How Adelphi University is saving time and effort with Unimarket.

Liz Kash, Director of Procurement, has been with Adelphi for almost three decades. She shares how Unimarket helped address the university’s unique needs when it made the move to eProcurement, ultimately saving her team — and the university — substantial time and effort while allowing for more strategic work to be done.

Too much paper slows down processing

Adelphi’s old paper–based procurement process meant ordering anything could be painstakingly slow.

“There was so much paper. Almost every procurement step — requisitions, purchase orders, approvals, invoicing — was paper. Plus, any changes made to an existing order or bid involved even more paper,” says Liz.

Helping buyers track the status of an order was also complicated. “First, they would call you to find out if you had received the paperwork. Then again to check the order had been entered, and for the PO number so they can call the vendor and check on its status,” she explains.

When Adelphi began the hunt for an eProcurement solution, it narrowed the search to two options, one of which was Unimarket. Liz enlisted the help of staff on campus to demo each system, and the feedback was unanimous: while both systems had similar functionality, Unimarket was the most user-friendly.

The decision was made, and Adelphi’s eProcurement journey began.

Overcoming implementation hurdles

Adelphi’s “homegrown” ERP called for a customized implementation plan and solutions to unique challenges. And Unimarket delivered.

For example, when the implementation team had a problem with the introduction of blanket order functionality, Unimarket worked closely with Adelphi’s IT team to pinpoint and solve the problem.

“Everything on the Unimarket side was correct, so once we found the internal issue, IT was able to correct it and things went much smoother,” recalls Liz.

To help ease the staff’s transition to new ways of doing things and to ensure the university got the best from its eProcurement solution, Unimarket’s Director of Higher Education Market Engagement, Christopher Rust, was brought in. “Christopher was fabulous,” says Liz. “He did some additional training with our accounts payable team, which helped bring them up to speed.”

Time to add strategic value

With Unimarket successfully implemented, Liz says it’s almost hard to imagine life without it. The university has digitized most of its procurement processes, which means she can work from home 100% of the time.

Going digital also means the Adelphi team has been able to fully automate many processes, delivering significant time and cost savings. In fact, the only paper-based processes remaining are those involving credit card orders and travel expenses.

“We’re probably saving two weeks every month not filing all that paper,” says Liz. “We’re not printing, which means we’re also saving ink and paper. And the five filing cabinets full of purchase orders are now gone, so we’re saving a tremendous amount of room too!”

They’re very much there to support you, not just with software implementation, but also with how best to use it in your organization.

Liz Kash

Director of Procurement, Adelphi University

Most importantly, Liz and her team can now tackle many new initiatives that align with the university’s recently launched strategic plan. Previously, most of the day — and many hours on evenings and weekends — was dedicated to administration tasks. Now, all the work is manageable inside regular office hours, and that renewed focus on strategy already has a positive impact on budgets.

“It’s much easier to track spending,” notes Liz, “and we can respond to overspending issues now that we can monitor all transactions in one place.”

Improved reporting capabilities

With the introduction of Unimarket, Adelphi is now able to quickly and easily pull important information from its ERP system and interrogate the data.

“With Unimarket, our leadership team now has access to more information. The accounts payable team also uses several reports in Unimarket to assist with month-end closing, and our buyers have better visibility of where their orders are in the pipeline,” shares Liz.

Unmatched customer support

Liz says Unimarket’s customer support surpasses her high expectations. She can’t think of a time when it took more than an hour for the support team or their Unimarket rep Julie to answer a question. That speed and attention to detail allow Liz and her team to focus on what they do best without worrying about wasted downtime.

“They’re very much there to support you, not just with software implementation, but also with how best to use it in your organization,” says Liz. “If I were ever looking for another job, they would have to have Unimarket. It’d be a deal breaker.”

Download the success story (PDF)