TAFE NSW announced at SAP’s virtual event, ‘Procurement Reimagined APAC,’ that it has implemented SAP Ariba spend management solutions to consolidate its procurement systems. The leading Australian vocational education and training provider is targeting AU$33 million in savings with SAP Ariba. The deployment aims to support TAFE NSW’s large-scale digital transformation.
TAFE NSW’s partnership with SAP extends back to 2017 when it deployed SAP Fieldglass and SAP Concur solutions to help it manage its massive contingent workforce and improve decision-making in talent management. Now, with SAP Ariba spend management solutions, the organisation expects to improve visibility and management over spend.
With over 400,000 in-campus and online students, TAFE NSW’s supply chain is tremendously diverse. In 2017, its combined operating spend exceeded AU$500 million. Managing this much operating spend requires a centralised procurement platform—something that the vocational education provider did not have.
Previously, the organisaion operated in an ad-hoc purchasing process, using different technology systems and platforms. To help it increase cost savings and drive efficiency and compliance, TAFE NSW needed an integrated, standardised source-to-pay process.
Creating ‘TAFE NSW Checkout’ with SAP Ariba spend management solutions
TAFE NSW chose SAP Ariba spend management solutions to create a centralised procurement platform. Together with Bloom Consulting as its technical consultant, the educational institution was able to create ‘TAFE NSW Checkout’ platform.
According to SAP, since the go-live with SAP Ariba spend management solutions, TAFE NSW has seen the following improvements and achievements:
- enhanced visibility and control across spend categories
- straight-through processing increased from 2 percent to 44 percent within the first month of implementation
- purchase order compliance increased by 93 percent
- accurate and timely payment of suppliers through invoice automation
- successfully onboarded and trainied 2,000 requisitioners and 1,300 approvers
- direct spending to Aboriginal-owned businesses and other local small businesses
- improved user experience for staff and suppliers alike
Giles Curtin, TAFE NSW general manager of Procurement comments on the new platform:
“SAP Ariba solutions have enabled us to develop a robust and unified spend management platform, which helps streamline the organization’s procurement processes. The improved user experience means we’ve been able to onboard thousands of remote staff onto the platform throughout COVID-19, with the end-to-end electronic workflow enabling them to focus on teaching, knowing their buying needs are being met while at the same time achieving significant efficiencies and cost savings for our business.”
Bloom Consulting Managing Director Abid Ali adds,
“The SAP platform has set a new benchmark for the higher education sector, significantly improving the day-to-day experience for staff and suppliers. The implementation has enabled us to successfully drive improved processes and cost savings for TAFE NSW.”
About TAFE NSW
TAFE NSW is the second-largest vocational education provider in the world. It was established as an independent statutory body under the TAFE Commission Act 1990.
The educational institution trains over 500,000 students in campus, workplace, online, or distance education methods of education annually. It offers more than 1,000 courses—from plumbing to floristry, nursing to construction, aviation to fashion design.
TAFE NSW has won numerous external awards and is an approved delegate of the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)—identified as a high-performing registered training organisation that delivers quality.
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