Procurement Initiatives Extend Value of Research Dollars
By Cindy Brauer
Getting more for the money—particularly research dollars—is the goal of key strategies developed by June Lombardi, C.P.M., Scripps Research director of procurement, and her team. The strategies are elements in a Procurement Department transformation that continues to extend the value of research funding at the institute.
"Our mission is to support the scientific endeavors of our scientists by providing them with superior equipment, products, and services at a competitive cost," said Lombardi, who joined Scripps Research in early 2007.
A BIO-IT World 2010 Best Practice Award—and a second recent award for Procurement Transformation from software company SciQuest—would indicate the department is succeeding.
Establishing Leading-Edge Processes
As a whole, Procurement is responsible for the institute's bidding, sourcing, and contract execution. Specifically, the 21-member team, located on both the California and Florida campuses, oversees procure-to-pay systems; purchasing and contracts; shipping, receiving, and the mailroom; travel; cafeteria and catering; credit card programs; and relocations.
Once on board at Scripps Research, Lombardi, a graduate of Saint Mary's College who came to Scripps Research from Genentech, was charged with establishing leading-edge procurement processes and strategies. Chief among the goals was creating a fully integrated procure-to-pay process and automating manual processes and transactions.
Fundamental to Lombardi's strategic approach was implementing a science-focused automated purchasing system, SciQuest, which enables lab, administrative, and maintenance staff to quickly and easily secure needed supplies and equipment in a virtual marketplace of more than 700 electronic supplier catalogs.
According to department figures, the move in 2007 from a paper to online system has reduced average requisition-to-delivery times by 50 percent, cutting hands-on involvement in handling orders from an average 17 individuals to four or fewer. In addition, the visibility provided by the electronic ordering system has allowed more strategic management of top lab supply and equipment spending with key suppliers. In 2010, the improved capability resulted in more than $2.1 million in cost savings and avoidance for the institute, said Lombardi.
Strategies to Leverage Spending
Other key procurement strategies Lombardi initiated include joining purchasing consortiums, strengthening supplier relationships, and increasing support services efficiencies.
Scripps Research Procurement now takes advantage of purchasing consortiums including BioCom, Education & Institutional Cooperative Purchasing (E&I), Provista, and other state university contracts. These memberships have led to aggressive pricing agreements with such suppliers as FedEx and At&T.
Lombardi also reached out to two nearby research institutions, the Salk Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, which together established "P3," a purchasing group that bundles their common, standard research supplies and services for greater savings. The group currently works with Fisher, VWR, Corning, BD, Wheaton, and Worldview Travel.
Direct negotiations with suppliers have also produced competitive pricing agreements, favorable freight and payment terms, and more experienced vendor sales and support teams, Lombardi said.
Looking for Opportunities
In California, the Procurement Department has also sought greater efficiencies in key support services. In 2009, the end of a lease agreement made it necessary to relocate the loading dock from Green Hospital. The California shipping and receiving operations were relocated and outsourced to VWR Catalyst, a lab supplies and logistics services company. VWR also now handles glass washing and mailroom services for Scripps California.
The California procurement department formed an onsite team in Florida, while handling all laboratory support requirements for relocating scientists, purchasing equipment, and overseeing supply ordering and delivery until the new procurement team was established.
Lombardi has also aimed to enhance employee services on both campuses. A switch to Worldview Travel services now provides reduced agent-assisted booking prices, better hotel and car rental rates, an online booking system, and automatic airline billing and bill-backs.
Lombardi's Procurement Department goals for 2011 include implementing additional user-friendly enhancements for the SciQuest order/purchasing system and increasing cost savings in general expense categories, especially lab supplies. In addition, a request for proposals has been issued for cafeteria and catering services.
Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu
"Our mission is to support the scientific endeavors of our scientists by providing them with superior equipment, products, and services at a competitive cost," said June Lombardi, director of Procurement. (Photo by Cindy Brauer.)
