UAF Procurement Process Metrics
INTRODUCTION
As part of its process improvement effort, the SUPER (Streamlined, User-friendly Purchasing
and Efficient Requisitioning) team collected data on the time it takes from a request to
purchase an item until the Purchase Order for that item is issued (Section 1).
The team also conducted a campus-wide customer satisfaction survey, covering both how well
Procurement and Contract Services provides services, and how important those services are to
stakeholders (Section 2). As part of that survey, the team collected suggestions on how to
improve the procurement process (Section 3).
Thank you to everyone who participated! We are using this data to focus our efforts.
Additional suggestions, or questions about the SUPER effort, can be sent to:
SECTION 1. TIME TRACKING RESULTS
The SUPER team, with lots of help and participation from staff in the departments and in the
central office, tracked the time it takes from an initial purchase request (ex. a PI asking his
departmental requisitioner to make a purchase) until a PO is issued. Thank you to everyone
who participated! We plan to do another time tracking event after some of our improvements
are implemented, and we expect the next time to be easier for everyone.
The average cycle time for each step of the process are summarized below:
Request to
REQ entry
REQ entry
(dept.) to P&CS
receipt
P&CS receipt
to Buyer
assignment
Buyer receipt
to PO issued
Subtotal: REQ
entry to PO
issued
Total: Request
to PO issued
3.3 days
1.2 days
0.7 day
5.8 days
9.8 days
13.3 days
Note: the averages are calculated from the tracks where data was complete throughout that
stage; the subtotal and total cycles are calculated from fully complete tracks and are not an
addition of the separate stages’ averages.
Reducing this cycle time is a key goal of the SUPER team’s process improvement effort.
SECTION 2. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Each service provided by Procurement and Contract Services (P&CS) received two scores. The
first evaluated how satisfied stakeholders were with that service, and the second indicates
how important that service is to the stakeholders; for both series of questions, the score was
1-5. The results have been ordered according to their importance score (the first listed
service is the one with highest average importance) and color-coded according to
performance. Green indicates an average score of 3.25 or higher, yellow between 3-3.25, and
red for an average performance score less than 3.0.
PERFORMANCE Avg.
Importance
Performance: [The overall quality of customer service provided by P&CS is high.]
3.48
4.11
Performance: [Communications (via phone, email, etc.) with P&CS are answered in
a reasonable amount of time.]
3.25
4.11
Performance: [P&CS is a professional and efficient organization.]
3.32
4.10
Performance: [The ProCard system is easy to navigate.]
3.56
4.07
Performance: [The ProCard guide provides relevant content.]
3.65
4.05
Performance: [P&CS provides adequate communications related to changes in
policies or procedures, new contracts, and other activities. ]
3.05
4.00
Performance: [I know whom to contact in the P&CS department to resolve a
purchasing issue.]
3.33
3.97
Performance: [P&CS website provides relevant content.]
3.20
3.92
Performance: [P&CS is aligned with the goals of UAF and supports its institutions
and departments.]
3.47
3.85
Performance: [I generally engage P&CS on large sourcing purchases.]
3.76
3.80
Performance: [P&CS website is easy to navigate.]
2.97
3.79
Performance:[P&CS obtains better pricing from suppliers for my department by
combining and leveraging my spending with other UAF schools, departments and
administrative units. ]
2.76
3.45
Performance: [P&CS helps me stretch my budget dollars by reducing the cost of my
purchases.]
2.70
3.41
Performance: [P&CS helps improve the quality of goods or services purchased.]
2.78
3.27
Performance: [I generally work with P&CS on small purchases.]
2.52
2.70
TRAINING avg.
[In general the responses from Procurement Officer to Procurement Officer are consistent.]
3.38
[The quality of training received from P&CS (not Banner Navigation) regarding the procurement
process is relevant to my position. ]
3.36
[The training provided by P&CS regarding the scope of work and contract administration is
relevant to my position. ]
3.27
[The training provided by P&CS is consistent.]
