PED Talks: May 2019

Lydia Dexter Author

07/24/2019 Added

24 Plays

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This is the PED Talk for May of 2019. The topic of discussion is collaboration across the campuses of the University of Nebraska.

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[00:00:00.380]Today we're going to talk,
[00:00:01.760]for the procurement TED Talk about
[00:00:04.260]collaboration across the campuses.
[00:00:07.070]My name is Scott Stremick.
[00:00:08.755]I am the IT procurement manager for
[00:00:09.900]the University of Nebraska system
[00:00:12.856]and I am going to go ahead and start us off.
[00:00:15.340]The first thing that I'm showing you
[00:00:17.395]is just about collaboration.
[00:00:18.270]It's Webster Dictionary's definition of collaboration
[00:00:23.176]and the general basic idea behind collaboration
[00:00:26.835]is the idea of everyone working together
[00:00:28.710]with a shared goal in mind.
[00:00:31.320]I know that within the different cultures
[00:00:33.250]on each of the campuses, collaboration allows
[00:00:37.779]us to build a universal plan from everybody's
[00:00:44.360]point of view and everybody's campus culture
[00:00:49.277]and bringing a plan to come to fruition
[00:00:52.150]so today we're gonna talk about three of the main categories
[00:00:56.510]that the university buys for commodities
[00:01:01.070]and that's facilities, IT, and scientific categories
[00:01:06.310]but first, one of the things I kind of wanted to go over
[00:01:09.010]was to build a collaborative effort,
[00:01:12.420]you need to have three things and that's the communication,
[00:01:14.915]content management, and workflow
[00:01:18.979]and what you're gonna find from visiting with
[00:01:21.000]the facilities, the IT, and the scientific categories today
[00:01:24.610]is that we do work to attain all of those three ideas.
[00:01:31.398]Where in this relationship, all the parties
[00:01:35.635]strategically are choosing to cooperate and communicate
[00:01:38.230]in order to accomplish a shared outcome so with that,
[00:01:42.170]I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Dustin
[00:01:45.280]and let him talk about his area.
[00:01:48.570]Thank you, Scott.
[00:01:50.650]My name is Dustin Kotik and I am the facilities buyer
[00:01:54.010]for the University of Nebraska Lincoln campus
[00:01:57.380]and I'd like to start off by talking about out facilities
[00:02:01.960]strategic team that has been developed for coordination
[00:02:05.120]across the system.
[00:02:07.890]The strategic team was established in January of 2018
[00:02:13.250]and our main focus of the group was to discuss
[00:02:15.830]strategic facilities buying opportunities
[00:02:19.619]such as eSHOP vendor enablement and bidding opportunities.
[00:02:26.019]The people that make up the facilities strategic team
[00:02:28.970]besides myself representing the Lincoln campus,
[00:02:31.460]we have Lynn McAlpine with the University of Nebraska
[00:02:35.560]Omaha, Kim Christensen and Sharon Waller
[00:02:39.360]with the University of Nebraska Kearney
[00:02:42.010]and Mary Mitilier, Michael Taylor,
[00:02:45.160]and Victoria Zajac with Nebraska Medical Center.
[00:02:54.180]The benefits of having a facilities strategic team.
[00:02:57.666]Here I have just bullet pointed some of the main benefits
[00:03:02.765]that we have documented for our team,
[00:03:07.110]the first one being to promote campus collaboration
[00:03:09.870]and communication and as Scott said
[00:03:14.408]here at the beginning of the discussion,
[00:03:16.700]communication is extremely important
[00:03:19.220]and our campuses in my opinion in the past
[00:03:25.100]have done a pretty poor job of communicating
[00:03:29.942]between each campus location
[00:03:31.624]to try to come up with strategic ideas
[00:03:33.870]to enable the campus to get better spending opportunities
[00:03:37.325]with our suppliers so once these strategic teams
[00:03:42.080]were developed, that campus collaboration and communication
[00:03:45.700]was highly informed to make these opportunities
[00:03:52.445]benefit the university.
[00:03:55.464]The second bullet point, to promote consistency
[00:03:58.024]with ordering products through eSHOP.
[00:04:00.290]As everybody knows who's attending these TED Talks
[00:04:03.580]in the past, procurement services is strongly encouraging
[00:04:08.280]our campus customers to procure all items
[00:04:13.165]or as many items as possible through the eSHOP.
[00:04:18.147]Consistency of doing those orders through the eSHOP
[00:04:20.100]help save the university money and time and not only that,
[00:04:25.848]but it helps our suppliers understand
[00:04:28.340]exactly what the university is looking for
[00:04:30.820]in products and services and gives them an opportunity
[00:04:33.688]to fine tune their operations to help serve
[00:04:38.370]the University of Nebraska better.
[00:04:41.210]The third bullet point being to review and standardize
[00:04:45.304]products used on our campuses.
[00:04:48.024]Once we started the facilities strategic team,
[00:04:51.965]we come to realize that a lot of our campuses
[00:04:54.230]are utilizing different products as far as
[00:04:57.120]facilities related products on our campuses,
[00:05:00.130]a couple examples being different prime suppliers
[00:05:03.910]for electrical supplies, plumbing supplies,
[00:05:08.104]custodial supplies, and so on.
[00:05:10.450]We want to try to standardize these products
[00:05:12.450]that are used on our campus to help gain us
[00:05:17.667]some additional spend to fliers and just to try to help
[00:05:23.430]maintain the consistency with the products
[00:05:26.885]that we're using on all of our systems
[00:05:28.080]that are used system wide.
[00:05:33.450]The fourth bullet point, consolidate suppliers
[00:05:35.960]used on campuses.
[00:05:38.900]One of our goals is to try to get as many suppliers
[00:05:41.740]as we possibly can enabled into our eSHOP system
[00:05:45.440]to be able to utilize and take advantage
[00:05:50.408]of the discount that we get with these suppliers
[00:05:52.259]that have the ease of ordering through the system
[00:05:54.664]as far as the order itself or the invoicing
[00:05:56.790]to try to be all done electronic,
[00:05:58.660]try to take some paper away from everybody's desks on campus
[00:06:01.784]and the consolidation of suppliers will help us do that
[00:06:06.310]to try to get as many suppliers into the system
[00:06:09.800]but those suppliers need to be consistently used
[00:06:12.260]within the facilities and the IT
[00:06:15.242]and the scientific categories.
