Allstate selects software to manage its outsourced services procurement
Chicago — August 20, 2003 — Fieldglass Inc., a provider of services procurement software, announced that it has signed a three-year agreement with Allstate Insurance Co., a publicly held personal lines insurer, to provide an enterprise-wide contract labor management solution. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The insurance company will use InSite, which is a private marketplace for companies and their chosen staffing suppliers. It automates manual processes so that corporate users and their suppliers can track, measure and analyze every transaction for outsourced services procurement, from "requisition to check."
Planning and implementation began in August 2002, and InSite went live in December. It was deployed in two phases, according to the provider. The application's Requisition Module was first used to automate processes related to procuring and managing information technology contractors, including requisition creation and distribution, enforcement of negotiated rates, and onboarding.
The second phase started in March 2003 with timekeeping functionality. Time sheet information will then be electronically fed into the accounts payable module of Allstate's SAP system, Fieldglass said.
Allstate said that staffing suppliers are able to proactively manage timekeeping issues themselves with the new software. They have online access to their workers' approved time and anticipated payment for the month; if a time sheet is missing, the supplier can work directly with the contractor to correct the situation.
"This will mean fewer inquiries for Allstate staff to handle regarding time submitted, fewer problems with reconciliation and more accurate payment to suppliers," said Greg Hopkins, Allstate procurement specialist.
He added that some of the reasons why Allstate chose the Fieldglass system were because it most closely matched the company's vision of an automated system, it streamlines the hiring process and it has the potential to handle other types of contract labor beyond IT.