3.19
SECTION 3. IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS
The SUPER team received dozens of suggestions on how to improve the procurement process
through the survey. Some of these suggestions are already being worked through by the team
as part of their process improvement efforts, and others are being explored. A condensed list
of submitted suggestions and current status/actions follows. Several suggestions were very
similar to each other, and repeats have been removed from this list.
Comment Main issue Response In progress?
I don't like Banner, but that doesn't have anything to do with you. Keep up the good
work Procurement! Banner
Banner improvements are in process
with SW! Yes
Let us know when requisitions/purchase orders/invoices are
approved/created/paid! Communication In progress! Working with SW Banner Finance to have automated notifications Yes Setting up contracts is INCREDIBLY difficult.
A more streamlined and clear process would be very helpful.
The Procards are AWESOME! I only wish we could buy everything on them.
Contract process
SUPER is willing to collect suggestions on streamlining the contract
creation/modification process and forward on to Deb Moore for review. SUPER is exploring a one-card system and ways to increase pro-card purchasing as appropriate.
Yes
Web based tracking system that tracks purchases and contracts. A system like this will provide some much needed
accountability. Offer a far more user-friendly system for quick reporting and printing.
Tracking system
Researching e-procurement systems that might have this functionality, or ways to grow our own. Basic automatic
notifications are being implemented soon.
Yes
Accountability. Fast, reliable service with follow up via email/phone if problems are encountered. I suggest a system is put in place that monitors the performance and quickness of purchases.
Your suggestion will be reviewed by the SUPER team and forwarded on to John Hebard, Director of P&CS
Communicate which Procurement Officer
handles what commodities. Communication In progress! Website is being redone to better communicate. Yes Faster turnarounds on purchases, less
bureaucracy, fewer obstacles.
P&CS is working through Process Improvement now, to eliminate barriers
and de-mystify the process Yes
A reference chart and/or flow chart that covers all possible purchasing options, including encumbrances and blanket purchase orders and what to do for each.
Training Great suggestion, will work this into the new web design. Yes Sometimes Banner makes it difficult to get
through purchasing of items. Banner Working with SW to improve Banner interface Yes Purchasing with anything other than a
credit card is incredibly time consuming. Instead of requesting a check, why couldn't
This is an interesting solution to the check request process. We will
investigate it further. Yes
we request a transfer into an office account, then be able to write checks from that office account.
We have no idea who is responsible for the req once it has left our local office. We need to know who is the responsible P&CS person and their contact information.
Tracking system and Training
Communicating ability for departmental staff to see assigned P&CS buyer in
Banner Yes
More trainings, more help topics online. Service is always wonderful and
professional - I enjoy working with P&CS. Training
Working on revamping training options and frequency. Website is also being
redesigned. Yes
As someone who makes very small purchases occasionally, the process is very cumbersome and inefficient. In the time it takes me more time to log, reconcile, file, record, track and seek approval a $5.00 item becomes a $30 item.
It would be interesting to know if the item being purchased was via requisition or ProCard. Unfortunately, until the auditors come up with a better process, the documentation requirements may remain the same.
RSA forms creation is extremely cumbersome
The RSA form in its current form is required by statute and/or guidelines and cannot be altered at a department level. We are working to identify ways that the form could be improved at the SW level.
Yes
When modifying a purchase from the original buyer's request, COMMUNICATE to the buyer before purchasing the item/service. Thank you
Communication;
Red tape This request has been forwarded to John Hebard, Director of P&CS. Yes Now that Maren Boyack is there-it is even
better! None Thanks! n/a
Training, training, training. Consistent,
systematic training. Training Working on revamping training options and frequency. Yes Have a filing drawer (similar to OGCA) so
that departments know if there's
something that they/the vendor needs to provide.