[00:06:18.270]The next bullet point being to minimize
[00:06:20.150]the required training of eSHOP use with suppliers.
[00:06:24.360]Those of you that are familiar with eSHOP know
[00:06:27.650]that it takes a little bit of time to learn
[00:06:30.457]how to use the system and not only for our campus customers
[00:06:31.923]but more importantly for the suppliers.
[00:06:37.700]We just don't have enough time in everybody's day
[00:06:42.744]to try to train hundreds and thousands of suppliers
[00:06:46.659]on how to use this system so if we help consolidate
[00:06:49.939]the suppliers and make sure that we're
[00:06:53.779]using the same suppliers on the majority of our campuses,
[00:06:56.104]that will help limit the amount of time because
[00:06:57.860]then training additional suppliers on how to use the system.
[00:07:03.544]The next point being to establish category standards
[00:07:05.290]for the University of Nebraska system.
[00:07:09.062]Scott Stremick will get into this a little bit more
[00:07:10.350]on the IT side as they have done a lot of category
[00:07:14.310]standards for IT.
[00:07:17.060]Facilities, not so much for we are working toward that
[00:07:22.040]and when I say working toward that,
[00:07:23.990]we are now in cooperative and collaborative efforts
[00:07:28.910]to try to select prime suppliers that are able
[00:07:33.150]to serve all of our campus locations
[00:07:35.170]and provide the goods and services
[00:07:38.763]that each location is needing
[00:07:39.596]rather than having multiple suppliers
[00:07:41.570]have out to provide for that category.
[00:07:47.680]The next bullet point being to explore options
[00:07:50.210]for gaining pricing leverage with suppliers.
[00:07:54.264]This simply states that the more power
[00:07:58.930]that we have as a whole university system,
[00:08:02.445]the more buying power we have with these suppliers
[00:08:04.180]meaning that the more consistency that we have
[00:08:08.820]of using the same products on all our campuses,
[00:08:11.110]then the more power we have with these suppliers
[00:08:14.760]to try to leverage some additional spend discounts
[00:08:18.365]for the quantities that we're purchasing
[00:08:19.310]through each of these suppliers.
[00:08:24.602]The next point, to receive more accurate spend reporting
[00:08:26.750]for University of Nebraska system.
[00:08:30.483]I think I can speak on behalf of us three
[00:08:34.301]senior buyers here at the Lincoln campus that
[00:08:37.245]spend reporting has been difficult
[00:08:39.470]and it's not very dependable for most of us in the past.
[00:08:45.800]Getting these suppliers put in the eSHOP
[00:08:48.020]and being more consistent would be
[00:08:53.222]the suppliers that we're using will help
[00:08:54.840]gain us more accurate spend reports
[00:08:57.485]so we can leverage that spend detail,
[00:09:00.020]figure out where we're short on items,
[00:09:02.110]where we're short and what our strengths are
[00:09:06.563]as a campus system in order to help gain us
[00:09:08.857]some of those additional spend discounts
[00:09:13.410]or rebates potentially through these suppliers.
[00:09:19.741]And then the final one would be the increase category
[00:09:21.550]background and knowledge system wide.
[00:09:26.183]This of course is a benefit to all of us
[00:09:28.600]but I'll speak specifically for myself that
[00:09:32.963]it's easier for me to do my job
[00:09:34.560]with supplier negotiations on prime supplier contracts
[00:09:37.690]if I understand what the other University of Nebraska
[00:09:41.260]campuses are needing for their products and services.
[00:09:47.400]Therefore, the campus collaboration and communication
[00:09:51.320]with all of us facilities strategic buyers,
[00:09:55.310]if we all know exactly what the other on those campuses
[00:10:00.664]needs to help get their day to day jobs done better,
[00:10:04.130]then the better it is for all of us
[00:10:08.183]so just knowing what UNO and UNK and UNMC
[00:10:11.260]is looking for helps me kind of put together and RFP
[00:10:15.980]that's gonna benefit the entire system
[00:10:17.890]rather than just the Lincoln campus
[00:10:20.761]as it's probably looked at in the past.
[00:10:25.230]Some of the current highlights
[00:10:29.283]for the facilities strategic team.
[00:10:30.460]Total spend across the system for fiscal year '18
[00:10:33.180]was roughly 144 million dollars.
[00:10:37.750]But 90 million dollars of that being facilities
[00:10:40.730]and capital construction projects
[00:10:42.470]going through the eBuilder system
[00:10:45.890]and roughly 45 million dollars
[00:10:49.019]with the maintenance, supplies, and equipment
[00:10:51.363]that has been ordered on our campus.
[00:10:54.200]Some discussions on management preferred suppliers,
[00:10:57.760]how to communicate with category contracts
[00:11:00.090]that UNL has in place that other campus locations
[00:11:02.840]can utilize.
[00:11:05.325]As I mentioned before, the University of Nebraska Lincoln
[00:11:09.864]has several requests for proposals
[00:11:12.541]for prime supplier contracts.
[00:11:13.560]In the past, those prime supplier contracts
[00:11:16.720]have not been shared very at will with our other campus
[00:11:21.661]locations in Omaha and Kearney and that communication now,
[00:11:24.640]working together as a system and communicating
[00:11:30.900]what our needs are as far as those RFPs
[00:11:33.387]and what our interests are with regards
[00:11:36.558]to the products and services that we need
[00:11:39.821]will help all campus locations
[00:11:41.420]and so that communication is key
[00:11:45.213]in order to make those things a benefit
[00:11:46.640]to all the system.
[00:11:50.270]The final point, there be an eSHOP vendor enablements
[00:11:52.910]currently in process.
[00:11:54.910]These are the four suppliers that I'm currently working on
[00:11:57.620]or we as a facilities team are currently working on.
[00:12:01.860]Graybar was recently awarded a prime supplier contract
[00:12:06.297]for electrical supplies.
[00:12:09.587]They are a dual contract holder with Preston Electric.
