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Results of e-commerce partnerships with the two universities were announced by CDW Government Inc. (CDW-G), based in Vernon Hills, Ill. Goals of the partnerships include implementing standardized, campuswide purchasing procedures, automating purchasing approvals and instituting timely accounting processes for improved fiscal management.

“Bringing procurement online and under one management system represents a huge shift for higher education institutions,” said Julie Smith, CDW-G director for higher education. “In the past, purchasing was highly decentralized and it took weeks to approve requisitions. The purchasing department then had to manually tie purchases back to general ledger accounts—a tedious and time-consuming process.”

Today, however, these institutions can easily implement a simple e-commerce solution, such as e-invoicing, or scale all the way up to a fully automated e-procurement solution that incorporates purchase orders, approvals and complete reporting capabilities, Smith noted.

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan’s procurement services department has 65 employees and is responsible for all university purchases, from construction materials to supplies for the university’s hospital. Total spending for products and services averages about $1.4 billion per year. The university implemented a solution with CDW-G partner SciQuest in 2001 in order to improve visibility into university spending and ensure that the department is a wise steward of university funds.

Because the university already was using CDW-G as a prime technology vendor, administrators incorporated CDW-G’s catalog of products and services into the SciQuest solution in 2006. “It made sense to integrate CDW-G into the e-procurement system and simplify the invoicing process,” said Judy Smith, director of procurement services, University of Michigan.  

Smith noted that the university has saved several hundred thousand dollars since adding the CDW-G catalog. “As a partner, CDW-G allows us to experiment with new products and services, particularly between suppliers and our technology departments. This helps us meet our ultimate goal of increasing the purchasing department’s value-add within the university.”

Virginia Tech

At Virginia Tech, the SciQuest solution was implemented to improve the university’s complicated purchasing process. Before SciQuest, the university relied on purchasing cards, which limited the amount of data that could be captured by the institution’s financial systems. The purchasing department was forced to type invoices into the financial management system before purchasers could aggregate spending, significantly slowing down the purchasing process.

Virginia Tech spent a year developing its online marketplace and used CDW-G’s consulting services to integrate the company’s catalog into the e-commerce retail site.

“Because CDW-G has a predominant place in the technology market, the company was active in the Web site production,” said Tom Kaloupek, director of materials management at Virginia Tech. “CDW-G was well-prepared to provide comprehensive product catalogs and support for its integration into the SciQuest solution. The system also reduced the ordering and approval process from days to just a few hours. Additionally, CDW-G delivers purchases directly to departments within the university rather than a central location, saving us even more time.”

Unified solution

“Colleges and universities are facing tighter and tighter budgets,” added CDW-G’s Smith. “Purchasing managers need to have visibility into and control over spending. Higher education institutions like Michigan and Virginia Tech have been well-served by moving from a traditional to a more strategic purchasing model with an increased focus on spend management, long-term goals and strategic vendor partner contracts.”

CDW-G is a technology advisor to educational institutions at all levels, as well as to federal, state and local government agencies. The company offers a wide range of technology products and services from name-brand suppliers, such as Adobe, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Panasonic, Sony, ViewSonic and Xerox.

For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurement options, services and solutions, visit http://www.cdwg.com/.