Tracking system exploring ability of e-procurement systems to show current status of any
requisition Yes
I think the P&CS website can be updated to include an accurate commodity listing for
staff. Website;
-website is being redesigned and updated, and will include accurate
commodity listing Yes
I would like to see more blanket purchase orders available.
Terry Rahlfs is currently working on compiling a list of existing BPOs and creating additional ones for air charter services.
Yes P&CS needs to make more training
available and ask all UAF staff to take training every two years to keep up to date on purchasing changes. Long-term staff still work under old purchasing policies and are not up to speed on new practices.
Training Working on revamping training options and frequency. Yes
Faster response during periods of heavy volume, a website that is easy to navigate and has more content on the main page. An average user should be able to quickly find reference materials regarding
Website Currently working on website redesign to address these issues- great idea on
the reference guides! Yes
procedure and regulations. Creation of 1-2 page quick reference guides that explain the life of a request: how to initiate (step by step), documentation/other
requirements, the average turnaround time for the request, and who to contact with questions.
I would suggest that cross training between positions so that when someone is out or gone, that procurement would be seamless - however the best laid plans can go awry
Excellent suggestion - this will be
forwarded on to John Hebard. Yes
The only glitch I have is with the Procard website - when the account number is entered you have to tick the circle AND fill in the number for each part of the account number, and then you must update for the account number immediately or the information is lost and you have to do it all over again. Several times I haven't noticed that the information wasn't entered, and the item was placed to the default account when I had forgotten to tick the radio button or had entered the description before updating the information. I suspect this is a computer problem rather than P&CS.
This is a frustrating issue. A new system for ProCard reconciliation is actually being rolled out now. Stay tuned to the Pro-Card User ListServe for further updates.
Yes
provide a better visual chart that may help to explain the procedures from one dept to another. There are so many tasks/
procedures to cover and my position needs to know it all, so anything else to help would be good.
Training Great suggestion, will work this into the new web design. Yes
I have found that staff at PCS seem to be overly busy, thus procurements tend to get pushed out as staff is working on other procurements. It is rare that procurements that I submit are advanced in a timely manner.
This is a legitimate concern, as P&CS has gone through some staff turnover in the last few months. They are fully staffed now. Additionally, the process improvement team is working on streamlining the procurement process with the goal of reducing the time it takes for a PO to be issued.
Yes
Each procurement person has different forms they use and different processes they require, which is very inconsistent and frustrating.
SUPER is working on bringing
consistency and ease of use to existing Procurement & Contract Services forms Yes My major comment is that I would like to
see a more streamlined process for obtaining a procard waiver. By the time signatures are emailed back and forth several times, the form is almost illegible. In a nutshell, the process is very
cumbersome.
Your suggestion will be reviewed by the SUPER team and forwarded on to Helen
Connor, ProCard Administrator Yes
Try to cut checks on time...especially if they are RUSH. If they can't be cut by the requested date, at least let the requesting department know more or less when they should be expecting the checks. Some things are time sensitive and we would appreciate the courtesy of being informed. Some checks I requested were overdue and I had to call P&CS to find out the status. A couple of the requests were submitted two weeks prior. Nonetheless, P&CS is doing a good job.
This is a frustrating problem. The process to get an actual physical check cut is actually a team effort: 1) the department submits the request via Banner through the requisition process, 2) Procurement issues a purchase order to fund the check, 3) Financial Services cuts the check from the purchase order. As you can see, several steps are needed to get the actual check cut, much less sent to the department or vendor. The SUPER Team is willing to take any suggestions under consideration that would speed the process up.
Yes
P&CS is not responsive to the needs of researchers - researchers have generally done all the legwork required to reach a purchasing decision (usually on Fund2) and their orders should be expedited
accordingly - they will ask for help when it is needed.
P&CS actually has two full-time staff members who are dedicated to Research related procurements. Please refer to the Commodity/Service List and contact the appropriate staff member if you have concerns related to procurement and would like to discuss it with P&CS Staff.
Yes