[00:12:11.698]Preston Electric has been in our eSHOP system
[00:12:15.110]for some time now as they were the previous contract
[00:12:17.740]holder for the electrical supplies
[00:12:20.888]and so we're now working with Graybar
[00:12:23.411]to get them up and going into the system
[00:12:24.808]to give university buyers another option
[00:12:27.290]for procuring goods and services
[00:12:31.752]through that company for those supplies.
[00:12:33.160]Anixter Cable, this is mainly for IT infrastructure
[00:12:35.446]of our cabling of our new buildings
[00:12:37.891]that were being built on campus
[00:12:40.940]and also remodeling on some spaces as well.
[00:12:45.330]Intermountain Lock and Security Supply Company.
[00:12:47.920]This is for door access hardware, key cylinders, locks,
[00:12:53.560]those types of things and then finally,
[00:12:56.120]Belimo AirControls and these are HVAC controls
[00:12:59.690]for our facilities and management planning department.
[00:13:07.090]I'll now hand it over to Scott Stremick
[00:13:09.533]to talk about the IT strategic team.
[00:13:11.955]Before Scott starts, thank you for the questions
[00:13:15.060]for those that are adding those into the chat.
[00:13:17.920]We will take your questions in the chat at the end
[00:13:21.440]of the presentation so as we go along the presentation,
[00:13:25.469]please feel free to send those questions in the chat
[00:13:26.790]and we'll address them at the end.
[00:13:29.680]Okay so I'm Scott Stremick.
[00:13:33.032]I'm the IT procurement manager
[00:13:34.672]for the University of Nebraska.
[00:13:36.660]As you can see on the first slide,
[00:13:39.352]I have the same thing as Dustin does.
[00:13:41.100]I do an IT strategic team with campus representatives
[00:13:44.920]that meet monthly in the system.
[00:13:47.530]As you can see myself, Claudette Biskup at UNL
[00:13:51.459]who was the hardware buyer, Sue Cuddeback
[00:13:53.650]who is the software buyer for the system,
[00:13:57.733]UNO is Lynn McAlpine, UNK Kim Christensen,
[00:14:01.914]and at UNMC, Mary Mitilier and Michael Taylor.
[00:14:05.340]We also invite to participate in the past
[00:14:09.997]is Maggie Wit at UNL, Robert Jennings,
[00:14:12.941]and Victoria Zajac at UNMC and so as Dustin's group was,
[00:14:19.858]we were established in early 2018
[00:14:23.490]and we focus basically on the IT spend
[00:14:26.170]across the campuses and the best methods available
[00:14:29.996]for purchasing the different categories
[00:14:32.530]of software, hardware.
[00:14:34.480]We have different speakers that will like to come in
[00:14:37.340]and talk to us about some of the other items
[00:14:40.730]within our categories such as Apple and things like that
[00:14:44.664]so we do look at various topics across all the campuses
[00:14:47.800]and the cultures.
[00:14:50.815]So on the next, here we have basically for IT
[00:14:53.843]the best collaboration ideas that come from this
[00:14:57.294]and so for here, the first one,
[00:14:58.650]the continuity of products across the campuses
[00:15:02.301]and this allows for us for a state of stability
[00:15:04.280]of hardware and software purchases.
[00:15:07.620]So the biggest idea that we want to get out of this
[00:15:09.850]is something where everybody's using similar tools
[00:15:13.210]or close to the similar tools for ease of business everyday,
[00:15:18.960]not just for the users but also for the ITS client services
[00:15:22.660]to help service each of those products.
[00:15:27.783]By being collaborative, we can leverage what vendors spend
[00:15:32.180]and be able to reduce what you spend on
[00:15:34.960]your different products and the more we spend with vendors,
[00:15:38.980]it helps us for better leverage for our prices
[00:15:43.229]and at the same time, it allows us to utilize
[00:15:47.010]some of the different tiers that are within a certain
[00:15:50.323]service provider and their pricing structures.
[00:15:53.750]So one is the consolidation of supply.
[00:15:57.787]Another is the consolidation of suppliers on the campuses.
[00:15:59.740]One of the biggest things that we like to do is
[00:16:01.933]we always are welcome to new suppliers
[00:16:05.170]but one of the basic ideas is not having
[00:16:07.700]a whole bunch of suppliers where we consolidate
[00:16:09.708]and build partnerships with suppliers
[00:16:14.851]and it makes it easier for us to have conversations
[00:16:17.550]with suppliers when there's less of an amount out there
[00:16:21.120]where we can actually build relations,
[00:16:24.672]better relationships with a few rather than with the many.
[00:16:28.270]The next one is it helps us to establish standards
[00:16:32.611]and for us using the same software or hardware
[00:16:35.389]across the campuses helps build the continuity
[00:16:36.867]and it allows for campuses to have a more consistent
[00:16:40.780]product process and material is serviced better
[00:16:43.870]to ensure better service for our end users
[00:16:46.857]and that kind of goes with the same idea
[00:16:49.512]in the first one about the continuity of products
[00:16:52.740]and helping make ITS's client services job
[00:16:54.685]a little bit easier as they have less products
[00:16:58.593]they have to deal with.
[00:17:02.340]Another one, creating a consistent practice
[00:17:05.190]for purchasing hardware and software
[00:17:07.500]and that one kind of goes without much of an explanation.
[00:17:11.180]I mean the biggest thing is if we could have
[00:17:14.160]a process or a policy that basically says
[00:17:17.360]this is how we should go about purchasing
[00:17:19.670]our hardware and software and that is something
[00:17:21.235]that not only is the strategic team looking at
[00:17:25.235]but procurement is looking at as a whole
[00:17:27.010]is starting to look at a better way to purchase
[00:17:31.496]and more written policies as how you should
[00:17:34.470]go about purchasing and where you should go
[00:17:36.940]so from an IT side, we are working at it.
[00:17:39.360]It is something that we're working on
[00:17:42.077]to make it a little bit easier of a process,
[00:17:45.475]more especially for software, less so much for hardware,
[00:17:49.170]but definitely having something,
[00:17:52.020]a more consistent practice that everyone can follow.
[00:17:56.099]Another big one is communication across
[00:17:58.061]or communication increasing our category knowledge
[00:18:02.280]and so each of us that participate,
[00:18:04.759]not just on the strategic team but all around
[00:18:07.100]in procurement, knowing what other campuses
[00:18:10.510]know about a product and how they've used it
[00:18:13.821]and we share that knowledge with each other
[00:18:15.150]for a better use of the product
[00:18:18.323]and if using the standard product,
[00:18:19.770]the info can be shared without distortion
[00:18:23.043]and so we always get the same message.
