Finalist: 2024 Best Run SA Intelligent Spend Business Network (ISBN)
TAFE NSW: Implemented SAP solutions to automate procurement processes, achieving compliance, cost savings, and improved customer experience. The system supports over 3,000 buyers, digitizes approvals, and enhances supplier interactions, ensuring efficient, transparent, and compliant purchasing. Download the DocumentSAP Australia and New Zealand
Best Run Awards 2024
Best Run Awards 2024
Best Run SAP
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
Education https://www.tafensw.edu.au/Vocational training and education SAP Ariba Guided Buying and Invoicing, SAP Ariba
Sourcing, SAP Ariba Contracts, SAP Ariba Supplier
Lifecycle & Performance, SAP Fieldglass Contingent,
SAP Concur Expense, SAP Application Management
Services (AMS), SAP eSignature by DocuSign
Automating a complex supply network to support
contract compliance, insights and decision making.
TAFE NSW
Intelligent Spend & Business Networks
TAFE NSW is Australia’s largest provider of vocational education and training with more than 500,000 students, 17,000 staff and 130 campus locations. Courses range from horticulture to
hospitality, commerce to construction, and aviation to 3D animation.
TAFE NSW spends approximately $600m across Property, ICT and Corporate goods and services. TAFE NSW supports over 3,000 buyers across large geographical areas, buying a
diverse range of goods and services. The implementation of TAFE NSW Check Out (Ariba and Concur), has supported the simplification and automation of business processes resulting in
an agile, flexible, and compliant eProcurement Technology Ecosystem with the benefit of cost and time savings and an improved customer experience.
Since going live in 2020 TAFE NSW has:
• Digitised the entire source to contract process and saves approximately $11m per year through electronic sourcing events
• Increased the transparency and governance of recorded contracts increasing from 100 at Go Live to now than 500 contracts which has improved contract administration, variation
management and enabled 84% of all spend to be under management.
• 62% of all purchase orders are linked to existing catalogues or contracts with agreed pricing and terms and conditions.
• Digitised approvals using electronic workflows and electronically execute over 200 high value contracts using DocuSign.
• On average TAFE NSW issues 20,000 purchase orders each year to over 4,000 registered suppliers with an average cycle time of just 1.18 days.
• Implemented electronic invoicing to support accurate invoicing and on time payment, particularly supporting faster payment terms for small businesses.
• Increased the Pcard Fleet from 1100 to 1800 purchasing cards facilitating 80,000 transactions per year in a quick and efficient process.
• Implemented regular reporting and dashboards that support data integrity, compliance and governance and strategic decision making.
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
Education https://www.tafensw.edu.au/Vocational training and education SAP Ariba Guided Buying and Invoicing, SAP Ariba
Sourcing, SAP Ariba Contracts, SAP Ariba Supplier
Lifecycle & Performance, SAP Fieldglass Contingent,
SAP Concur Expense, SAP Application Management
Services (AMS), SAP eSignature by DocuSign
Automating a complex supply network to support
contract compliance, insights and decision making.
TAFE NSW
Intelligent Spend & Business Networks
TAFE NSW is Australia’s largest provider of vocational education and training with more than 500,000 students, 17,000 staff and 130 campus locations. Courses range from horticulture to
hospitality, commerce to construction, and aviation to 3D animation.
TAFE NSW spends approximately $600m across Property, ICT and Corporate goods and services. TAFE NSW supports over 3,000 buyers across large geographical areas, buying a
diverse range of goods and services. The implementation of TAFE NSW Check Out (Ariba and Concur), has supported the simplification and automation of business processes resulting in
an agile, flexible, and compliant eProcurement Technology Ecosystem with the benefit of cost and time savings and an improved customer experience.
Since going live in 2020 TAFE NSW has:
• Digitised the entire source to contract process and saves approximately $11m per year through electronic sourcing events
• Increased the transparency and governance of recorded contracts increasing from 100 at Go Live to now than 500 contracts which has improved contract administration, variation
management and enabled 84% of all spend to be under management.
• 62% of all purchase orders are linked to existing catalogues or contracts with agreed pricing and terms and conditions.
