UPST Focuses on Efficiency Every Day
Over the last five (5) years, UMass has focused on driving efficiency and ensuring that end users can contact UMass via multiple channels. Let us review some major wins for all UMass.
Streamlining Supplier Registration Process
The journey to automating supplier onboarding took years, i.e., focusing on removing the burden from campus end-users to the UPST and suppliers for information.
- Leveraged Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to use bots to automate IRS TIN matching between BuyWays and the IRS website
- Cleaned up the Supplier Request Form to capture the information needed to drive campus decision-making while creating a more robust status-tracking functionality.
- Drive to cleaner supplier data with all hands-on deck to align PeopleSoft information with BuyWays to limit errors and issues that impact the ability to create suppliers in the system quickly
- Outcome: Supplier Request UPST approval time declined by 67% from 6 days (FY22) to 2 days (FY24).
"UPST has allowed UMB to decrease resolution times for issues related to Accounts Payable, Supplier Management, and Contract Management...One of the most impressive UPST initiatives has been to work with campuses to get feedback to improve these technologies and their rollouts. Working within the UMB-UPST stakeholder meetings, I have personally seen several issues be resolved in a timely manner.
-Ryan Fitzgerald, Director of Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, UMass Boston
Bank Card (One Card) Program Revamp
FY20 saw the inception of the Bank Card Program as we know it today. The project focused on rationalizing more than 3 separate campus-specific programs into one (1) UMass-wide Bank Card program with just 1 issuing Bank, US Bank. In addition, by creating a single Bank Card Use Standard, the project ensured that cardholders would have only 1 card for travel and supplies (general business expenses).
Outcome can be summarized as follows:
- Reduced available credit cards by 25%+ from 6,400+ (FY20) to 4,600 (FY24)
- Improved card issuance cycle time by 75% from 20 days in FY20 to 5 days (FY24)
- Increase in rebate return by ~ 33%.
Customer Service Center Revamp
The UPST Contact Center operations revamp was driven by feedback from campus end users and the need to improve automation tools to improve customer engagement and satisfaction.
This was achieved by:
1. Replacement of the call routing tool to Zoom Contact Center (ZCC)
Providing 100% call auditing capability and automated routing. Improving agent efficiency by almost 10% as they no longer need to transcribe calls, as all calls are recorded for quality assurance purposes while all voicemails are transcribed and recorded. Additional benefits for UMass are:
- Integrated platform for end-to-end case management with Salesforce.
- Availability of data for decision-making
- Accountability via recordings of all calls and voicemails
- Easier call routing support from contact center to process owners
2. Launch of the UPST Buddy Chatbot, your favorite Digital Assistant
In today’s fast-paced procurement environment, having quick and reliable access to information is essential. That is where Buddy the Chatbot comes in. Designed to assist you with your procurement needs, Buddy has become an integral part of the UMPO digital experience. In fact, by the end of FY24, the chatbot accounted for ~ 30% of all inquiries in the UPST Contact Center. By incorporating AI, UPST increased the number of channels available to end-users by 25% to existing channels like email, phone and web inquiries. Over time, UPST aims to make this the first point of contact for all contact center users.
But what makes Buddy so special?
- Always Available: Whether it’s day or night, weekday or weekend, Buddy is ready to assist. Available 24/7, Buddy immediately responds to questions about payment status, job aids, commodity codes, and more.
- Smarter Everyday: Buddy’s ability to understand and respond to queries is powered by advanced AI technology. Over time, he’s become more adept at interpreting the nuances, allowing him to provide more accurate and relevant answers.
- The Future of Buddy: As helpful as Buddy is, we know he’s not perfect. Sometimes, Buddy might not deliver the correct answer or misunderstand a question. We want to assure you that we are constantly reviewing interactions on the backend to identify areas for improvement. Every interaction is an opportunity for Buddy to learn and get better.
- Ready for Improvement: Your feedback is crucial in helping us refine Buddy’s capabilities and ensure that he continues to meet your needs.
Buddy’s evolution is a journey, and our team is working on several enhancements to expand Buddy’s capabilities further (be on the lookout for future communication). While there may be occasional bumps along the way, we’re confident that with each enhancement, Buddy will become an even more invaluable resource.
Data, Analytics and Reporting Accessibility and Transparency
The overall Improvement on all UPST key performance indicators supports the premise that we have been focused on improving efficiency while driving quality service in all major procurement process areas as measured since on start in FY20. We will discuss this by putting a transaction volume and performance against target lens.
