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Two e-procurement vendors will be on campus to conduct demonstrations of their software on May 6 and May 8.

The demonstrations are part of efforts to change the purchasing process at Western Washington University. This past November, the Banner Initiatives Steering Committee at Western approved the first phase of the “Procure-to-Pay” project, a comprehensive procurement program. During this initial phase, a team of employees from all divisions is researching the possibility of utilizing an off-the-shelve e-procurement software (the primary component of a procure-to-pay system) to automate the procurement and payable processes for the campus.

This software provides a single portal method to purchase all products and services needed, and is capable of fully integrating with Banner. These e-procurement solutions, in addition to providing a “shopping cart” experience, also provides contract management capabilities in automating the writing, approval, retrieval and storage of campus contracts. Additional available modules include a vendor self-service portal for managing vendor information and electronic invoicing. As well, enhanced sourcing capabilities will be available to manage quotes and bids, and a spend analytic module will assist in leveraging buying power, reducing costs and providing better analysis for management decisions.

The entire campus community is invited to attend both demonstrations, and feedback will be greatly encouraged and appreciated. The demonstrations are:

• SciQuest, 8 to 10 a.m. May 6, in Wilson Library Room 164F
• ESM Solutions, 8 to 10 a.m. May 8 in Wilson Library Room 164F

For more information, contact Wanna VanCuren, Banner Initiatives portfolio manager, at wanna.vancuren@wwu.edu, or Pete Heilgeist, director of Business Services/Procurement, at pete.heilgeist@wwu.edu.