| Enterprise resource planning tools are not only used | | | | now deliver a best of breed solution that can solve |
| by private industry but also used by colleges and | | | | this problem. Not only can the overall purchasing cycle |
| universities to manage their financial, human resource | | | | be more streamlined and efficient, but it is integrated |
| and other business critical systems. SCT Banner is | | | | at various touch points to ensure business rules like |
| one such application designed to help colleges and | | | | budget checking are enforced. |
| universities manage their business functions. One area | | | | Using e-procurement with the SCT Banner |
| that it this ERP tool does not pay a lot of attention | | | | integration, you benefit in the following areas: |
| to is the purchasing process. | | | | |
| Of course you can create an online requisition, but | | | | 1. A user friendly requisition based interface that can |
| the overall process may be too cumbersome for | | | | be accessible from any internet browser. |
| most end users. SCT Banner is very strong in | | | | 2. A controlled approval process that can easily mimic |
| managing the General ledger and other financial | | | | current business rules. |
| functions, but like most ERP systems, it does not | | | | 3. An online front end portal to access preferred |
| create a user friendly purchasing process. This is | | | | vendor catalogs |
| where integrating a third party procurement | | | | 4. Budget checking during the requisition stage and full |
| management software may help. | | | | encumbrance during the Purchase Order stage |
| Unfortunately when these institutions purchase an | | | | 5. Electronic Purchase Orders sent directly to suppliers |
| ERP solution, the organization decides that the best | | | | In summary, if your organization is challenged with an |
| procurement management plan is to keep the manual | | | | inefficient paper procurement process and you are |
| paper process in place. This becomes the standard | | | | using the SCT Banner solution, an integrated |
| practice that many schools tend to go so they can | | | | procurement management software application is the |
| keep the purchasing cycle relatively simple. But when | | | | way to go. Your organization's purchasing process will |
| doing so, the overall process becomes highly | | | | flow easier and with automatic budget checking, the |
| inefficient and cumbersome. | | | | overall e-procurement cycle can become much more |
| SunGard Higher Ed has an integrated partner that can | | | | efficient. |