TRAINING OPTIONS:
Procurement provides a variety of training methods and tools for the eProcurement process. These various offerings are available to meet the varied needs, interests, and learning preferences of potential campus users. Contrary to previous instructions distributed, "in class, hands-on" PeopleSoft training is not required in order to gain access to the eProcurement platform. An on-line tutorial has been developed to facilitate training particularly for infrequent users, those with limited roles such as approvers only, and others, specifically faculty, whose schedules make attendance at such formal training offerings an untenable imposition. We do, however, encourage all those, particularly heavy users, who can conveniently attend a class room session do so. More detailed hands-on training may help in reducing the learning curve associated with using e-procurement effectively and make one's initial catalog shopping experiences easier.
The following link provides access to Procurement's eProcurement training page. http://www.umsystem.edu/ums/departments/fa/management/procurement/apps/epro/training.shtml.
Contact information for your campus procurement office is listed on the training page if you wish to schedule face-to-face training. Links to the individual campus sites are also provided on this page. It is here that you will find the ePro Security Request Forms which must be submitted to gain access to the system. To utilize the on-line training materials, click on the Training Materials link at the bottom of the training page. You will be prompted to enter your user id and password to access the training materials.
For your convenience, training materials have been developed to target specific roles; requestor, approver, and those entering receiving information. The tutorials are designed to walk you through the steps in eProcurement. Click on the desired tutorial link and follow the instructions in the box. You have the opportunity to drill through the outline to view all eProcurement steps or only view those functions for which you have a need. It is recommended that you view the tutorial in the "see it" mode which allows you to watch an automated walk through of the process or the "try it" mode which provides step by step instructions as you navigate through the process.
Training Guides and Quick Reference Guides are also available for each role. These tools can provide additional assistance once you have been through the tutorials or have attended live training.
With a little practice we are confident that you will find this process an easy, effective and efficient way to order those products you need to do your important work.
P-CARD CUT-OFF:
The cut-off date for the use of P-Cards with Show-Me-Shop suppliers has been pushed back to October, 2009. This will allow ample time to resolve some operational issues brought to light as well as facilitate the training of campus faculty and staff returning from the summer. However, we encourage all who can to avail themselves of the training options detailed above as early as possible.
eProcurement is an initiative that helps support the goals set forth in the University’s Strategic Plan. By enabling contract vendors in our Show Me Shop environment, we are improving processes and continuing to develop a high-performance organization; which in turn, creates an environment that is conducive to quality education, teaching, and research.
On November 9, 2006, UM officially kicked-off the system-wide implementation
of a new eProcurement system, which is designed to use the power of the
Internet to streamline the procurement process and dramatically reduce
acquisition costs, freeing up millions of dollars for expanding the University's
core missions of teaching, research, public service, and economic development.
By seamlessly integrating SciQuest’s catalog function with a significantly
improved version of our PeopleSoft purchasing module, we will create
a "virtual
marketplace" comprised of a wide range of products from which to
compare and choose. This marketplace will afford end users a "one-stop" shopping
experience with the ability to order from suppliers’ complete on-line
catalogs at pre-negotiated discounted prices. The "Amazon.com" like
ease of process will facilitate end users increased utilization of those
supply sources which provide requisite quality and service at the most
favorable price, thus affording substantial material and administrative
cost savings. In so doing, we expect to realize system-wide annual savings
ranging from a minimum of $5.4M to a potential $17.9M when fully deployed.
It is clear why eProcurement at UM is not just a "Procurement Project" but
in fact is an integral part of university leadership's strategic plan,
and its anticipated success will significantly impact the financial health
of the entire UM System.
Solution, design, and development is expected to take approximately 9 months
after which all campuses will simultaneously conduct a 3-4 department pilot before
rolling the new system out to all users. Recognizing the critical importance
of wide spread user adoption, Advisory Groups have been formed to insure that
each campus has input throughout the solution design, development, and deployment
phases. The names of the Campus Advisory Group Leads and their teams are
listed under the "Key Players" tab above. In late February, the
Campus Advisory Groups hosted demonstrations of the program for their campus
users. Feedback from those sessions is now being reviewed to create the
design specifications for the system.
