UNCW Partnering with SciQuest to Improve Purchasing Processes, Save Costs 11/5/2009 2:29:33 PM  E-Mail As part of efforts to continually improve processes, become more efficient and increase cost savings, UNCW has entered into an e-procurement initiative with SciQuest, one of the leading providers of procurement services in higher education. SciQuest's e-procurement solution automates the entire purchasing process, from purchase order to payment. It is being used nationally by numerous universities to make purchasing systems easier, faster and more strategic, resulting in significant savings. The paperless system electronically identifies contracts that provide the most savings, routes requests for approvals, checks budget availability, tracks a purchase order request all the way to approval and release, and sends the order to the vendor via e-mail or fax. "The university expects at least a 10 percent return on its investment by the fifteenth month of operation of the new system," said Mary Forsythe, director of purchasing services. "The University of Missouri system, using the SciQuest product, saw an average of 12 percent savings in contractual price reductions alone. In these difficult budget times, every opportunity to create efficiencies and become more effective must be explored." Forsythe notes that SciQuest will also assist UNCW in identifying opportunities to work with more local, minority-owned and women-owned suppliers, which supports the university's core goals. UNCW will begin planning the implementation of the new system this month, and is scheduled to bring it online July 1, 2010 to coincide with the start of the university's new fiscal year. "The implementation will be demanding and will require time, work and commitment from a number of staff across the campus," Forsythe said. "However, the savings and streamlining of processes we will realize will certainly be worth that investment." Other UNC system schools who are using the SciQuest product or have also recently contracted with the company are East Carolina University, UNC Charlotte and UNC Greensboro.