Ministry of Education NZ - SAP Best Tech Awards 2025 Spend Management
Ministry of Education NZ leads the way in contingent workforce management with SAP Fieldglass Download the DocumentSAP Australia and New
Zealand Best Tech Awards
2025
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2025
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Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
Government https://www.education.govt.nz/Education SAP Fieldglass
The Ministry of Education New Zealand is the Government’s lead advisor on the country’s education system. With a purpose to
deliver equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, the Ministry provides strategic direction, policy leadership and
operational support across early childhood, schooling and tertiary education.
As a system steward, the Ministry works closely with a wide network of agencies, educators and service providers to deliver on
national education goals.
To better manage its contingent workforce, the Ministry turned to SAP Fieldglass (branded internally as Contractor Central) as a
central platform for improving visibility, control and efficiency across its external workforce operations.
Ministry of Education NZ leads the way in contingent
workforce management with SAP Fieldglass
Spend Management
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
Government https://www.education.govt.nz/Education SAP Fieldglass
The Ministry of Education New Zealand is the Government’s lead advisor on the country’s education system. With a purpose to
deliver equitable and excellent outcomes for all learners, the Ministry provides strategic direction, policy leadership and
operational support across early childhood, schooling and tertiary education.
As a system steward, the Ministry works closely with a wide network of agencies, educators and service providers to deliver on
national education goals.
To better manage its contingent workforce, the Ministry turned to SAP Fieldglass (branded internally as Contractor Central) as a
central platform for improving visibility, control and efficiency across its external workforce operations.
Ministry of Education NZ leads the way in contingent
workforce management with SAP Fieldglass
Spend Management
Challenges
With a diverse contingent workforce, the Ministry of Education faced several operational challenges that
impacted visibility, efficiency and experience:
• Lack of a central record: Contingent workers were being managed in different ways across teams, with no
unified view of who was engaged, where they were working, or under what terms.
• Manual and inconsistent processes: Hiring managers had to rely on fragmented processes and
inconsistent tools, slowing down recruitment and creating unnecessary admin.
• Delays for contingent workers: Contractors often arrived without being set up in systems or given access
to the building, resulting in onboarding delays.
• Issues with invoice reconciliation: Recruitment agency invoices were difficult for accounts payable to
process. Complex fee structures made timely payment challenging and negatively impacted the Ministry’s
overall payment performance metrics.
• Limited organisational visibility: Leadership lacked comprehensive real-time visibility into the contingent
workforce, hindering effective cost tracking, risk management, and strategic planning – challenges that are
especially critical in the public sector, where transparency and accountability are paramount.
• Systemic government focus on transformation: As part of a broader push across New Zealand
government agencies, improving visibility and digital maturity around workforce management was a pressing
strategic priority.
With a diverse contingent workforce, the Ministry of Education faced several operational challenges that
impacted visibility, efficiency and experience:
• Lack of a central record: Contingent workers were being managed in different ways across teams, with no
unified view of who was engaged, where they were working, or under what terms.
• Manual and inconsistent processes: Hiring managers had to rely on fragmented processes and
inconsistent tools, slowing down recruitment and creating unnecessary admin.
• Delays for contingent workers: Contractors often arrived without being set up in systems or given access
to the building, resulting in onboarding delays.
• Issues with invoice reconciliation: Recruitment agency invoices were difficult for accounts payable to
process. Complex fee structures made timely payment challenging and negatively impacted the Ministry’s
overall payment performance metrics.
• Limited organisational visibility: Leadership lacked comprehensive real-time visibility into the contingent
workforce, hindering effective cost tracking, risk management, and strategic planning – challenges that are
especially critical in the public sector, where transparency and accountability are paramount.
• Systemic government focus on transformation: As part of a broader push across New Zealand
government agencies, improving visibility and digital maturity around workforce management was a pressing
strategic priority.
Solution
The project to implement SAP Fieldglass moved quickly, with work beginning in early 2024. The platform was live
by the end of the year to allow for supplier onboarding and migration of the existing contingent workforce data. It
became fully operational for hiring managers in January 2025, making it a sub-12-month implementation from
start to finish.
This was an ambitious implementation, given the need to integrate SAP Fieldglass with both the Ministry’s HR and
finance systems. Integrations included:
• HR: Integration with SAP SuccessFactors to align contingent worker data with existing people systems.
• Finance: Integration with the Ministry’s non-SAP financial management information system (FMIS), enabling
faster invoice processing and payments.
These integrations were key to unlocking the visibility and efficiency gains that underpinned the project’s
success.
The project to implement SAP Fieldglass moved quickly, with work beginning in early 2024. The platform was live
by the end of the year to allow for supplier onboarding and migration of the existing contingent workforce data. It
became fully operational for hiring managers in January 2025, making it a sub-12-month implementation from
start to finish.
This was an ambitious implementation, given the need to integrate SAP Fieldglass with both the Ministry’s HR and
finance systems. Integrations included:
• HR: Integration with SAP SuccessFactors to align contingent worker data with existing people systems.
• Finance: Integration with the Ministry’s non-SAP financial management information system (FMIS), enabling
faster invoice processing and payments.
These integrations were key to unlocking the visibility and efficiency gains that underpinned the project’s
success.
Impact
As the first NZ government agency to implement SAP Fieldglass, the Ministry of Education has taken a bold step forward in
digital workforce management. The platform has delivered immediate efficiency gains while laying strong foundations for
future improvement.
Key outcomes include:
Eliminated manual reconciliation with buyer-created invoices and direct payment from contractor-submitted timesheets.
Major uplift in AP efficiency, saving time and streamlining processing.
Improved visibility and transparency over contingent workforce spend and public fund usage.
Enhanced reporting and KPI tracking, enabling more informed workforce investment decisions.
The Ministry is now positioned to scale further efficiencies and explore new capabilities within the platform.
As the first NZ government agency to implement SAP Fieldglass, the Ministry of Education has taken a bold step forward in
digital workforce management. The platform has delivered immediate efficiency gains while laying strong foundations for
future improvement.
Key outcomes include:
Eliminated manual reconciliation with buyer-created invoices and direct payment from contractor-submitted timesheets.
Major uplift in AP efficiency, saving time and streamlining processing.
Improved visibility and transparency over contingent workforce spend and public fund usage.
Enhanced reporting and KPI tracking, enabling more informed workforce investment decisions.
The Ministry is now positioned to scale further efficiencies and explore new capabilities within the platform.
“”"The successful implementation of this solution marks a major step forward in how we manage our
contingent workforce. We now have the real-time insights we need to make smarter, faster decisions—
improving transparency, accountability, and overall service delivery“
Rob Campbell
Hautū (Taupua) Te Pou Rangatōpū / Deputy Secretary (Acting) Corporate
contingent workforce. We now have the real-time insights we need to make smarter, faster decisions—
improving transparency, accountability, and overall service delivery“
Rob Campbell
Hautū (Taupua) Te Pou Rangatōpū / Deputy Secretary (Acting) Corporate