• Digitised approvals using electronic workflows and electronically execute over 200 high value contracts using DocuSign.
• On average TAFE NSW issues 20,000 purchase orders each year to over 4,000 registered suppliers with an average cycle time of just 1.18 days.
• Implemented electronic invoicing to support accurate invoicing and on time payment, particularly supporting faster payment terms for small businesses.
• Increased the Pcard Fleet from 1100 to 1800 purchasing cards facilitating 80,000 transactions per year in a quick and efficient process.
• Implemented regular reporting and dashboards that support data integrity, compliance and governance and strategic decision making.
Challenges
Procurement at TAFE NSW supports thousands of buyers across large geographical areas buying a diverse range of goods and services.
Procurement’s main customer is a teacher who is less focussed on procurement and just wants to buy the things they need to be able to teach
in a classroom. Procurement’s challenge was to implement system that made buying at TAFE NSW easy, compliant and generated value.
TAFE NSW needed a sophisticated, yet simple Technolgoy solution that could be easily accessible by a large number of disparate
stakeholders, buying a significant volume of low value and diverse range of goods and services. They wanted to guide the buyer to the right
suppliers for the goods or services they were buying and give the buyer confidence that not only were they purchasing compliantly but they
would also be getting a great outcome, whether that be savings, social benefit or favourable contract terms.
TAFE NSW wanted a solution that means their main customer could focus on teaching learners and less time on buying goods and services.
As a NSW Government Agency, TAFE NSW is required to operate in a complex operating environment and has and extra layer of
accountability to be complaint, fair and transparent, so it was critical the Technolgoy solution was reliable, auditable and value for money.
Efficiency and effectiveness is a priority and TAFE NSW wanted to make it easy to buy. Seeking to leverage automation, digitising forms,
electronic workflows and signatures, integration, notifications, reporting, data and so much more, TAFE NSW had a big ‘wish list’ for their
proposed solution.
Procurement at TAFE NSW supports thousands of buyers across large geographical areas buying a diverse range of goods and services.
Procurement’s main customer is a teacher who is less focussed on procurement and just wants to buy the things they need to be able to teach
in a classroom. Procurement’s challenge was to implement system that made buying at TAFE NSW easy, compliant and generated value.
TAFE NSW needed a sophisticated, yet simple Technolgoy solution that could be easily accessible by a large number of disparate
stakeholders, buying a significant volume of low value and diverse range of goods and services. They wanted to guide the buyer to the right
suppliers for the goods or services they were buying and give the buyer confidence that not only were they purchasing compliantly but they
would also be getting a great outcome, whether that be savings, social benefit or favourable contract terms.
TAFE NSW wanted a solution that means their main customer could focus on teaching learners and less time on buying goods and services.
As a NSW Government Agency, TAFE NSW is required to operate in a complex operating environment and has and extra layer of
accountability to be complaint, fair and transparent, so it was critical the Technolgoy solution was reliable, auditable and value for money.
Efficiency and effectiveness is a priority and TAFE NSW wanted to make it easy to buy. Seeking to leverage automation, digitising forms,
electronic workflows and signatures, integration, notifications, reporting, data and so much more, TAFE NSW had a big ‘wish list’ for their
proposed solution.
Solution
TAFE Checkout was implemented in 2020 and consisted of Ariba Source to Contract, SLP and Guided Buying. It has been complimented with Concur and
Fieldglass. The deployment of TAFE NSW Checkout was a bold and confident approach that saw the technology widely adopted and utilised from Go Live.
The TAFE NSW team has supported the system, its buyers and suppliers through a range of ongoing training and capability development activities including an
Onboarding Moodle, Online Training, Knowledge Articles, Intranet Page, MS Teams Channel and a Community of Practice. Not only is support provided for the
thousands of internal buyers, but similarly thousands of suppliers have been enabled to transact with TAFE NSW over the Ariba Network.
The implementation of TAFE Checkout at TAFE NSW has transformed the way that they interact with supplier. Buying goods and services is now easy and
intuitive. Most goods and services can be easily purchased from established contracts or catalogues with agreed pricing and terms and conditions.
