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Annals of Reengineering
The rubber has finally hit the road in the SAP rollout, and staff in departments, labs, and centers are now beginning to use the SAP software to create requisitions for both internal and external vendors. Previously, staff could look up accounting information or view their statements on-line in SAP, but only MIT’s central financial offices and two pilot sites were actually doing their work in SAP.
What impact will this have on the administrative work that is done in faculty members’ offices? The Management Reporting project, the Controller’s Accounting Office, and Procurement (formerly Purchasing) hope that you’ll hardly notice the change. However, initially, it’s likely that some work will take longer as staff adjust to using new procedures.
Another thing some of you will notice is that selected support and administrative staff members in your areas will be getting more training. The decision about who needs to be trained in requisitioning is being made by your administrative officer, in consultation with his or her School and Area Coordinator. (The Coordinators have already met with about 90 percent of MIT’s AOs, and they are continuing their work with the remaining 10 percent.)
The rollout of purchasing functions in SAP began in September 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the calendar year.
Since MIT’s departments, labs, and centers are organized in a variety of ways (in terms of how administrative work is done) there isn’t one model of who gets trained that applies to all of your offices. Nor is there one model of how approvals for requisitions will be handled. Instead, AOs have been making decisions based on business rules that make the most sense for their particular areas.
To generalize, it’s probably pretty safe to say that if you work in an area with an established, centralized fiscal office, then the people who have been handling your financial work will continue to do that. If your area is more decentralized and your support staff member does the purchasing and monitors all your accounts, then it’s likely that she or he will receive the appropriate SAP training and then continue to do that work for you – only now, using SAP.
How long will the training take?
First, it’s important to note that requisitions in SAP can be done in two different ways – via the Web (using Netscape) or in the SAP software itself. The good news is that most people who do purchasing at MIT will use the simpler Web interface to produce requisitions in SAP. The training for using SAPweb will be provided in one-hour lecture/demonstrations that are being given in large rooms on the main campus. No registration is required.
Using the Web is appropriate for the following people: those whose only SAP task is requisitioning; those who do requisitions infrequently; graduate students; and anyone who wants a simpler interface for doing requisitions. SAPweb was developed at MIT, and the screens and on-line help are all MIT-specific. Administrative officers will inform requisitioners in your area of the dates and locations of the SAPweb lecture/demos. (These will be timed to coincide with the date when your area is "going live" in SAP.)
The staff who will use SAP for multiple functions – such as reporting (producing or reviewing statements) and transferring funds – will probably want to learn how to create requisitions directly in the SAP software. This course, given at the MIT Learning Center, lasts between 2 1/2 and 3 hours. People who approve requisitions will take an additional class of 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (The amount of time can vary because the classes use a lot of self-paced material.)
Support for SAP users will be provided in a variety of ways. The School and Area Coordinators from the Management Reporting Project will schedule post-training visits to the departments, labs, and centers that they support. The Coordinators will be on hand as staff practice doing real requisitions using the SAP software. The approval process for requisitions will also be demonstrated. In addition, staff members are being given the phone numbers and email addresses of other groups who can help with particular kinds of problems or questions. These sources of support include the Business Liaison team, staff in the Procurement and Controller’s Accounting offices, and a vendor hot line. Training packets and documentation are also available to help users with the new procedures.
Will your role change?
The introduction of SAP is a major part of the Institute’s move from paper-based to electronic-based financial work. Some of you are very used to signing paper requisitions before one of your employees or graduate students can make a purchase. So you are probably concerned about how the switch to SAP will affect your role. Again, departments have been making decisions about electronic approvals (called release strategies) by taking into account the procedures they have used in the past. These release strategies can also specify dollar limits for requisitioners. Alternatively, some areas have decided to have a support staff member get your approval on paper before creating an electronic requisition. The best way to find out exactly how financial work will change in your particular area is to speak with your administrative officer.
Other purchasing options
An obvious issue around purchasing of goods and services is how your graduate students and staff will be affected. As in the past, there will continue to be several ways to purchase what’s needed for laboratories and offices. These methods will include SAP requisitions and/or the Web interface (mentioned above), the electronic catalog (ECAT), the MIT VIP Visa card, and even paper requisitions.
ECAT, MIT’s Web-based system that allows users to browse up-to-date partner catalogs with MIT-negotiated pricing and then place orders directly into a vendor’s order entry system, will continue to provide an easy way to purchase items from the MIT partner companies of VWR Scientific, BOC Gases, and Office Depot. With the next version of ECAT, which will be ready sometime later this fall, users will also be able to place on-line orders for most computer equipment and supplies with partner company NECX. (Personal purchases can already be made in this way.)
Another purchasing tool that you, your staff, and/or graduate students may use is the MIT VIP Visa card for purchases under $2,500 per transaction. The card can be used in the same manner as a personal credit card, but the MIT card must, of course, be used exclusively for Institute purchases. (There are some other restrictions -- such as no purchases of items like airline tickets or hotel expenses, flowers, liquor, cellular phones, animals, and a number of other "unallowables.") The card simplifies the "buy-pay" process by reducing the need for requisitions, purchase orders, blanket orders, requests for payment, petty cash transactions, and invoices. There are checks and balances in the system to minimize fraudulent use of the card, and both cardholders and verifiers must be trained and agree to follow established procedures. The administrative officer for your area must sign off on every application for the MIT Visa card.
And even though MIT is moving away from the use of paper, it will still be possible for graduate students (and others) to use paper requisitions for ordering supplies. This method requires data entry – usually from handwritten copy – so there is the potential for error. In addition, paper requisitions are not as cost-effective or direct as the other options. However, paper requisitions will not go away until they are no longer needed. Paper requisitions must include the new cost objects (formerly called accounts) and general ledger accounts (object codes). These are the same numbers that were used to close MIT’s financial books for fiscal year 1998.
All of the new efforts are aimed at modernizing the ways we purchase goods and services on behalf of the Institute. The variety of methods that people can use to buy what they need will, hopefully, provide the flexibility necessary to effectively support your operations.
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