[00:18:25.020]We all have the same usage ideas.
[00:18:27.340]There's not multiple services that are clouding out
[00:18:31.507]each of our worlds.
[00:18:33.990]I mean the biggest thing that we can always have
[00:18:38.024]is that if we try to work towards having
[00:18:40.059]a more collaborative effort of combining
[00:18:41.880]our software usage especially and being able to have
[00:18:45.683]a much more whittled down number of software categories
[00:18:49.443]is making it that each of us is using
[00:18:52.780]or utilizing the same products
[00:18:55.523]would make it a lot more helpful for us
[00:18:57.907]and the last one is the security across the system
[00:19:02.379]and for IT security, it would make it easier for them
[00:19:03.610]to manage the on campus use if we all were using
[00:19:09.245]a consistent similar product and when they put out
[00:19:12.510]their security patches and that,
[00:19:14.560]we're all using it as a similar product
[00:19:16.900]in a similar manner and so those are the main ones,
[00:19:20.170]the benefits that we reap from having
[00:19:24.387]a collaboration across campuses.
[00:19:27.440]And just kind of for more of a background information,
[00:19:31.550]last year in fiscal year '18,
[00:19:33.840]our total spend in IT was around 69 million across
[00:19:39.150]the four campuses.
[00:19:43.288]So we do quite a bit of technology spend
[00:19:46.028]and it's kind of up or down depending on
[00:19:48.644]how everyone's budgets are doing
[00:19:50.152]and some of the software and hardware refreshes
[00:19:52.130]that have to come through the system at the time.
[00:19:55.688]I believe fiscal year '17 was somewhere around 84 million
[00:19:59.120]so it kind of gives you an idea that the ups and downs
[00:20:02.310]that we do have.
[00:20:04.610]The next one is what is currently done with IT procurement
[00:20:08.709]and strategic sourcing and we do collaborate
[00:20:10.330]between the two groups.
[00:20:13.331]ITS strategic sourcing is run by Amy Metzger
[00:20:16.667]and she and I work together
[00:20:19.244]to do a couple of different things.
[00:20:20.307]One is to work to combine software packages
[00:20:21.770]where we can so we look at the software
[00:20:24.230]that people are buying and is it possible to combine
[00:20:27.870]campuses into a single type or maybe just a couple
[00:20:30.920]different softwares?
[00:20:32.749]Can we go ahead and move things to just one,
[00:20:36.840]standardize it across the board?
[00:20:38.230]Do we have the ability to change things
[00:20:40.100]from such as like Survey Monkey or something like that
[00:20:43.070]or DocuSign where we buy it on a website
[00:20:46.870]and then maybe we go through eSHOP and purchase
[00:20:50.147]it through the anywhere store instead of
[00:20:53.580]having to go out and use your P card
[00:20:55.410]and buy like a Survey Monkey.
[00:20:56.900]So that's a nice example of one of the things
[00:20:59.160]that we work on.
[00:21:01.549]Another one that there is working to build standards
[00:21:02.910]for hardware so as everyone pretty much knows,
[00:21:06.072]there are standards for computer hardware
[00:21:08.460]that pertains to monitors, desktops, and laptops.
[00:21:13.050]Those were identified by a group before an RFP was done
[00:21:17.805]by each campus and it was a collaborative effort
[00:21:21.183]in order to build standards for the system.
[00:21:22.840]That will actually happen again this summer
[00:21:26.387]and that group will get together again
[00:21:27.220]and look at all of what we purchased based on
[00:21:29.420]the standards and what was customized for those categories
[00:21:33.310]and do another RFP to build standards
[00:21:35.770]for desktops and laptops.
[00:21:38.269]I think peripheral or your docking stations
[00:21:41.350]and the monitors and one of the other ones
[00:21:45.411]is just working together, ITS and strategic sourcing,
[00:21:49.795]to work for a better process of policies
[00:21:52.551]to make the purchases safer and quicker.
[00:21:54.640]We do work, there is an IT advisory council out there
[00:21:57.960]that meets that works towards building
[00:22:01.180]better policies and procedures to make purchases
[00:22:04.950]for IT products quicker through the system,
[00:22:08.493]easier, and helps build some of the policies
[00:22:10.980]and through senior management kind of ideas
[00:22:16.936]so we do do that.
[00:22:19.171]The next one is beginning to build strategic plans
[00:22:21.100]for the long term purchasing of technology
[00:22:23.860]and we do this by category
[00:22:26.061]and this is something that's fairly new to the system
[00:22:28.560]and we are starting to work towards building plans
[00:22:32.920]as far as long term planning, strategic planning,
[00:22:36.520]so we can kind of show that technology is different
[00:22:40.230]than a lot of the other commodities that are out there
[00:22:43.130]and some of this stuff that we put within our system,
[00:22:45.570]it actually needs to stay a lot longer
[00:22:48.298]than just three to five years.
[00:22:51.413]Some of this is in the 10, 15, to 20 years
[00:22:53.837]we need to have things and technology also,
[00:22:56.600]some of the stuff with technology is not so sole sourced
[00:23:00.750]but it's something that is a user defined item
[00:23:05.779]that they want to have and so we want to always make sure
[00:23:07.640]that we're staying with the idea that the departments,
[00:23:12.200]the colleges, or the university as a whole
[00:23:13.380]is being able to utilize the software that they want to use
[00:23:18.456]rather than something that they have to use
[00:23:20.403]because of a price point or something like that
[00:23:22.020]so we are looking at more planning and better planning,
[00:23:27.463]strategic planning, for the long term of technology
[00:23:30.050]and then at the same time,
[00:23:31.901]we're starting to benchmark technology
[00:23:32.860]with our peers at other universities
[00:23:35.501]and one is the big 10 academic alliance.
[00:23:37.480]We're starting to benchmark how people buy technology,
[00:23:42.070]how they buy certain softwares,
[00:23:43.760]how they do cost recovery, things like that
[00:23:47.021]so we're starting to utilize better the plans
[00:23:48.850]that are out there, the systems that other people are doing
[00:23:51.850]and kind of learning from the pros and cons
[00:23:55.261]that they have and the speed bumps
[00:23:56.280]and the good stuff that they've had happen
[00:23:58.760]on their side of it.
