The Bottom Line

News from Cornell University's Division of Financial Affairs
Partners, Stewards, Innovators

Volume 11.2, December 17, 2007

Supply Management Hosts First Supplier Diversity Trade Show

The Office for Supply Management Services (SMS) hosted its first annual Supplier Diversity Trade Show on December 5. The trade show brought SMS and its partners from Tompkins County and other local institutions together with small, disadvantaged, and women-owned businesses in the local and regional area, so that these businesses may meet and network to initiate mutually beneficial, lucrative relationships.

You may recall that last year, SMS hosted a Supplier Diversity Open House, which was the springboard for this year’s event. In the tradition of Cornell’s ongoing commitment to diversity and social responsibility, SMS began their supplier diversity program in 2006 to expand their use of diverse suppliers and help these suppliers gain access to Cornell’s economic influence. In addition, Cornell is encouraging its larger suppliers to develop and expand their own supplier diversity programs.

Vice President for Financial Affairs Joanne DeStefano says, “Diversity is a major goal at Cornell. We recognize that supplier diversity is a major component of our overall diversity efforts, and like those efforts, we strive to do it right and be the best.” Manager of Procurement Ed Wilson of SMS recalls, “When I arrived at Cornell, it was just before the 2006 event, so my first impression of Cornell was that it was committed to creating a diverse and inclusive atmosphere for small and disadvantaged businesses to thrive in.”

Current Director for Supply Management Services Thomas Romantic intends to continue supporting the effort the university has undertaken. “I am really excited about the direction in which our program is heading and the effort involved,” he said.

Over 98% of women- and minority-owned businesses are small. SMS reminds units to examine the items they purchase and how they purchase to see if there are opportunities to use these suppliers to increase quality, reduce costs, and contribute to the economy of the surrounding communities.

For more information about the Supplier Diversity Program, visit the Supply Management Services Web site.

Cornell Boasts First Participant in a National Research Administration Leadership Program!

Tammy Custer of the Office of Sponsored Programs is to be Cornell’s first staff member to participate in the 2008 National Council for University Research Administrators (NCURA) Leadership Development Institute (LDI) Program.

Each year, individuals are nominated and selected to participate in the LDI program. Students attend a 10-month curriculum designed to build leaders for NCURA and the university research administration profession. Each student is assigned to one of several advisors who are leaders in research administration, and who volunteer to work monthly with their student partner as a way of giving back to NCURA and the profession.

The program’s curriculum comprises two face-to-face retreats, conference calls, online chats, and roughly four hours of homework each month. Following the spring retreat, the students undertake projects for their home institutions to apply what they are learning about leadership through the LDI.

In addition to being an LDI student, Tammy serves as grant and contract officer for the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Department of Mathematics. A 17-year veteran of Cornell, Tammy also is an electronic research specialist. Many of you have attended one of Tammy's presentations for Grants.gov (an online resource for finding and applying for federal grants), which was once called NSF FastLane Training. Now, Tammy is involved heavily in the Kuali Research Administration teams for proposals and awards, and she is a key voice with the Federal Demonstration Partnership program.

Times are Changing for “Purchasing”

When last we reported, changes were coming to the Office for Purchasing Services. Not only have they taken residency on the third floor of the new East Hill Office Building, but they have changed their name to the Office for Supply Management Services (SMS).

During these fast-paced times, SMS’s Director Tom Hogan accepted an opportunity to elevate his career in New York City, working for CBS Broadcasting, Inc. In October, Tom Romantic of Cornell Business Services, who is well-known at Cornell for his leadership and entrepreneurial spirit, was named Director for SMS. In addition to his new role as Senior Director of Supply Channel Management and Business Services, Tom will continue to lead Cornell Business Services. Welcome Tom!

In addition to these changes, on November 12, after a series of process engineering efforts designed to reduce paper routing and non-value added work, a new e-mail notification feature was added to e-SHOP, which is Cornell’s new online shopping tool. This new feature notifies departments when their requisition is sent out as a purchase order, and contains all the relevant details they need to track and manage the information.

A new customer satisfaction survey will be launched soon, which aims to obtain direct customer feedback on how well SMS is helping the campus throughout the buying process. This feedback will help the department focus its energies on opportunities for improvement from the customer’s point of view.

And, as if that was not enough, SMS has produced a draft procurement policy, which currently is under stakeholder review. SMS is also negotiating several contracts, which are scheduled to expire in the next couple of months in the Lab and Scientific areas.

For more information about e-SHOP and SMS’s ongoing initiatives, visit the Office for Supply Management Services' Web site.

Bursar Partners with Campus Life for CornellCard Processing

The Office of the Bursar and Campus Life recently collaborated to transition the CornellCard transaction processing to Campus Life’s system beginning in the fall 07 semester, resulting in gains for both the students and the university.  In March 2008, the Bursar student financial system will be replaced by the PeopleSoft student administrative system, which does not support administration of the CornellCard program, the university’s on-campus student charge card service.  Therefore, to allow the CornellCard to remain a bursar service, the Bursar asked Campus Life to process the CornellCard transactions.  These transactions then will be transferred into the Bursar’s system and onto the student’s bill.

