Image of The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute equipment

How The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute Shaved Weeks Off Its Procure-To-Pay Process with Spendwise

Overview

The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) is a leading cancer treatment center located in Hampton, Virginia.

HUPTI had been using another software system to manage its purchasing processes but was finding it increasingly difficult to process purchasing transactions efficiently which was causing significant delays. Knowing there had to be a better way, the center turned to Spendwise and has not looked back.

Since implementing Spendwise, the center has been able to empower leaders and teams to manage their own purchasing, cut its procure-to-pay processing time by weeks, help managers make better decisions and gain greater control over inventory.

Industry

Healthcare

Company Size

51-100 employees

Location

Hampton, VA

Website

www.hamptonproton.org

Key Outcomes

CLARITY

Clearer Insights

EFFICIENCY

Greater Efficiency

CONTROL

Inventory Control

The Challenges

HUPTI uses purchase orders for everything it needs to operate including medical supplies, janitorial supplies, staff, and insurance. Before implementing Spendwise, needs were communicated to the finance department and the finance department was responsible for creating, processing, and placing orders.

Because the finance department didn’t have familiarity with some of the things that needed to be ordered, it was difficult for them to accurately determine packaging quantities and other important details which led to over-ordering and other mistakes.

In addition, the procure-to-pay process included unnecessary duplicative steps which resulted in delays. For example, purchase orders were created after vendor invoices were received and when invoices were received, they went through different approval processes that could result in the same person signing off on the same thing multiple times.

The center was also finding it difficult to stay on top of inventory.

Why HUPTI chose Spendwise

After the decision to look for a new system was made, the center’s Executive Director, MaryBeth Sullivan, recommended Spendwise which she had used previously as the Director of Clinical Operations at the California Proton Therapy Center. Spendwise had all the functionality the center needed to effectively manage its purchasing processes plus offered inventory management and other add-on features the center could use down the road so going with Spendwise was an easy choice.

The Results

Once the decision was made to go with Spendwise, Tom was able to quickly set it up and then roll it out to users over the course of a few weeks.

Empowered leaders and teams

With Spendwise, department leaders and their teams can order what they need when they need it and stay on top of spending.

“Instead of finance trying to figure out what to order for operations, now the people who know what they need can initiate purchases requests and department leaders can review requests, make adjustments and approve them which has eliminated errors and improved our performance.”

– Tom Allen, Director of Finance and Administration

Greater efficiency

Since implementing Spendwise, the center has been able to cut its procure-to-pay processing time by weeks.

“With Spendwise we have been able to eliminate redundancy in the approval process, which has been very helpful. By simplifying our approach, we are now saving ourselves 2 to 3 weeks in procure-to-pay turnaround time and we’ve been really thankful for that”, explains Tom.

Clearer insights

Spendwise gives managers the tools they need to make better decisions.

Tom shares: “I really like how support for purchase transactions can be saved in the system and is so easy to access when I am reviewing. I also like how the history is all there and I am able to search and instantly find what I need instead of waiting for someone else to do it for me.”

Inventory control

Using Spendwise to manage inventory has helped the center make the most of its resources as it grows.

“Because of our growth, space is very limited, so we have been trying to manage our inventory levels down to just-in-time. With Spendwise, we are able to keep track of inventory across multiple locations all in one place which helps us ensure we have the right amount of what we need.”