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New Purchasing Services staff stresses collaboration in cost management
By Jessica Ullian
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Richard Stack (center), Rosalind D’Amico, and Matt Mansfield are working with administrators to make the University’s purchasing systems more effective. Photo by Vernon Doucette |
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The faculty, staff, and students of Boston University are well aware of the academic resources available to them, but many don’t think about the behind-the-scenes procedures that enable research and scholarship to happen. The University’s reputation for excellence comes with a long list of day-to-day requirements — everything from reams of paper for printers to rats and mice for laboratories — and only a few people take an active, fully informed role in meeting these needs.
Richard Stack, director of the Office of Purchasing Services, wants to change all that. Since he arrived at BU nearly two years ago, Stack has been working to streamline purchasing procedures, applying the same spirit of collaboration that defines the University’s academics to its business operations. Last year, the office merged with the Medical Campus purchasing department, created a new group to speed up the ordering process, and launched new research teams to analyze cost management. In 2005, Stack and other members of his department intend to work with administrators at every school and college in the University in an effort to better understand what each program needs.
“We’re looking to take cost out of the system constantly, to manage the cost of education, and to make sure our students are getting a fair value,” he says. “And as a top research institution, we’re making sure that our researchers have access to the best products at the best price.”
A key component of the department’s plan involves forming research groups to assess the University’s needs, and then developing partnerships with suppliers, which Stack says “makes them a part of the University that understands our requirements.” Two new three-year supply contracts, with Fisher Scientific and Office Depot, have helped to achieve that goal. Fisher Scientific, which provides laboratory materials and equipment, will have on-site customer service at the University; Office Depot will offer a customized Internet ordering option, and 80 percent of transactions are expected to take place online this semester. The contracts, Stack says, are saving an estimated $3 million for the University.
The office has also reorganized its personnel, forming a new processing group to reduce turnaround time on most supply orders to less than eight hours. “Our goal is to ensure that programs have the materials they need immediately,” says Stack.
However, the most critical change involves creating a system that conducts business deals in the open, and therefore builds the relationship among BU, the community, and the vendors serving the University. The process has already begun with the reverse auctions now used for vendor bids, in which suppliers bid online for the University’s business and are able to see the competition and selection take place in real time.
The idea is also being applied to the new “green purchasing” plans, which will allow administrators to take a more active role in selecting environmentally friendly products. Purchasing Services is working with Office Depot to start an education program that will provide more information about how recycled products are manufactured and offer department coordinators the opportunity to select “green” products based on specific needs and criteria.
Finally, within the next two years, Stack plans to launch the Boston University Diverse Suppliers Program, which will promote opportunities for local minority- and women-owned businesses. “It’s really how we’ll be supporting the Boston community,” he says.
In the meantime, Stack and his newly expanded staff — including Matt Mansfield, manager of strategic sourcing, who was hired last fall from Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and Rosalind D’Amico, a 20-year veteran of the purchasing department who now supports construction and space design — are focusing on building relationships within the University. Their meetings with deans and other University leaders are intended to shape future plans at Purchasing Services and transform the department’s image.
“We’re trying to offer consulting services to these folks, not just purchasing but managing their spending,” Stack says. “I want to make sure I’m understanding the needs of all the colleges and departments, and I want them to know that we’re listening.”
18
March 2005
Boston University
Office of University Relations