June 23, 2008

OnePurdue: SRM improvements make system easier to use

Processes now require fewer screens and keystrokes, and some confusing elements have been removed.

"The enhancements are freeing up time so that employees can focus on more meaningful things," says Larry Pherson, director of Purchasing Services.

In August 2007, Pherson and Comptroller John Shipley convened a group of SRM users to discuss desired improvements. After studying issues and possible avenues of assistance, Purdue hired the Shelby Group consulting firm to work on improvements to Component Planning, the system that Physical Facilities uses to order material for projects, and Inventory Management, the University Stores portion of SRM.

Following a series of workshops with SRM users, the Shelby Group developed a number of "Quick Hits," which were implemented in April. The Quick Hits have proven to be extremely helpful in enabling University Stores to deliver orders in a timely manner.

With the Quick Hits in operation, the Shelby Group took on additional high priority changes to the ordering process. Those changes went into use on June 4, and included the following: 

* Physical Facilities component planners now order goods for their projects via the Shopping Cart method used by the rest of the University, saving considerable time over the previous process. 
* Orders through University Stores are placed via the Internal Goods and Services link, which provides accurate pricing and availability.
* Requisitioners now receive an e-mail confirmation of their Purchase Orders. (Adobe Reader is required to view the Purchase Order).

"We'd heard from our customers that it needed to be easier to order from University Stores," says Alan Leonard, director of Service Enterprises. "With the Internal Goods and Services link, customers can now go directly to University Stores items and place orders. They're able to see the current quantity and cost of items that are in stock."

In addition to the Shelby Group enhancements, the staff from the Business Services System Support Group and Anna Tang, HR/FI technical lead, developed an automated workflow for Shopping Cart transactions.

"The new SRM approval workflow is great," says Sylvia Cotten, business manager of Veterinary Clinical Sciences. "This improvement really saves us time and helps to ensure that the correct approvals are in place for each order placed."

Showcases and an extensive training effort helped to smooth the rollout of the enhancements.

Jolene King, Physical Facilities fiscal director, has been impressed with the coordination between key constituents that led to a successful implementation.

"We are in a learning curve right now, but we know once we gain more experience, we'll see even more increases in efficiencies," King says. "We are excited about the enhancements of workflow and optimistic about the changes from component planning to SRM for our Physical Facilities users."

The next phase of the improvement initiative will focus on the accounts payable function within SRM. This function manages the invoicing and payment process required for purchasing.