This cross-departmental approach allows an easier conversion to PeopleSoft and will bring with it many enhancements.  For example, the use of the Campus Life systems provides students with real-time Web accessibility with up-to-the-minute views of account and balance activity.  For campus departments, the system provides enhanced availability of card readers, allowing more campus locations, such as Cornell Cinema and the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, to accept CornellCard.

Says University Bursar Peter E. Olcott, “In searching for alternative solutions other than modifying the new [PeopleSoft] system, we found a suitable platform already on hand at Cornell.  Campus Life has an existing infrastructure that is a perfect fit for processing CornellCard transactions, allowing the CornellCard program to remain a bursar service that will use PeopleSoft for the billing and collection process while utilizing the Campus Life system for applications and transactional processing.”

The CornellCard program, which has been in place since 1981, allows students to learn how to manage a modest credit line of $850 safely, without risk, because the Bursar does not report delinquent payments to credit agencies.  It also allows them to build good credit, because credit bureaus seek out information from the Bursar.

e-SHOP Soon To Be Used Campus-Wide!

Cornell University's new e-procurement tool, e-SHOP, is being implemented across the campus as we speak. Not only does this Web-based system allow procurement card (pcard) as well as non-pcard users to gain access to e-SHOP, it allows shopping with fewer clicks, and lets pcard users streamline the reporting process. Also, e-SHOP’s robust, extensive reporting feature allows for the potential for paperless processing, thus reducing non-value added work for all parties involved.

Currently, e-SHOP is being rolled out to a few business service centers at a time. It sports 80 suppliers in an online marketplace, convenient built-in workflow, and user-friendly features, so it is well-positioned to truly change the way Cornell shoppers procure goods and services.

e-SHOP has been in pilot mode since October 2006, and has done over $2 million in spend with only 450 users. With most of the Cornell preferred suppliers enabled in e-SHOP, shoppers can easily take advantage of the deeply discounted pricing and convenience of shopping with many contracted suppliers, all in one place.

For more information about the features and benefits of e-SHOP, check out the Office for Supply Management Services' e-SHOP Web site , and talk to your business service center to find out when it is planned for your unit.

Announcements

DFA Finance Training Opportunities

Sign up now for these upcoming finance training opportunities! The following courses are held at 341 Pine Tree Road, East Hill Plaza.

The Basics of Cornell Accounting
[FIN 100] 1/4/2008 9 am - noon

The Mechanics of Processing Payment Requests
[FIN 103] 1/14/2008 9 am - noon

The Mechanics of Processing Travel Reimbursements
[FIN 109] 1/24/2008 8:30 am - noon

The Mechanics of Processing Accounting Journals in JEMS
[FIN 112] 2/4/2008 9 am - noon

Reconciling Accounts and Transactions
[FIN 202] 2/26/2008 9 am - noon

Processing and Accounting for Gifts
[FIN 110] 3/24/2008 9 am - noon

For more great training opportunities, visit the DFA Finance Training Web site.

New Tools for Printing and Graphics Procurement!

In October, the Office for Supply Management’s Graphics Procurement team implemented new online resources and tools for campus partners buying printing and graphics services.  These new resources include a Graphics Estimate Builder tool , which will give users a step-by-step process for submitting requests for estimates from vendors.  In addition, new Web pages help customers to understand the graphics buying process better, and to find the right vendors for their projects.

Also, SMS has negotiated contracts for new preferred suppliers for printing and graphics purchases.  These contracts include Arnold Printing, Cayuga Press, and Graphics Plus, just to name a few.  The agreements reached with these suppliers will fulfill Cornell buyers’ expectations for timeliness, easy access to sales personnel, proof delivery and approval, as well as compliance with Cornell’s sustainability practices.  What’s more, effective December 3, 2007, orders under $10,000 to any of the preferred suppliers will not require agent review in the Automated Procurement and Payment System (APPS).

16 New ACP Graduates

More staff members enrolled in the Winter 2007 Accounting Certificate Program (ACP) graduated in July. Look for more opportunities to enroll in the ACP on the DFA Finance Training Web site.

Two Interim Policies and One New Policy Issued

In August and September of this year, the University Policy Office (UPO) issued two interim policies - one for a new policy titled "Responsible Use of Audiovisual Surveillance Technology ," and one for a revision of "Access to Student Information ."

In October, the UPO announced the issuance of a new policy governing establishment of bank accounts on behalf of the university titled, "Establishing and Maintaining Accounts at Banks and Financial Institutions ."

In addition, the policy on Corporate Cards has been replaced by information available from the Office of Credit Card Programs' Web site.

To view these and other policies, visit the University Policy Office Web site.

The Bottom Line

Editor, Jamie Churchill

Assistant, Taina Nilson

Questions, comments, listserv changes:
dfa-comm@cornell.edu


The Bottom Line is a publication of the:
Division of Financial Affairs
Cornell University
341 Pine Tree Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
T: 607.255.6240

DFA: Partners, Stewards, Innovators