In 2018, TAFE NSW consolidated its 11 separate institutes into a single entity, with 17,000 staff and a procurement spend of $600 million per annum. However, it became clear after some time that the new organisation lacked a cohesive procurement technology stack, instead opting for manual processes supported by email, excel, a free expense management app and an outdated SAP ERP. Lack of systems presented huge challenges in terms of sourcing, contracts and purchasing. With 1,200 buyers and 1,300 approvers, the pain of poor peer-to-peer experience was felt across the entire organisation. 

The TAFE NSW Checkout was launched by the project team on 1 June 2020. It was a technology-enabled procurement transformation, implementing SAP Ariba and Concur to transform source-to-pay processes at the company. Its key objectives were:

·  To simplify and improve the buying process through automation

·  Make it easier for suppliers to do business with TAFE NSW

·  Reduce manual dependencies and touchpoints

·  Deliver significant savings through improved sourcing and contract management

·  Ensure adoption by having the right content available for buyers. 

Despite an ambitious schedule (made even harder by Covid-19) and a relatively low budget, the project was delivered on time, under budget to an impressive standard of quality.