[00:24:02.802]As far as collaboration as a whole,
[00:24:05.123]the IT area does do quite a bit,
[00:24:08.903]so much more than just what the purchasing people
[00:24:13.187]but we do it with other departments and colleges
[00:24:15.310]on the other campuses and we collaborate from an IT point
[00:24:17.224]and scientific software that's used in classroom
[00:24:23.319]is also used as a system.
[00:24:24.810]There's academics, facilities software
[00:24:27.160]that was utilized as a U wide software
[00:24:32.504]rather than just a site specific
[00:24:34.220]and then IT software itself is also becoming more U wide
[00:24:39.864]and a collaborative effort rather than just
[00:24:41.384]to ITS itself so that's my little section.
[00:24:45.747]I'll hand it over to Sydney for scientific.
[00:24:50.940]All right, thank you Scott.
[00:24:53.710]Again thank you everybody for joining us this afternoon
[00:25:00.643]and we're gonna head into the scientific category
[00:25:05.149]if my mouse will work, there we go.
[00:25:07.725]So my name is Sydney Zach.
[00:25:09.347]I am the scientific sourcing specialist
[00:25:12.088]here at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:25:14.680]Before I got here just last year in August,
[00:25:22.184]I was in a similar position over at UNMC
[00:25:23.518]so I have a little bit of, I have the best of both worlds
[00:25:26.268]with the med center and UNL background
[00:25:29.949]so definitely helpful within this category
[00:25:32.269]so the scientific strategic team took off
[00:25:35.170]shortly after my arrival here in August
[00:25:38.909]so we currently meet monthly to kind of go over
[00:25:42.010]concerns, issues, discuss strategic opportunities
[00:25:45.220]within our category so our team is made up of myself
[00:25:51.107]and Nicole McCoid, our procurement systems manager
[00:25:54.330]here at the University of Nebraska Lincoln,
[00:25:57.645]Lynn McAlpine at UNO, Kim Christensen at UNK,
[00:26:04.008]and Courtney Schaffert who is their scientific buyer
[00:26:06.260]at UNMC who took my spot after I left
[00:26:09.947]and then Mary Mitilier who is their systems manager
[00:26:12.648]over at the med center.
[00:26:19.267]So going through a few of the scientific strategic team
[00:26:23.469]benefits, as Dustin and Scott talked about,
[00:26:26.100]really consolidating spend to our preferred
[00:26:29.360]and contracted suppliers.
[00:26:30.980]So within the scientific category,
[00:26:34.069]we kind of have two major players at the top tier
[00:26:37.140]of our scientific suppliers.
[00:26:39.190]So we have our Fisher and our BWR.
[00:26:42.440]We currently have our university wide
[00:26:45.952]research and lab contract that's laid with Fisher
[00:26:48.456]and we utilize GPO pricing currently
[00:26:51.130]under the EI contract with BWR
[00:26:54.632]so we have a vast, vast selection
[00:26:59.191]between the two suppliers that will fit
[00:27:01.832]a lot of our laboratory and research needs
[00:27:02.771]here on campus for consumables, chemicals, equipment.
[00:27:05.340]Those are our two big players
[00:27:06.640]so we want to drive a lot of spend for our consumables
[00:27:08.989]and standard laboratory usage supplies through those two.
[00:27:17.549]In addition, we want to make sure that
[00:27:20.088]we're trying to consolidate with our kind of second tier
[00:27:21.427]or specialty suppliers so we're not having a lot of
[00:27:24.440]tail-end spend that dilutes our spend across the suppliers
[00:27:26.915]so we don't quite get that leverage that we need
[00:27:29.405]which leads into the pricing leverage with suppliers.
[00:27:33.250]So the more spend that we drive onto our preferred
[00:27:36.700]and contracted suppliers, the better leverage we have
[00:27:38.984]with the suppliers that we have agreements with.
[00:27:42.584]So on our Fisher contract, as we drive more spend
[00:27:46.264]onto that contract, if we meet certain thresholds,
[00:27:48.941]we get certain percentages off, discount of certain
[00:27:54.344]categories if we meet those thresholds.
[00:27:56.744]So consolidating that spend is really a huge advantage
[00:27:59.820]across the system for all of our research.
[00:28:06.070]Additionally, we want to enable more diverse
[00:28:08.250]selection of suppliers to engage with the eSHOP.
[00:28:12.003]Now with consolidating, I know it's kind of a conflicting
[00:28:15.430]statement with consolidating our spend
[00:28:18.335]but we want to make sure that we have
[00:28:21.843]the best selection possible for our end users
[00:28:24.941]to meet their needs.
[00:28:26.461]So scientific is a really diverse category
[00:28:28.210]and the campuses are very diverse in what they utilize
[00:28:30.840]so at the med center, you're getting a lot of biomedical
[00:28:32.950]clinical research whereas UNO is a little bit of
[00:28:40.920]undergrad, grad, chemistry, physics,
[00:28:41.753]maybe you have a biomechanics department now.
[00:28:44.920]Same with UNK, a little bit smaller
[00:28:47.380]but UNL encompasses all of those and then some.
[00:28:51.299]So we have a lot of variety across this category
[00:28:55.399]and we want to make sure that we have the best selection,
[00:28:58.520]a diverse selection for our end users,
[00:29:00.698]but we want to bring them on board to our eProcurement
[00:29:03.421]platform to really streamline the process for our end users
[00:29:05.421]but have those agreements in place with
[00:29:09.000]that selection of suppliers.
[00:29:11.730]So engaging with these suppliers on eSHOP
[00:29:15.150]is gonna help streamline the eProcurement process
[00:29:18.240]by bringing them on board
[00:29:19.690]so it's gonna get your POs cut quicker,
[00:29:22.410]it's gonna get your invoices paid quicker,
[00:29:25.240]it's gonna hit your cost centers faster.
[00:29:28.470]The turnaround time to have your orders cleared
[00:29:33.800]and get your supplies and needs met in your laboratories,
[00:29:36.179]it's gonna make it so much faster for you guys
[00:29:41.060]to bring those strategic suppliers on board.
