Company: Seattle Public Schools
Annual Return: 35%
Project: Faced with a paper-based, labor-intensive purchasing system, the largest school district in the state of Washington implemented an SAP system along with the vendor's R/3 financial software. The main objective was to centralize purchasing so school officials could buy books, paper and other supplies such as pencils and chalk online, and free up professional purchasing staff for other activities. Since 2000, the system has been upgraded to tie directly into the sites of key suppliers such as Dell and Office Depot. Details on purchases, budgeting and approvals are documented electronically in the system. Through the financial system, the school district can track orders and compile statistics on its electronic workflow.
Benefits: Procurement costs were cut an average of 34%. Turnaround on orders sped up, while number of staff declined.
