By this time next year, procuring goods and services at Queen’s will be as simple as ordering a book online.

The university is implementing an electronic procurement system in spring 2017 that will modernize the current manual, paper-based processes.

“The e-procurement system we are introducing will offer a similar online shopping experience many Queen’s community members have become familiar with in recent years,” says Andy Green, Director, Strategic Procurement Services. “We are confident the e-procurement system will make it easier and quicker for faculty and staff to acquire the products they need to support their research and teaching activities.”

Queen’s will implement SciQuest, an e-procurement system that several Ontario post-secondary institutions have adopted, including the University of Ottawa, Western University, University of Toronto, York University, Carleton University and Wilfrid Laurier University.

Some of the major benefits of the e-procurement system include:

• Eliminating the need for multiple usernames and passwords for different vendors.
• Allowing users to place orders from multiple vendors but only having to check out once.
• Making it easier for shoppers to find, compare and make their selection of products from suppliers.
• Reducing the wait time between placing an order and having it filled by the supplier.

“I am excited to sponsor the launch of a system that has helped so many other universities realize efficiency and cost savings,” says Donna Janiec, Associate Vice-Principal Finance and project sponsor. “The e-procurement system will also give us additional data that will help inform our negotiations with suppliers in the future.”

Work on the project is underway, with the phased rollout of the new system beginning in spring 2017. The project team will conduct focus groups and testing with system users over the next 10 months. Questions or concerns about the project can be sent to eprocure@queensu.ca.