Modernizing Procure to Pay (P2P)
We are excited to introduce an initiative that will streamline end-to-end purchasing to payable processes. Several P2P projects will converge to eliminate paper forms, better align purchasing practices with institutional goals, and most importantly, this initiative promises to produce a system that will save campus departments time and money.
UShop – the University of Utah Online Marketplace: Consolidating Steps and Improving Workflow
Financial & Business Services (FBS) leads a team working with a P2P industry leader, SciQuest, to develop “UShop.” This online marketplace will be specifically designed for our campus to replace paper-dependent and outdated P2P processes. UShop will remember basic information about the shopper, their department, accounting specifics, and past orders to streamline each transaction. Purchasing data compiled within UShop will help us improve future contracts and pricing from our suppliers. We are working diligently to create a one-stop online shopping cart experience for goods and services provided by both on-campus suppliers as well as outside vendors serving our campus. We will preview UShop with a focus group in December, and will have a small group of pilot department users help us refine the system Spring 2015 for a full campus Go Live date in early Fall 2015.
New Processes & New Policies: Preparing for Modern Transactions
Our team has spent the last several months working on prerequisite steps to ready our campus for the implementation of online P2P solutions. Many campus users have already begun to make changes that will enhance their UShop experience, such as using Granting Financial Authority (GFA) to capture their digitized signature and initials as well as designate other people within their department to have financial signature authority. FBS will sunset the first of many paper P2P processes when we turn off access to the current Signature Card system by the end of November 2014.
In addition, many processes within the P2P transaction scope will undergo redesign projects to eliminate unnecessary steps and encourage appropriate procurement practices. Some policy changes will be made to discourage inefficient payment methods and to maximize the benefits of the University’s purchasing contracts. We are confident that our users’ experience with UShop will be positive as we have seen on campuses of other institutions.
P2P: Staying Informed
Campus users can refer to our P2P web page for the latest updates and other useful P2P information. P2P updates will be emailed directly to those subscribed to the P2P listserv. Several executive level P2P summaries will be sent to University leadership corresponding to crucial milestones during the P2P project. We appreciate the support of our campus users, and invite your feedback on the systems we develop.
