Since UCF began fiscal year 2008, the Financials Support Services (FSS) team has been operating at a busy pace. Much of the team’s attention has focused on launching the eProcurement (ePro) module, an event that was highlighted in the November 2007 edition of Campus Technology magazine.
eProcurement implementation
On October 1, 2007, UCF Financials successfully implemented its ePro module. To help prepare Financials’ users for the change and to ensure they made a smooth transition to the new system, FSS offered multiple training opportunities, including information sessions, WebCT training, and hands-on workshops.
Pre-launch information sessions
The information sessions, held in advance of ePro’s launch, acquainted users with the new procurement system and gave them a preview of how it would operate. A total of 223 participants registered for the three information sessions held over a one-week period in September. Each session featured a brief PowerPoint demonstration of the ePro requisition process as well as covered highlights of the enhancements that will be incorporated into the DAL system. The Helpful Resources section of the FSS Web site contains the PowerPoint slides used for the information session presentations.
WebCT training
For the two-month period following ePro’s October 1 launch, Financials’ users have created over 5,000 requisitions. Each of the users who created these requisitions took the required WebCT training course developed by FSS, called FPO114 – Creating ePro Requisitions, which includes the new training guide FSS prepared for the course. The course helped familiarize users with the new system and introduced them to ePro’s many functions. Besides learning how to create requisitions, users taking the course became familiar with the different types of ePro requisitions, learned about templates and favorites, and saw how to enter receipts. Requisition approvers learned how to approve in the new system and manage their notifications through workflow.
Instructor-led workshops
Since late September, instructors from FSS and UCF’s Purchasing department have facilitated a total of 25 instructor-led workshops, providing 298 users additional, hands-on ePro training. These workshops were available to users who had completed the WebCT course. In addition, special session workshops took place for users at the College of Health and Public Affairs, and UCF’s Housing and Residence Life, English department, College of Arts and Humanities, and Business Services department, as well as the university’s Daytona Beach regional campus. In addition, FSS held a special vice-presidential approval workshop, focusing on “secondary” vice-presidential approvals. We will continue offering monthly, instructor-led ePro training opportunities, as long as interest and demand warrant.
UCF showcased in Campus Technology magazine
The November 2007 issue of Campus Technology magazine features an article discussing UCF’s ePro implementation. Linda Briggs’ article, “The eProcurement Equation,” highlights some of the benefits UCF expects to receive from ePro. These benefits include improved recordkeeping and spending pattern analysis, which should lead to better pricing. In addition, after full implementation, ePro’s online buying features can eventually help users locate the best source to obtain the goods and services they need. Besides the monetary benefits ePro offers, it also saves time. Electronic transactions process faster and eliminate the delay inherent in a paper-based system. Because ePro transactions will conclude faster, the time it takes UCF Financials’ users to receive their goods and services will correspondingly decrease.
To read the full article, visit: http://campustechnology.com/articles/52407_1/
Oracle OpenWorld conference
Varsha Das and I attended the recent Oracle Open World Conference held in San Francisco from November 11 through 15. Attendees were presented with a smorgasbord of activities from which to choose, including keynote and expert presentations as well as demonstrations and hands-on labs. This year’s conference offered over 1,600 planned sessions to the more than 42,000 conference attendees. In addition, more than 450 partner exhibits and over 350 live Oracle production demonstrations were available for attendees to view.
The keynote addresses that took place over the five-day period featured industry leaders from AMD, Dell, HP, Intel, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems. These presentations included such topics as “Sunday Night Live – 30 Years Behind the Scenes at Oracle,” the first keynote address of the conference, which recapped Oracle’s 30-year history and previewed highlights of the conference; and “Oracle Applications – Enabling Business Innovation,” which looked at the latest Oracle applications.
This annual global and technology conference fulfilled the promise of its motto, “Learn, Experience and Connect.” Varsha and I interacted and connected with Oracle’s developers and other users, shared ideas, and saw new innovations, which we will use to help UCF Financials work better for our users.
Project Manager
Associate Controller, UCF Finance & Accounting
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