“Shop the MarketPlace First” Initiative

The NC State strategic plan sets five bold goals for NC State: boosting student success, funding faculty and infrastructure, spurring interdisciplinary work, imbuing a commitment to excellence and pursuing local and global partnerships.

The “Shop the MarketPlace First” initiative assists the campus community along the pathway to achieve GOAL #4: Enhance organizational excellence by creating a culture of constant improvement.  Achieving this goal requires constant attention to business practices and the courage to change and adapt to new technologies designed to increase our efficiency.  The Office of Finance and Administration has repeatedly committed to the regular review and evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of the university’s administrative processes.  A recent in-depth analysis of purchasing patterns has shown that one simple business practice change will allow NC State to reallocate millions of dollars in resources from administrative overhead to student success initiatives ⇒ Shop the MarketPlace First.

Please see the attached 3D memo from Mary Peloquin-Dodd, Associate Vice Chancellor, Finance and University Treasurer.

Top Ten Ways the MarketPlace improves institutional effectiveness while realigning resources:
1 – Contract Pricing ⇒  6% over manufacturer list
2 – Eliminates Sales Tax
3 – Free shipping
4 – Intuitive online shopping experience ⇒ saves time
5 – Eliminates paper invoices ⇒ reduces manual processing
6 – Bulk Purchase Discounts ⇒ up to 10% over contract pricing
7 – Paperless approval routing ⇒ saves time
8 – Quote to order ⇒ streamlines complex orders
9 – Secure data exchange ⇒ eliminates fraud
10 – Electronic payments ⇒ generates revenue

Working together to purchase all low dollar supplies from the NC State MarketPlace could save the university up to $1.17 million annually.

 

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