University of Missouri's CPO Wins Award for Strategic Procurement Initiative

William M. (Bill) Cooper, associate vice president and chief procurement officer at the University of Missouri, has won the CACUBO RBC Capital Markets Best Practices award for his department's strategic approach to procurement. Mr. Cooper was honored at the Central Association of College and University Business Officers' (CACUBO) Annual Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where he also presented his winning proposal.

The University of Missouri sought to re-engineer its procurement function from a transaction-oriented "order shop" to a strategic supply chain support center that could help the University recapture millions of dollars and provide higher value services, such as pre-negotiated contracts and sourcing assistance for on-demand needs. This multi-phase effort incorporated several key directives, such as consolidating the disparate procurement operations and policies, and implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

The other critical component was to implement an e-procurement solution that could easily integrate with the University's ERP system, create a central online marketplace that would engage its user and supplier populations, and further eliminate paper-driven activities.

SciQuest was selected to provide an interactive Web-based e-procurement environment where all types of users can search for and buy the goods and services they need. SciQuest was also selected for its modular approach and SaaS-based deployment model, which made it easy for the University to integrate SciQuest's online shopping component with and extend the capabilities of its existing ERP system. Read more...