[00:29:45.603]Additionally, the group uses a lot of teamwork
[00:29:49.821]to solve the issues that arise across campus
[00:29:53.500]so I know a few of my end users on the meeting right now
[00:29:56.470]have run into issues with math invoicing
[00:29:59.890]or agent invoicing so maybe your invoice is coming in
[00:30:05.443]at a higher price or maybe you got invoiced
[00:30:09.121]at a different quantity and it's consistent across
[00:30:12.099]the campuses, we're gonna be able to have the power
[00:30:14.897]in numbers to go to the suppliers
[00:30:16.979]to solve these issues a lot quicker so we're getting
[00:30:18.679]the invoices paid and we're getting your items
[00:30:21.480]in stock and in your lab as soon as we can.
[00:30:30.200]Additionally, we're gonna bring visibility to suppliers
[00:30:31.680]across the system so there may be a supplier
[00:30:33.837]that UNL is using heavily or UNMC is using heavily
[00:30:37.137]that maybe the other campuses didn't know was an option
[00:30:42.776]and a great example is Illumina.
[00:30:46.174]So UNMC is heavily using them as next gen sequencing,
[00:30:51.260]reagents kits and whatnot and there's a little bit
[00:30:53.917]of small usage here on UNL's campus
[00:30:56.450]but opening that up, bringing them on board
[00:30:59.960]to our eProcurement platform is gonna bring visibility
[00:31:02.070]to all of our campuses so UNO can jump on board,
[00:31:04.277]UNK can jump on board, other users across the UNL campus
[00:31:06.557]can jump on board and that way we're driving that spend
[00:31:09.800]into that supplier and coming back to
[00:31:14.680]leveraging that pricing and consolidating that spend.
[00:31:19.740]And as Dustin and Scott also said,
[00:31:22.510]we're gonna promote the open communication
[00:31:26.019]and collaboration among campuses.
[00:31:27.640]There's power in numbers, we're gonna drive the spend,
[00:31:29.576]we're gonna drive that leverage to ultimately benefit
[00:31:32.397]the U wide system and then as Dustin said also,
[00:31:36.860]there's gonna be more precise reporting
[00:31:39.332]so we can really have a better handle on our category
[00:31:41.997]and understand our strength and our numbers,
[00:31:44.490]our strength in suppliers, the suppliers that are really
[00:31:47.760]doing a great job going to bat for us and servicing us well
[00:31:52.553]and maybe some opportunities that we're missing out on
[00:31:54.616]that we can kind of wrap under maybe a pricing agreement
[00:31:57.220]or engaging with it further in negotiations
[00:32:01.896]to benefit our end users.
[00:32:07.757]So as I've mentioned briefly just a little bit ago,
[00:32:10.917]we really in this category, we really want to bring
[00:32:16.535]more scientific suppliers on board that are gonna fill
[00:32:19.597]a lot of different needs for our campuses
[00:32:21.619]so the enablement process is really gonna be
[00:32:23.336]a huge advantage in time, it's gonna be able to load
[00:32:24.980]our contracted pricing, it's gonna be a very streamlined
[00:32:27.080]process for the procurement of whatever goods
[00:32:31.920]in this category and across all the categories actually
[00:32:35.440]within our eProcurement platform.
[00:32:37.290]So scientifically speaking, in this category,
[00:32:41.640]these are currently all of our enabled suppliers.
[00:32:44.950]I shouldn't say all.
[00:32:47.517]Some of them may fall under a different category.
[00:32:49.592]I think there are a few under facilities and operations
[00:32:52.376]but there's a lot of overlap among IT and facilities
[00:32:57.080]and strategic when it gets down to certain parts of an item
[00:33:01.157]but for a lot of medical supplies,
[00:33:03.197]this is what you're gonna see when you log into eSHOP
[00:33:05.960]and start shopping for the items that you need
[00:33:09.416]so we'd like to really expand this,
[00:33:10.630]to bring on suppliers that are gonna fill the gaps
[00:33:14.280]that we currently utilize that we're maybe doing
[00:33:17.757]a lot more spend than we think we are
[00:33:18.900]and we can engage them with some better discounted pricing
[00:33:22.310]or enabling them to have a punch out
[00:33:26.430]to have access to their catalog and see all their items
[00:33:29.830]and see what we're missing out on
[00:33:34.049]so it's gonna make the ordering process
[00:33:36.611]and the shopping experience a lot more amplified
[00:33:37.608]for the needs that we have across the campuses.
[00:33:42.050]So currently, some of the highlights that we're working on
[00:33:46.648]with the team.
[00:33:48.168]So just to kind of give you guys an understanding
[00:33:49.844]of this category specifically,
[00:33:50.677]across the U wide system in fiscal year '18,
[00:33:53.107]we did about 64.2 million dollars in spend.
[00:33:57.810]So that total spend encompasses the GL codes
[00:34:01.640]that fall under research, lab equipment and supplies
[00:34:05.805]is gonna contain lab animal equipment and supplies
[00:34:08.210]and also medical equipment and supplies.
[00:34:12.445]So we're having a lot of discussions on our team about
[00:34:14.580]how do we manage our preferred suppliers?
[00:34:16.870]So a great example is how to maximize our university wide
[00:34:19.721]agreement with Fisher?
[00:34:22.903]So like I talked about before, driving that spend
[00:34:26.466]onto that prime contract and hitting those thresholds
[00:34:27.299]so we get those steeper discounts,
[00:34:30.380]those categories, that maximization
[00:34:33.550]is gonna be felt across the campuses,
[00:34:36.125]it's gonna be felt on this campus and UNMC,
[00:34:38.163]UNO, and UNK.
[00:34:39.923]There's a huge advantage of really utilizing
[00:34:41.720]our preferred suppliers and really working with them
[00:34:47.821]to maximize the benefits for both parties
[00:34:51.741]and more specifically, the current enablements
[00:34:54.158]that we're working on scientifically,
[00:34:55.840]Newark we are in the testing stages right now
[00:35:02.424]so what that means is we have brought them
[00:35:04.560]onto our testing site in our eProcurement platform.
