New York City and Arizona are part of a growing e-procurement trend that cuts across the public sector and commercial industry. In a case study presented by the Governing Institute and Ivalua, we take a look at how these organizations are modernizing their procurement processes for more effective and efficient outcomes.
New York City is reimagining government procurement, beginning with a new e-procurement system designed to end the inefficiency of manual, paper-based processes. “Inefficient legacy systems just don’t allow city leaders to be nimble enough to launch new programs quickly,” says Dan Symon, New York City’s chief procurement officer and director of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS). Symon and his staff are now well into a multi-year modernization program that relies on technology from Ivalua to enable a critical new capability: a complete, digital source-to-pay system.
The state of Arizona also turned to e-procurement solutions to modernize government operations. They initiated a series of digitalization projects over the last decade, including the adoption of Ivalua’s e-procurement system. Since then, the procurement office has focused on releasing the advanced features offered by the cloud-based Ivalua application. Perhaps most significant is the platform’s reporting tool, which will let staff members perform detailed spending analyses. “Our overall goal is to have an enterprise strategy in place that’s based on the detailed information we can pull out of the procurement system,” says Christina Garza, applications manager in the State Procurement Office (SPO).
Veterans of procurement modernization programs in New York City and Arizona say some important factors for success are choosing the right e-procurement solution, performing process modernization, ensuring stakeholder collaboration, and implementing effective change management strategies.
Many procurement professionals are anxious to embrace digital tools that can make their lives more efficient, Symon explains. “But that means bringing people along from the beginning, not just when it’s time to show them a demo or train them on the new system,” he says. “In that way, you help them see how they can contribute to the mission of government and do everything they can to support the priorities of constituents.”
Read the complete case study for more!