Strategic Sourcing Assessment - Results Delivered

In the January 2009 edition of the Irish Buyer, we announced a number of sourcing projects that were being assessed in an engagement with Huron Consulting Group. We are pleased to announce that significant progress has been made in each area resulting in savings of over $750,000 in addition to existing contract savings. Below, you will find a brief summary of the various initiatives.

As a result of the in-depth study of the Lenovo contract, Huron Consulting Group identified significant savings opportunity in our computer purchasing trends and recommended some changes in behavior. An institutional computer purchase policy was created to ensure that University personnel have an adequate computer to perform their assigned responsibilities while being as cost efficient as possible. The Lenovo standard model configurations were also reviewed and upgraded to match campus requirements. As a result of these changes, the percentage of PCs purchased with a standard configuration increased from 41% in FY08 to 80% in the first six months of 2009. Because of this shift in purchasing behavior and improved contract discounts, the University projects to save over $400,000 annually on computers. Click here for more information on the Lenovo standard models and how to buy.

After reviewing spend data with our IT peripherals (e.g. servers, monitors, TV's, etc.) supplier, GovConnection, we were able to further increase the discount in many product categories. These pricing improvements will save the University over $20,000 annually beyond already deeply discounted prices. This includes a deeper discount on HP laser and inkjet printers. The contract continues to feature no additional freight and 30-day return privileges when pre-authorized by our GovConnection contact. Click here to read more about this renewed relationship.

Grainger has been the preferred supplier for maintenance, repair and operations supplies since 2004. After reviewing the spend data, we worked with Grainger to expand and revise the core list of products to meet the University’s needs. This core list represents items that are frequently purchased and therefore more deeply discounted. An additional savings of nearly $40,000 was realized as a result of negotiated pricing on the top 300 core list items. The punchout catalog in buyND has been updated to reflect this new pricing.

Working closely with Office of Information Technologies, a contract with Xerox for printers in the dorms and computer clusters was renewed. This renewal saved the University nearly $60,000 annually in equipment lease costs while adding to the total number of devices and increasing service coverage to every dorm on campus. Procurement Services is currently working on an institution-wide contract for multifunction copiers and printers. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

In the last ten years, Notre Dame has standardized specific janitorial paper products for the entire campus. We purchase Kimberly-Clark brand toilet paper rolls, multi-fold and roll towels and other products from a regional distributor, Unisource. In late 2008, we negotiated an across-the-board 9.4% cost reduction (over $40,000 annually) on these products. This additional discount was achieved by ordering online, purchasing in truckload quantities and storing the supplies in the Mason Services Center. Availability of product was also enhanced in the new process as we now receive shipments less than a week after an order is placed.

Procurement Services is also working with the Office of Sustainability to further review the environmental impact of the janitorial paper products. Use of roll towels instead of multi-fold towels, using coreless toilet rolls instead of cored rolls (cardboard in the middle of the toilet roll) and using brown roll towels instead of white are some of the things being considered. Upon determining the specific products to be tested, a pilot program will be rolled out for certain areas of the University. Once qualified as acceptable products, a competitive bid will be issued to the suppliers to evaluate the cost of each option. More information will be forthcoming on this effort as it becomes available.

A lot of people travel at Notre Dame – faculty, staff, and students. Ask someone who has booked travel and you will get a different response from each person on the tools and process they used to plan their trip. As a result of the strategic sourcing assessment, Procurement Services will manage travel as an area of strategic spend at the university. We have conducted various focus groups and met with several departments on campus to understand the needs and the complexities around the travel process.

On July 1, 2009, an initiative was launched by Procurement Services which will bring about significant improvements to the travel process – from booking to reimbursement. In partnership with Anthony Travel and leveraging their many years of travel expertise, we will look to negotiate contracts with airlines, hotels and car rental companies as wells as implement a streamlined process for booking and reimbursement of travel and entertainment expenses. More information will be provided on this initiative throughout the project. Here are some quick tips to save on travel expenses:

• If you already know your travel dates, book airline tickets at least 2-3 weeks in advance to get good rates. In general, booking airfare at least two weeks in advance can save approximately 30% of the fare compared to trips booked one week in advance and roughly 60% compared to trips booked for next day travel.
• If you are travelling on university business, you do not need to take additional insurance on car rentals.
• Use videoconferencing or web meetings where possible. More information on WebEx is available at http://oit.nd.edu/webex/index.shtml.

On March 26, 2009, Procurement Services hosted the first Science & Engineering Supplier Expo. Over 150 campus users from the science and engineering colleges visited the various suppliers present at the Expo. We had 40 suppliers present to showcase their products and services. See the list of suppliers at http://buy.nd.edu/springexpo. Campus attendees overwhelmingly appreciated the new format and location and gave strong indication that they would use information gathered at the Expo. The suppliers were also satisfied with the event and encouraged larger attendance from faculty, lab managers and graduate students. For more details from the post-Expo survey, please follow this link.

This separate Expo for the science & engineering community was a result of the campus and supplier survey results, focus groups and other feedback obtained in 2007. Our general supplier expo will be held on
October 8, 2009 in the Joyce Center Concourse.

On July 27th, buyND e-Procurement system was upgraded to version 9.2 which includes the following enhancements:

1. Select Preferred Supplier Showcase
2. Other improvements in the shopping experience
   • Hosted catalog search moved towards the top of the screen
   • Improved hosted catalog search result screen
   • Improved "Favorites" screen - featuring tree-like navigation structure
3. Requisition# and Cart Name added to the “PO sent to supplier” email notification
4. PR/PO search by FOAPAL values
5. Improved workflow diagram visuals including ability to view listing of approvers on the workflow steps
6. PR/PO comments notification.

Please visit the buyND website for more information on these new features.