Develop customer-centric service model within Procurement.  

In the Fall of 2019, staff identified the need for improvement within the City’s Procurement Services Division. By implementing fully paperless internal services and enhancing procurement business processes, the City made significant strides towards achieving a more customer-focused business model. Over the next year, the City is working towards a centralized procurement model that utilizes self-service features for both internal and external customers. Three significant enhancements will achieve progress towards a new strategic purchasing posture: launching a new self-service supplier portal, initiating electronic delivery of all purchase orders to suppliers and implementing an internal online eProcurement module. 

Launching a New Self-Service Supplier Portal 

The previous approach to onboarding and managing existing suppliers was largely paper-based and required time-consuming manual data entry by staff. Tracking the status of pending payments was also difficult. In the Fall of 2020, the City’s Procurement Services Division launched an online Supplier Portal. This new approach is fully paperless, more secure, demonstrates a time savings for staff and allows any City supplier to self-manage their own contact and payment information in real-time. 

Initiating Electronic Delivery of all Purchase Orders to Suppliers 

In May 2020, the Procurement Services Division implemented a module in PeopleSoft Financials wherein purchase orders would be electronically dispatched to vendors via email. Once purchase orders are approved, they will be transmitted directly to the supplier via email that same business day. Not only will this reduce overhead costs, but it will allow suppliers to deliver goods and services earlier than before. 

Launching a New Customer-Centric Procurement Web Page

In November 2020, the Procurement Services Division launched a new public-facing web page on talgov.com. This newly remodeled page features a simplified layout, easier navigation, improved customer-centric design, and eliminates redundant, incomplete, or out of date information. This new web page also includes a live listing of all active competitive solicitations, a vendor notices board, and a calendar of all scheduled public meetings related to competitive solicitations.

Implementing an Internal Online eProcurement Module 

In the Spring of 2021, the City’s Procurement Services Division anticipates the deployment of eProcurement for use by all City departments. eProcurement is an online shopping interface within the existing PeopleSoft Financials platform. It will automate routine purchases, allowing City staff to add desired items to a “cart” and then “checkout” when complete. It will eliminate the need for intervention by Procurement staff for low-dollar, day-to-day purchases. This new module will also increase the use of City term contracts versus repeated one-time purchases. Overall, it moves the City into a more strategic purchasing posture that will reduce expenditures, save work hours and allow departments to conduct a significant portion of their purchases via self-service.   

Financial Services. Last Updated: November 2021.