Ellucian Live 2021

Your top five questions asked and answered

Last month we had the pleasure of attending Ellucian Live 2021 and meeting so many of you who are keen to build a brighter tomorrow for your students.

This year Ellucian Live focused on how right now is the time to make beneficial changes to your institutions. The event was an incredible opportunity for all of us to unite as a community, learn from one another, and share thoughts and experiences. We expect you came away with great ideas from thought leaders, peers, and industry leaders.

We enjoyed sharing what’s new with Ellucian Spend Management and talking to you about how it can support your procurement efforts. It was great to connect with existing customers and those of you who decided now is the time to improve your procurement strategy and practices. We delivered some answers via our live virtual booth and thought we’d share the most frequently asked questions with you.

Q: Can suppliers update their own information?

Absolutely. We found that suppliers preferred editing their own information to ensure catalogs and product availability are kept up to date. It’s self-service for suppliers which saves you from having to chase information, and helps keep supplier information fresh and accurate.

Q: Can documents–like insurance certificates and W9 forms–be uploaded?

This is an important feature for any procurement software. We know how many documents need to be exchanged between departments and suppliers. We provide the option to validate the data, such as expiry dates, to communicate about updates that are needed, and to allow new documentation such as certificates, to be uploaded. The spend management suite includes alerts alongside your insurance documents so you and the supplier are both notified when they expire. To make compliance easy you can also set up a rule that prevents your institution from doing business with the supplier if their policies or certificates expire.

Q: Can you assign multiple approvers to workflow activity?

To keep your workflows running smoothly you can assign multiple approvers to a workflow activity and those approvers can move a task forward in the workflow. You’ll be able to help your departmental buyers purchase more efficiently by guiding shoppers across the buying experience with workflows designed for easy purchasing—from shopping to approval and receipt. Additionally, you have the option to enforce approvals by providing role-based workflows with just the right detail.

Q: In your experience, are universities driving value through the catalogs they design using your system?

Absolutely. Our customers are better able to manage spend with a variety of tools, from pCards to Punchout catalogs to Hosted catalogs. You can integrate suppliers into your purchasing ecosystem as closely as you prefer to deliver convenience and choice. Some clients send all of their non-payroll-related spend through our applications.

Q: Are you exclusive to Ellucian Banner and Ellucian Colleague or do you work with other vendors?

Of course! Since we serve public entities and K-12, we integrate with a variety of ERP systems.

If you would like to learn more about how our solutions can help you build the procurement ecosystem that’s right for your institution, please Contact us today