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Project
Background
and
Purpose
:
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A
major
Cable
and
Wireless
Network
Services
company
in
Canada
identified
an
need
for
NTG
Clarity
to
develop
a
replacement
for
their
existing
complex
and
cumbersome
procurement
process
for
obtaining
approved
parts
from
approved
vendors.
The
existing
system
used
a
combination
of
manual
forms
generation
by
a
variety
of
personnel
and
semi-automated
processes
in
a
multi-department
organization.
To
maintain
the
approved
parts
and
associated
Vendors,
the
Cable
and
Wireless
Network
Services
company
procurement
department
was
using
a
database
catalogue
of
approximately
10,000
parts
in
correlation
with
the
main
company
financial
system
and
warehouse
system
for
managing
of
inventory.
The
solution
proposed
and
developed
by
NTG
Clarity
was
a
Web
enabled
e-business
interactive
solution
known
as
VPMS
(Vendor
Parts
Management
System).
VPMS
automates
many
of
the
manual
portions
of
the
current
company
process
for
Parts
Management
and
Purchasing.
Specifically,
the
system
mechanizes
the
selection
of
existing
approved
vendors
for
parts
procurement,
the
approval
of
Vendor
Profile
modifications
and
parts
prices
as
submitted
by
vendors,
the
updating
of
Vendor
score
cards
and
the
Vendor
submission
of
new
parts
for
approval.
It
controls
the
system
access
of
users
and
provides
a
full
parts
catalogue.
VPMS
also
allows
for
online
requisitioning
and
Vendor
selection.
In
addition,
VPMS
generates
vendor
information
for
the
main
company
financial
system. |
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Main
System
Features
:
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One
of
the
main
feature
of
VPMS
is
the
development
of
the
Best
and
Final
Offer
(BAFO)
requisition
and
ordering
process
to
be
used
by
Vendors
and
the
company
Purchasing,
Buyers
and
Administration
departments.
The
intent
of
Best
and
Final
Offer
is
that
all
approved
vendors
must
ensure
that
their
pricing
as
submitted
reflects
their
Best
and
Final
Offer
price
at
all
times
on
each
individual
approved
part.
All
orders
for
parts
will
be
issued
using
the
Vendor
Parts
Management
System
(VPMS).
Orders
will
be
awarded
based
on
a
combination
of
the
prices
reflected
in
the
system
and
the
Vendor
Score
cards
ratings
that
will
be
maintained
on
the
VPMS
system.
The
VPMS
system
allows
for
the
enhancement
of
data
provided
by
the
parts
catalog
database
and
the
main
purchasing
system
to
allow
for
vendor
selection
and
lowest
price
to
work.
Additional
enhancements
include
the
grouping
of
similar
part
numbers
under
one
company
part
number
against
which
the
RFQ
(Request
For
Quotation)
would
be
tagged.
Capabilities
are
also
provided
to
further
sub-categorize
the
parts
catalog
to
allow
for
easier
searching
and
navigation.
The
main
functional
capabilities
of
VPMS
are
contained
in
the
Vendor,
Purchasing,
Buyer
and
Administration
sub-systems |
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Vendor
sub-system
:
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- Approved
vendors
are
allowed
to
view
and
submit
for
approval
changes
to
their
Vendor
Profile
and
parts
pricing.
The
concept
is
that
each
vendor
price
in
VPMS
must
at
all
times
represent
their
Best
and
Final
Offer
(BAFO)
for
each
individual
price
profiled.
-
Vendors
are
able
to
view
and
edit
the
list
of
Approved
parts
that
they
are
authorized
to
sell
to
the
company.
-
All
edits
will
be
submitted
to
the
company
purchasing
department
for
approval.
-
Vendors
are
allowed
to
view
their
entire
score
card.
The
score
card
is
the
company
perception
of
the
vendor
based
on
criteria
established
by
the
company.
-
Vendors
are
able
to
submit
for
approval
new
parts
that
they
wish
to
start
selling
to
the
company.
-
Vendors
are
able
to
view
a
list
of
parts
that
are
currently
in
demand
at
the
company.
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Purchasing
sub-system
:
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- Purchasing
is
able
to
view,
edit,
approve
or
deny
Vendor
profile
modifications
that
have
been
submitted
by
the
various
vendors
for
approval.
Once
approved,
VPMS
will
automatically
initiate
an
e-mail
to
AP
administration
to
key
in
the
changes
to
the
main
financial
system.
A
fully
automated
interface
is
also
available.
-
Purchasing
is
able
to
view,
edit,
approve
or
deny
vendor
part
price
changes.
Once
approved,
VPMS
will
automatically
upload
the
price
change
to
the
price
catalog
database.
-
Purchasing
is
responsible
for
the
administration
of
the
score
card.
-
Purchasing
is
able
to
use
the
system
to
receive
vendor
requests
for
new
parts
approvals.
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Buyer
sub-system
:
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-
Buyers
are
able
to
enter
on-line
purchases.
-
Buyers
are
responsible
for
the
maintenance
of
the
Order
report
for
warehouse
replenishment.
-
Buyers
use
the
system
to
award
purchase
orders
to
the
lowest
priced
vendors.
Or,
they
may
elect
to
spread
the
order
across
multiple
vendors
based
on
other
criteria
such
as
stock
on
hand,
delivery
capabilities
etc.
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Administration
sub-system
:
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- Administration
controls
the
user
id’s
and
module
access.
-
Administration
is
responsible
for
establishing
and
maintaining
the
vendor
score
card
criteria
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VPMS
will
automatically
present
the
lowest
priced
vendor
for
each
part
on
each
requisition.
This
will
be
presented
to
the
buyers
via
the
list
of
all
open
requisitions.
Buyers
are
able
to
view
a
list
of
all
approved
vendors
for
each
part
requisition.
The
list
will
be
sorted
from
the
lowest
to
the
highest
price.
The
buyers
will
use
VPMS
to
select
which
vendor
will
be
selected
to
provide
the
parts
detailed
in
each
requisition.
In
doing
so,
VPMS
will
automatically
generate
an
e-mail
to
the
buyer,
containing
the
pertinent
information
to
be
used
to
populate
the
main
purchasing
system
requisition.
A
fully
automated
interface
is
also
available
on
request. |
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Accomplishments
and
Results
:
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The
VPMS
system
has
been
successfully
developed
and
implemented
for
a
major
Canadian
Cable
and
Wireless
Network
Services
company.
Further
work
is
continuing
on
enhancements
to
the
VPMS
system.
A
management
reporting
system
(using
Crystal)
and
a
GUI
interface
for
automatic
on-line
report
generation
available
on
request.
Consideration
is
being
given
to
extend
the
capabilities
of
the
VPMS
system
to
provide
an
on-line
auction
for
vendor
RFP
proposals
similar
to
that
done
by
companies
like
E-Bay. |
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