Sourcing events are processed through the Ariba network and suppliers provide electronic responses which promotes an efficient, fair and transparent process.
Contracts are now recorded in a centralised electronic repository ensuring accurate record keeping and supporting business contract managers with contract
administration, variation tracking, extensions, reporting and contract management activities.
Over 1800 cardholders now have access to a purchasing card enabling them to quickly purchase low value goods with local, regional and small business. Not only
has this reduced administration for TAFE NSW, but supplier’s have responded favourable as it means they can easily supply to Government with minimal process
and can get paid at the point of sale.
The SAP solution has allowed TAFE NSW to comply with legislative requirements around supplier invoicing and payment and has reduced manual invoicing which
is often accompanied with inaccurate invoices. Now, suppliers can electronically ‘flip’ invoices against their orders and the details are automatically generated on
the invoice to TAFE NSW which removes manual handling, human error and delays in processing.
Over 3,500 suppliers are registered in the Ariba network to transact with TAFE NSW. They can digitally receive their purchase orders and contract workspaces and
respond to sourcing events. The Network provides a centralised record of all their past and current transactions which helps the supplier manage their business
with not only TAFE NSW but with the multiple other organisations that also operate over the Ariba Network.
The TAFE NSW is continually partnering with SAP and driving continuous improvement initiatives within the SAP solution to ensure it stays relevant and offers the
best customer experience. TAFE NSW has even established a Community of Practice for Ariba customers that consists of over 20 public and private sector Ariba
Customers who regularly meet to share their experiences, success and challenges.
TAFE Checkout was implemented in 2020 and consisted of Ariba Source to Contract, SLP and Guided Buying. It has been complimented with Concur and
Fieldglass. The deployment of TAFE NSW Checkout was a bold and confident approach that saw the technology widely adopted and utilised from Go Live.
The TAFE NSW team has supported the system, its buyers and suppliers through a range of ongoing training and capability development activities including an
Onboarding Moodle, Online Training, Knowledge Articles, Intranet Page, MS Teams Channel and a Community of Practice. Not only is support provided for the
thousands of internal buyers, but similarly thousands of suppliers have been enabled to transact with TAFE NSW over the Ariba Network.
The implementation of TAFE Checkout at TAFE NSW has transformed the way that they interact with supplier. Buying goods and services is now easy and
intuitive. Most goods and services can be easily purchased from established contracts or catalogues with agreed pricing and terms and conditions.
Sourcing events are processed through the Ariba network and suppliers provide electronic responses which promotes an efficient, fair and transparent process.
Contracts are now recorded in a centralised electronic repository ensuring accurate record keeping and supporting business contract managers with contract
administration, variation tracking, extensions, reporting and contract management activities.
Over 1800 cardholders now have access to a purchasing card enabling them to quickly purchase low value goods with local, regional and small business. Not only
has this reduced administration for TAFE NSW, but supplier’s have responded favourable as it means they can easily supply to Government with minimal process
and can get paid at the point of sale.
The SAP solution has allowed TAFE NSW to comply with legislative requirements around supplier invoicing and payment and has reduced manual invoicing which
is often accompanied with inaccurate invoices. Now, suppliers can electronically ‘flip’ invoices against their orders and the details are automatically generated on
the invoice to TAFE NSW which removes manual handling, human error and delays in processing.
Over 3,500 suppliers are registered in the Ariba network to transact with TAFE NSW. They can digitally receive their purchase orders and contract workspaces and
respond to sourcing events. The Network provides a centralised record of all their past and current transactions which helps the supplier manage their business
with not only TAFE NSW but with the multiple other organisations that also operate over the Ariba Network.
The TAFE NSW is continually partnering with SAP and driving continuous improvement initiatives within the SAP solution to ensure it stays relevant and offers the
best customer experience. TAFE NSW has even established a Community of Practice for Ariba customers that consists of over 20 public and private sector Ariba
Customers who regularly meet to share their experiences, success and challenges.
Impact
62% of all purchase orders raised are
linked to an existing catalogue or
contract with agreed pricing terms and
conditions.