1. Procurement Transaction Volume
On average every procurement process saw an increase in transaction volume from FY20 to FY24 ranging from 16% to 727%. The only exception is new Bank Cards processed which decreased by 20%, with the launch of the harmonized UMass Bank Card program in FY21, UMass adopted a One Card program that limits the amount of card issued to one person among other requirements to effectively manage Bank Card usage.
We can link the increase in transaction volume to 3 major factors:
- An updated UMass Board of Trustees (BoT) Procurement Policy.
- Process harmonization that focused on compliance with the BoT Procurement Policy.
- Focus on driving the use of the BuyWays Contracts Module as the only Contracts Repository for all contracts processed by UPST.
Transaction Volume Review (FY20 to FY24)
| Transaction | Total (FY2020-FY2024) | F2020 | FY2024 | % Change (FY20 vs. FY24) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase requisitions processed | 624,706 | 141,744 | 166,825 | 18% increase |
| Invoices processed | 1,013,562 | 231,591 | 269,578 | 16% increase |
| Contract requests processed | 8,490 | 708 | 2,219 | 213% increase |
| Contracts executed | 8,704 | 233 | 1,926 | 727% increase |
| New supplier adds | 31,481 | 5,972 | 8,990 | 51% increase |
| Customer requests (Cases) processed | 106,750 | 16,643 | 31,069 | 87% increase |
| Campus users trained | 19,011 | N/A | 6,918 | N/A |
| Count of diverse suppliers transacted with | 3,620 | 643 | 1,013 | 58% increase |
| Diversity spend | $380M | $44.3M | $119M | 169% increase |
| Sourcing events completed | 940 | 58 | 234 | 303% increase |
| Bank card requests | 3,515 | 1,073 | 856 | 20% decrease |
2. Performance against Target (Key Performance Indicators)
Since inception, UPST has been focused on achievement of performance targets set for the team by campus leadership. We have a saying that if “it can be tracked it can be measured”, with this mindset, we were laser focused on improving efficiency without sacrificing service quality even with increases in transaction volume from one fiscal year to the next.
The tables below provide a summary of process areas measured over the last 5 years and how we performed against targets with efficiency gains ranging from 1% to 67% for major process areas.
Kindly note that this is a UMass-wide view and transaction volume, and efficiency gains will vary by campus.
Efficiency Gains (FY20 vs.FY24)
| Performance Indicator | Category | Target | Target Status | FY2020 | FY2024 | % Change (FY20 vs. FY24) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spend with diverse suppliers | Supplier Management | N/A | No Target | 5.4% | 11.2% | 107% increase |
| Days to set-up a new supplier (Domestic) | Supplier Management | 8 days | Meets or exceeds target | 11 days | 7 days | 36% improvement |
| Days for UPST to approve a completed supplier profile (Domestic) | Supplier Management | N/A | No Target | N/A | 2 days | N/A |
| Days to set-up a new supplier (Foreign) | Supplier Management | N/A | No Target | 13 days | 10.5 days | 19% improvement |
| Days to create a contract draft (covers contract creation dynamics between UPST, campus, and requester) | Contract Management | N/A | No Target | 5 days | 4 days | 20% improvement |
| Days to execute a contract (covers reviews by UPST, OGC, IT, Treasury, Supplier & Campus DoA) | Contract Management | N/A | No Target | 23 days | 20 days | 13% improvement |
| Requisitions processed in 1 day | Operations | 88% | Meets or exceeds target | 87% | 88% | 1% improvement |
| Invoices processed electronically | Operations | 58% | Meets or exceeds target | 46% | 63% | 37% improvement |
| Eligible invoice payment discounts captured | Operations | 80% | Meets or exceeds target | 86% | 95% | 10% improvement |
| Late payments (greater than 30 days) | Operations | <15% | Meets or exceeds target | 19% | 14% | 26% improvement |
| Bank Card spend with catalog suppliers | Operations | <5% | Meets or exceeds target | 4.6% | 2.5% | 46% improvement |
| Days to issue a new Bank Card | Operations | 10 days | Meets or exceeds target | 18 days | 6 days | 67% improvement |
| Days to process Bank Card change request | Operations | 2.5 days | Meets or exceeds target | 1.4 days | 1 day | 29% improvement |
| Days to resolve a case/request | Service & Quality | 8 days | Meets or exceeds target | 10 days | 7 days | 30% improvement |
| Customer Satisfaction Score | Service & Quality | 80% | Meets or exceeds target | N/A | 89% | N/A |