University of Pennsylvania to integrate solution with Oracle's iProcurement for supplier enablement and catalog management
Research Triangle Park, N.C. — July 28, 2003 — SciQuest Inc. today announced that the University of Pennsylvania has signed a multi-year license agreement for the company's HigherMarkets Spend Director solution to enhance the Penn Marketplace, the University's private supplier exchange.
The University of Pennsylvania said it would use Spend Director to expand utilization of the Penn Marketplace and increase supplier participation and content management capabilities.
Spend Director enables the quick integration of both hosted and punch-out supplier catalogs into one single, user-friendly application, according to SciQuest. Using Spend Director, administrators can configure the buying experience to promote on-contract spending as well as minority and community businesses while maintaining end user autonomy. Spend Director also allows end users to make informed purchasing decisions by giving them product information.
Integration of Spend Director with Oracle Corp.'s iProcurement software will enable its 1,850 users to access at least 70 of the University's strategic contract supplier's online catalogs in key commodity groups including laboratory equipment and supplies, office supplies and furniture, computer products, temporary staffing and copiers.
"Spend Director is a solution that will take online purchasing at the University of Pennsylvania to a new level," said Ralph Maier, associate director of purchasing services for the University. "We expect Spend Director to further streamline the buying experience for faculty and staff and increase the utilization of our targeted suppliers, resulting in cost savings."
The University of Pennsylvania launched the Penn Marketplace in December 2001. Approximately 54 percent of all campus purchase order transactions are currently issued to the 31 participating Penn Marketplace suppliers. Using Spend Director, the University said it expects to direct at least 70 percent of campus purchase transactions through participating Penn Marketplace contract suppliers.
"Successfully implementing technology like Spend Director is a critical success factor in fulfilling our mission to provide an effective and efficient purchasing process, while controlling campus expenditures," said Vira Homick, eProcurement manager for the University of Pennsylvania. "Because Spend Director is a hosted solution, we are looking forward to a rapid deployment and a quick return on investment."
