Contracts Improvement

After a successful trial, JISC Procureweb is making the simple GeM contract search page available to all GeM institutions. This will act as an interim solution to improve user experience while we continue to make system enhancements. The contract search page identifies a user’s IP Address and shows GeM contract data specific to that user’s institution, preventing the need to log in to the GeM system. The data is organised by commodity group and greatly simplifies the task of finding approved supplier information. The page can be accessed at http://www.procureweb.ac.uk/contracts.aspx but each institution will need to be set up separately first before this page can be viewed. If you would like your institution to be set up with access to the page please email us at team@procureweb.ac.uk. The contract page will look like this:

TUCO

JISC Procureweb are currently in discussions with TUCO over the inclusion of TUCO contracts on GeM.  In order to include these contracts in GeM we are working on system developments which will ensure compatibility of GeM with TUCOs system and will update you as more information becomes available.

Data cleansing

Following recent investigations we have found that improvements in data quality may contribute to improvements in the user’s experience. Given this JISC Procureweb are working collaboratively with the consortia, supplier adoption team and our service provider, @UK, to identify and resolve data quality issues and implement Data Standards Guidelines for future best practice.

Request for Quote (RFQ)

We are planning to implement the RFQ functionality in GeM in a phased approach by appropriate agreements, including a pilot involving Manchester University and University of the West of England.   We are currently consulting with institutions to ascertain which agreements institutions would wish us to prioritise so that this can inform supplier adoption.    

GeM User Group Meeting

The second meeting of the GeM user group took place at Birmingham University on the 29th February.  Jane Hargreaves Contracts Manager NWUPC was successfully elected as Chair and Sheila Smith, Procurement Manager at Liverpool Hope University, as Vice Chair.

The group discussion covered improving user experience which is part of the current work package in the GeM enhancement plan.  The three areas of improvement within this work package have been determined by user feedback and include improvements to:

• Access
• Workflow (ease of use)
• Search

Other work packages agreed by the user group planned over the coming months include Request for Quote Functionality and a self-service Management Information reporting dashboard.  Further to this, we are currently accessing user feedback provided via emails, phone calls, training sessions and @UK support desk contact to determine future enhancement packages.  If you would like to provide feedback or suggestions on GeM please contact team@procureweb.ac.uk or 02920 870333.

JISC Procureweb would like to take this opportunity to thank Helen Foster, Procurement Manager at the University of Birmingham, who very kindly helped us to facilitate the meeting by providing the meeting rooms and making the catering arrangements for us.

The next meeting of the GeM User Group will take place in Birmingham in May.

Training

Webinar training sessions will take place on:

•Monday 26th March     10:30
•Friday 20th April          15:00
•Monday 23rd April        10:30

These webinar sessions are aimed at Purchasers and Contract Managers are split into two sessions; a  45 minute session covering viewing contracts and purchasing using contracted pricing and a 2 hour session aimed at those managing contracts.
 

Face to Face training sessions will take place on:

•Friday 20th April 10:30

These two and a half hour face to face training sessions for contract managers are held at @UK offices in Aldermaston, Berkshire

If you would like to book on to one of these sessions please contact JISC Procureweb either by email team@procureweb.ac.uk or by telephone 02920 870333.  If you are unable to make these sessions please keep an eye on www.gem.ac.uk/training.htm where we will publish future dates.

Kathryn Whittaker
Marketing Officer
JISC Procureweb