James Cook University

University administration involves requisitions for purchasing everything from teaching resources and library books to new laboratory equipment. For most of James Cook University’s history, employees have managed such requests using paper requisition forms - a process that involved scanning requisition forms into a local server before manually entering the details of approved requests into a separate supply chain management program.

To improve its processes, James Cook University recently adopted a mobile-first solution. This involved automating its requisition processes and enabling purchase requests to be managed online instead of on paper. Employees can now manage approvals and requisitions on their mobile devices at any time and in any place.

As Glen McGregor, Manager, Financial Systems and Process Improvement at James Cook University emphasises, a university is, essentially, a service-driven organisation.

“The financial and administrative complexities of running the university have only multiplied as we’ve grown, both through the addition of new campuses abroad and the enrolment of higher numbers of students,” Mr McGregor says.

With more than 2,000 employees on five different sites, we knew that we needed a more efficient solution so staff could focus on more meaningful activities. Mr McGregor believed that the university would benefit from expanding its existing TechnologyOne software to embrace its mobile solution.

“It’s difficult to change old habits,” he says. “We’d been using paper forms for such a long time that I was wary of implementing a new solution, even if it promised to deliver long term strategic benefits”