success, McGill invested time and resources to develop a holistic and fully integrated approach. Financial Services and Information System Resources worked in partnership with Procurement Services to ensure seamless integration with the University’s financial information system, delivering added features such as budget checking, and providing researchers and fund holders with the ability to sponsor users and manage/delegate approvals.
The result is an easy-to-use shopping experience that has simplified administrative processes, improved productivity and efficiency, and greatly enhanced the purchasing experience for McGill faculty and staff, while delivering controls and traceable workflows, thus minimizing risk. This success would not have been possible without the extensive collaborative work of many stakeholders, but more importantly the support of the McGill user community and the University’s external business partners for their openness in adopting the new technology and processes surrounding the solution.
Today’s statistics speak for this success: 48 online catalogues; 20,000 shoppers including faculty, staff and students; an average of 60,000 electronic purchase orders issued every year, 75 per cent of which are transmitted the same day; over 10,000 approval queues managed electronically; and at least 30,000 suppliers invoices are projected to be processed electronically in the first 12 months of this newly implemented solution.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by CAUBO for our efforts to effectively manage operations by enhancing the University’s purchasing experience with eProcurement. Combine financial controls and procurement strategies with functionalities of an eProcurement system and you have a recipe for success,” said Kathy Zendehbad, Associate Director of Procurement Services. “By partnering with SciQuest, we have seen first-hand the benefits of transforming our once-limited marketplace into a tool that offers us added control, greater insight, and a more accurate understanding of financial roles and responsibilities as we continue to build relationships with outside vendors.”
Building on this solid platform, the MMP initiative is evolving to respond to the University’s changing needs and the advances in the available technology. In the recent years, the University has undertaken the projects of integrating MMP with the University’s hazardous materials solution, implementing Contract Management and eSettlement solutions. Currently, the University is in the process of scoping the SciQuest Supplies Manager module (inventory management system) for implementation in the Faculty of Dentistry’s internal store.