[00:35:07.760]We're working through how do they receive orders,
[00:35:11.070]how are the invoices coming in,
[00:35:14.930]how does it look within both sites of the system
[00:35:19.405]so that is a work in progress
[00:35:20.980]but we hope to have them live hopefully soon.
[00:35:24.984]Illumina and Roche are currently in the beginning stages
[00:35:28.504]right now so what we want to do for Illumina
[00:35:30.250]is bring them on as a level two punch out
[00:35:33.341]so you're able to punch out to their website,
[00:35:35.520]see their catalog with live, real-time pricing
[00:35:38.660]and also if you're maybe searching generally for a product
[00:35:41.950]on eSHOP, you can also use that search function
[00:35:45.021]on the home page because maybe you're not sure
[00:35:47.800]you want to buy it from Illumina.
[00:35:48.633]Maybe you want to compare some pricing
[00:35:50.116]so you want to have all the options in front of you
[00:35:52.957]so that will be a huge advantage
[00:35:54.579]for those end users that are needing next gen sequencing
[00:35:57.820]reagents for kits or anything related to that.
[00:36:01.610]Hoping to bring Roche along as a punch out, too,
[00:36:04.610]so they will come up on the search function
[00:36:06.936]in the eSHOP homepage as well as
[00:36:09.213]being able to punch out to their catalog,
[00:36:12.355]live real-time pricing so you're able to see
[00:36:13.890]what you're gonna pay, that contracted pricing,
[00:36:17.990]and you're gonna be able to have a really seamless
[00:36:20.995]shopping experience within that punch out.
[00:36:23.231]And then finally, we currently have one general
[00:36:27.315]Henry Schein ink tile on our homepage.
[00:36:30.477]I'm not sure if many end users know this but that tile
[00:36:33.315]actually uses two different catalogs
[00:36:35.315]so there's a medical catalog and a dental catalog.
[00:36:39.050]I think it typically defaults to the medical catalog
[00:36:43.000]so what we're hoping to do for our counterparts
[00:36:46.360]at the med center that have a call to dentistry,
[00:36:50.136]we hope to split those tiles into a Henry Schein medical tab
[00:36:53.779]so our end users can punch out, search for medical supplies
[00:36:56.610]that they need and as they see fit for their research
[00:36:59.910]and then have a separate tile for Henry Schein dental users
[00:37:03.816]so they can go in and get the specialty dental items
[00:37:08.002]without any confusion, making sure that
[00:37:09.360]both sets of end users really are getting what they need
[00:37:12.510]and this will also help in reporting in spend
[00:37:16.162]because currently, the Henry Schein spend
[00:37:18.680]for both of those catalogs are being funneled under
[00:37:20.060]one vendor account and it's really hard to decipher
[00:37:23.130]how much spend we're doing with them
[00:37:26.758]and leveraging opportunities that we're missing out on
[00:37:28.840]so it will be a huge advantage not just for our end users
[00:37:31.260]but for our consumer team as well.
[00:37:35.830]And I think that should just about do it
[00:37:40.264]so we do have a couple questions on the chat
[00:37:42.440]and let me get to those in just a second.
[00:37:48.900]Okay so our first question is who gets the rebates
[00:37:55.480]and how are they utilized?
[00:38:00.584]Currently, all rebates are received
[00:38:01.920]from contracted suppliers going to a general account
[00:38:06.360]and they're distributed at the discretion
[00:38:08.340]of the vice chancellor of business and finance.
[00:38:12.297]None of us on the strategic teams have any input
[00:38:14.723]as to where those rebates go or what campuses
[00:38:18.221]those go to so the vice chancellor makes those decisions
[00:38:21.624]accordingly and hopefully some of those campuses,
[00:38:25.123]you're probably not noticing any of that
[00:38:28.260]to be honest with you but as we continue
[00:38:30.820]to build these strategic teams and gain more rebates
[00:38:36.590]in the future, we hope to have a better handle
[00:38:39.440]exactly how those are distributed just to make sure
[00:38:41.930]everybody understands that they're getting
[00:38:44.941]their piece of the pie at the end of all this.
[00:38:49.320]Thank you, Dustin.
[00:38:50.153]And then our next question is for the documentation
[00:38:53.750]having in writing about sole source,
[00:38:56.540]the information on these seem to vary
[00:38:58.590]depending on who is asked.
[00:39:00.320]Examples would be nice and we could suggest
[00:39:03.700]some examples as well.
[00:39:08.104]So for the scientific category typically speaking,
[00:39:13.560]what I like to see and so uniform guidance
[00:39:16.559]is in effect as of July 1 of last year
[00:39:18.090]so anything over 10,000 dollars,
[00:39:20.790]we're gonna want to see comparative quotes
[00:39:24.020]if at all possible and in those rare instances
[00:39:27.060]that we do have a sole source for it,
[00:39:30.461]we want a thorough justification as to
[00:39:32.563]why that purchase will be a sole source
[00:39:34.824]and for those of you that were on our TED Talk
[00:39:39.680]a few weeks ago that was done by Maggie and myself,
[00:39:42.300]there is a recording out on our website
[00:39:45.421]so if you want to revisit that, you can certainly do so.
[00:39:46.840]Maggie had a great section on sole sources
[00:39:49.240]and what really qualifies
[00:39:51.830]or should qualify as a sole source
[00:39:54.221]and examples of those that do not.
[00:39:56.941]There's also a great section, I'm a little biased,
[00:39:59.840]but I did on the bidding process
[00:40:02.344]is also in that recording as well.
[00:40:05.283]But anything from 10,000 to our bid limit of 150,000
[00:40:08.560]is going to need comparable quotes
[00:40:11.400]or a sole source documentation.
[00:40:16.120]I don't want to say sections 'cause that's not
[00:40:17.800]the correct way to say it but for our contracted suppliers
[00:40:23.560]that have been competitively bid
[00:40:25.864]so that's specifically speaking scientifically,
[00:40:29.556]you're able to purchase off the Fisher contract
[00:40:32.104]up to that bid limit because that has been
[00:40:34.243]competitively bid university wide
[00:40:38.360]so for our other run off purchases,
[00:40:42.664]we like to see comparable quotes.