Purchasing card fleet of over 1800
facilitating 80,000 transactions per
year, ensuring suppliers are paid on
time and with reduced administration.
Following the successful implementation at TAFE NSW, buyers, approvers and managers can:
• Confidently engage suppliers that comply with TAFE’s Policies and procedures, and build a more inclusive and diverse supply chain.
• The ability to build in to contracts the use of social suppliers directly and indirectly such as the Managed Paper Service where a supplier engages
100% with Aboriginal business to supply paper across the TAFE NSW landscape.
• Speed up purchase requisition's, knowing that due diligence, compliance and good governance are built into the solutions without the need to
provide business cases or engage in additional administration tasks.
• Reduce the need for ad hoc spend and create contract workspaces that bring spend under management so that TAFE buyers can support a vastly
increased number of purchase orders, contracts and invoices.
• Generate procurement data from the solutions and easily generate meaningful reporting needed to make informed decisions.
80% Contract compliance where
contract conditions and pricing are in
place with streamlined buying
methods.
62% of all purchase orders raised are
linked to an existing catalogue or
contract with agreed pricing terms and
conditions.
Purchasing card fleet of over 1800
facilitating 80,000 transactions per
year, ensuring suppliers are paid on
time and with reduced administration.
Following the successful implementation at TAFE NSW, buyers, approvers and managers can:
• Confidently engage suppliers that comply with TAFE’s Policies and procedures, and build a more inclusive and diverse supply chain.
• The ability to build in to contracts the use of social suppliers directly and indirectly such as the Managed Paper Service where a supplier engages
100% with Aboriginal business to supply paper across the TAFE NSW landscape.
• Speed up purchase requisition's, knowing that due diligence, compliance and good governance are built into the solutions without the need to
provide business cases or engage in additional administration tasks.
• Reduce the need for ad hoc spend and create contract workspaces that bring spend under management so that TAFE buyers can support a vastly
increased number of purchase orders, contracts and invoices.
• Generate procurement data from the solutions and easily generate meaningful reporting needed to make informed decisions.
80% Contract compliance where
contract conditions and pricing are in
place with streamlined buying
methods.
“”The SAP solution has completely transformed the way that we do business at TAFE NSW. With thousands of
buyers and suppliers operating across a large, diverse and complex environment, the SAP solution has
simplified our processes and made it easy to buy goods and services.
As a Government Agency we often face additional scrutiny so it was critical to introduce a solution that could
embed compliance and support governance and transparency without over complicating the process. We
focussed on leveraging the smart Technolgoy, electronic workflows, automation, integrations, and reporting to
ensure the buying experience was intuitive and seamless.
One of the best benefits in implementing SAP is the ability to easily identify and transact with small, regional and
social suppliers. We’ve been able to implement contracts and partner with strategic suppliers and use Pcards to
quickly and easily buy low value goods and services from our small businesses.
The future of the TAFE NSW eProcurement Technology ecosystem is exciting! With artificial intelligence and new
features and functionality being released I’m looking forward to seeing how TAFE NSW can leverage these to
optimise our procurement function, the customer experience and the value that’s generated.
Nicole Cutler
Director Procurement Capability and Governance
TAFE NSW
buyers and suppliers operating across a large, diverse and complex environment, the SAP solution has
simplified our processes and made it easy to buy goods and services.
As a Government Agency we often face additional scrutiny so it was critical to introduce a solution that could
embed compliance and support governance and transparency without over complicating the process. We
focussed on leveraging the smart Technolgoy, electronic workflows, automation, integrations, and reporting to
ensure the buying experience was intuitive and seamless.
One of the best benefits in implementing SAP is the ability to easily identify and transact with small, regional and
social suppliers. We’ve been able to implement contracts and partner with strategic suppliers and use Pcards to
quickly and easily buy low value goods and services from our small businesses.
The future of the TAFE NSW eProcurement Technology ecosystem is exciting! With artificial intelligence and new
features and functionality being released I’m looking forward to seeing how TAFE NSW can leverage these to
optimise our procurement function, the customer experience and the value that’s generated.
Nicole Cutler
Director Procurement Capability and Governance
TAFE NSW