SciQuest, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand supplier
management and procurement automation solutions, announced today its
continued success in the global market as marked by an expanded
relationship with the University of Edinburgh, notable international
speaking opportunities, and a newly-implemented European best
practices webinar series.
Scottish-based University of Edinburgh (UoE) recently integrated
SciQuest's Chemical Manager to its existing suite of e-procurement
solutions. With Chemical Manager, the university is looking to manage
and track chemicals and hazardous substances from purchase through
disposal to minimize risk associated with non-compliance. The
e-procurement needs of the University have evolved and will continue
to develop to meet internal and external demands to suit the changing
procurement landscape in Scotland.
Prior to its e-procurement strategy in 2002, the university
laboratories struggled with pricing, process, end-user, and management
inefficiencies. After implementing several modules of SciQuest's suite
of e-procurement solutions, including Spend Director, Requisition
Manager, and Order Manager, UoE enabled an electronic workflow of
requisitions and orders for a critical mass of preferred suppliers
through an improved process for end-users with increased efficiency,
spend visibility and savings. UoE can now monitor very detailed
information on spend in excess of GBP 2M annually for the purchase of
laboratory consumable products and will be able to closely track
chemicals usage internally.
"We have developed a process that benefits our end users and
suppliers," said Margaret Lochhead, procurement manager, University of
Edinburgh. "SciQuest's solutions have helped suppliers by driving
contract compliance, reducing shipping costs, order processing and
invoicing errors, and allowed new collaborative tenders to be based on
more accurate usage data."
UoE recognizes that end user adoption is crucial to success of
e-procurement initiatives. The university's efforts to first help
provide a lab-friendly service have paid off. One particular
post-doctoral research fellow commented that SciQuest's solutions have
"provided a number of significant benefits to the way we work within
the School of Chemistry. Chemicals can be purchased easily and quickly
from a chosen supplier without resorting to time consuming catalogue
searches. Overall, the service is extremely efficient - with both
orders and goods being approved promptly."
Luca Guzzabocca, GlaxoSmithKline's director - procurement
Southern, Eastern, Central and Northern Europe & European systems
development, is scheduled to discuss how the world-leading
research-based pharmaceutical company rolled out a SciQuest-based
e-procurement initiative to 18,000 international users. Guzzabocca
will present his organization's experience, best practices, and
lessons learned at SAP's Logistics and Supply Chain Management
conferences in Orlando, Florida (February 12-14, 2007) and Barcelona,
Spain (January 31-February 2, 2007). In addition to reviewing GSK's
global procurement strategy and unique challenges faced in
successfully implementing the company's roll-out throughout Europe,
Guzzabocca will provide advice on how to form local procurement teams
to help manage currency, language, and platform variances.
To further assist European higher educational institutions,
SciQuest hosted a webinar series earlier this month to offer insight
into a more inclusive model of procurement that helps universities
meet needed change. In the webinar, SciQuest officials demonstrated
how an on-demand/hosted IT approach to e-procurement and supplier
enablement is helping many higher education institutions meet common
issues and challenges head-on and realize the benefits that result
from the opportunities presented. Future European webinars discussing
how to streamline purchasing processes and improve supplier
relationship management are planned for the near future.
About SciQuest, Inc.
SciQuest provides on-demand supplier enablement and procurement
automation solutions that reduce operating costs, drive end-user
adoption, bring more spend under management and increase visibility
into organization-wide spending. Through SciQuest solutions,
organizations gain immediate cost savings and rapid ROI.
Organizations can quickly enable a critical mass of suppliers
through the SciQuest Supplier Network (SQSN) and leverage SciQuest
Managed Services to fully manage catalog data and order delivery on an
ongoing basis, significantly reducing the need for in-house IT and
support resources. With an integrated supplier base, organizations can
maximize on-contract spending and gain real-time visibility and
reporting capabilities throughout the entire order process.
In addition to a source-to-settle suite of e-procurement
applications, SciQuest also offers supplier and order management
modules that seamlessly integrate with existing ERP and enterprise
financial systems, driving greater return from existing investments.
For more information about SciQuest, please visit
www.sciquest.com, or call 919.659.2100.