[00:40:44.540]I said in our talk last time that for sole source,
[00:40:46.140]what I would like to see is the comparable quotes
[00:40:49.630]but if you are gonna pursue the sole source justification,
[00:40:55.640]I always ask what are you purchasing,
[00:40:59.490]what is it gonna be used for,
[00:41:01.380]how is it gonna be utilized, why is this the only one
[00:41:05.460]that can meet your needs?
[00:41:07.080]I also look at making sure that your specifications
[00:41:10.904]are not so specific that you have created
[00:41:13.330]a sole source in your justification.
[00:41:17.030]I also want to make sure that if
[00:41:19.200]you do get comparable quotes,
[00:41:21.330]you do not have to do the sole source justification
[00:41:24.340]because you've done your comparisons,
[00:41:26.310]you've gone to different suppliers,
[00:41:28.100]and you're ready to pick the supplier you needed.
[00:41:31.363]We don't need that sole source form if you do
[00:41:32.230]go out and get those comparable quotes.
[00:41:35.650]I don't know if Dustin or Scott want to add
[00:41:38.845]anything specifically speaking in their categories.
[00:41:40.560]So IT follows the same general rules
[00:41:42.900]that Sydney brought out as far as uniform guidance and that
[00:41:46.200]and then at over 150 RFPs or RFQs
[00:41:51.240]have to be done at the same time.
[00:41:53.776]We do follow the same general idea.
[00:41:56.790]If you feel that you have justification
[00:41:59.830]for a sole source, I do ask that you basically fill out
[00:42:03.100]the who, what, when, where, and how of that purchase
[00:42:05.560]that's exactly what it is, how it's utilized
[00:42:09.475]in your department, and why you believe that
[00:42:14.504]this is the only supplier out there
[00:42:18.360]that can achieve those specifications that you need to have.
[00:42:21.620]Keep in mind that we do look at that
[00:42:25.240]'cause the category that that would come out of
[00:42:33.907]on the side is that the true sole source or not
[00:42:35.645]but the biggest thing is we want to be able to see
[00:42:36.478]the who, what, when, where, and how of that purchase
[00:42:38.140]is being made.
[00:42:40.169]I'll just add to that that on the facilities side
[00:42:44.610]one of the more common justifications
[00:42:49.670]that are tried to go through or tried to be submitted
[00:42:52.330]is that this is who we've always used.
[00:42:56.883]That's not a sole source justification.
[00:42:58.770]Sure in the past you may have a relationship
[00:43:01.550]with a supplier who has provided a good or service
[00:43:04.740]to your department for many years but
[00:43:06.787]with technology capabilities these days
[00:43:11.544]and the more and more suppliers that are out there,
[00:43:14.787]there's a lot of different companies
[00:43:15.843]that can provide those types of goods and services
[00:43:18.227]so we need to make sure as Scott said
[00:43:21.747]that it is strictly an item or a service
[00:43:25.043]that can only be provided from that particular supplier.
[00:43:29.860]So we had a quick followup question to that one.
[00:43:32.083]Who should we talk to about doing a sole source
[00:43:36.824]documentation and I would say reach out to your
[00:43:39.741]category manager, whatever type of equipment
[00:43:43.683]or service that you're looking to procure.
[00:43:44.970]Reach out to that procurement specialist
[00:43:47.660]because we'll be able to help guide you
[00:43:50.500]either in that sole source route
[00:43:52.861]or maybe we can help you find other suppliers
[00:43:56.899]that meet your needs or at least look at other options
[00:43:58.621]that may be available to you
[00:44:02.740]and I'll give it one more second for any other questions
[00:44:09.238]and while we're waiting, I do want to say for my end users,
[00:44:10.723]something I forgot to add.
[00:44:12.280]If you are interested in bring suppliers
[00:44:15.636]that you feel would be advantageous
[00:44:18.020]not just to be in University of Nebraska Lincoln campus
[00:44:20.370]but system wide, please let me know
[00:44:23.320]and I will absolutely look into
[00:44:25.520]getting them enabled in eSHOP,
[00:44:28.440]looking at spends and how we can leverage
[00:44:31.400]and bring them on board to service the university.
[00:44:36.540]Yeah and along those same lines
[00:44:39.123]and I think I can speak on behalf of all of us here
[00:44:40.440]is that one of the key components of these
[00:44:42.740]quote unquote strategic groups is that we are teams.
[00:44:45.400]We are representatives of all four campuses
[00:44:46.877]and if you have ideas or questions in regards
[00:44:54.560]to any of these strategic teams,
[00:44:56.970]maybe what our goals are or what we're working on,
[00:45:01.701]feel free to reach out to any member of those teams.
[00:45:04.030]They'll be glad to take a few minutes and sit down
[00:45:08.397]and try to explain what we're doing,
[00:45:11.480]listen to your comments or concerns,
[00:45:12.960]and whatever in put you can provide to make
[00:45:16.141]this a more complete effort on behalf
[00:45:21.565]of all of our teams is greatly appreciated
[00:45:23.827]and not only that, I'd like to just go ahead
[00:45:25.843]and take a minute to say thank you
[00:45:29.141]to everybody who serves on these strategic teams.
[00:45:32.938]For UNO and UNK and UNMC for the most part,
[00:45:37.450]we have similar representation amongst
[00:45:42.680]all three of these strategic teams
[00:45:43.864]and although Scott and Sydney and I have been selected
[00:45:46.659]to kind of moderate or lead these strategic teams,
[00:45:51.890]we can't do it alone and the input and the assistance
[00:45:55.629]that's provided by each one of these representatives
[00:46:00.090]on these teams is greatly appreciated
[00:46:03.949]and it's gonna take all of us a coordinated effort
[00:46:07.810]as a group to make changes that are going to benefit
[00:46:11.970]the entire system of the University of Nebraska.
[00:46:18.589]All right, I don't see any other questions
[00:46:20.250]so thank you, Dustin, for adding that.
[00:46:22.830]Scott, is there anything else
[00:46:24.780]you'd like to add at this time?
[00:46:27.315]No, I'm good.
[00:46:28.148]All right, thank you everybody
[00:46:29.090]for joining us this afternoon and if you have
[00:46:31.670]any other questions for any of us
[00:46:33.660]or any other procurement staff,
[00:46:35.370]please reach out and we will help you
[00:46:37.520]with whatever you need.
[00:46:38.670]Have a great rest of the week, everybody.

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PED Talks: May 2019

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