TechMart

TechMart, a new online purchasing system for the Caltech professional, makes its debut at the Institute in June. The system is designed to facilitate the procurement process while providing lower prices on items that are essential for laboratory and office work alike.

“TechMart’s one-stop shopping experience is a tremendous improvement from our current processes,” says Bill Cooper, director of Caltech’s procurement office. “It will better support the focus of our research community by allowing users to purchase products quickly and easily.”

The implementation of TechMart is a move away from Caltech’s current Oracle-based procurement system, which is considered inefficient and has not been adopted by the majority of campus users.

“TechMart will revolutionize the way we do business,” says Tina Lowenthal, the associate director of purchasing services. A paperless process, TechMart will minimize waste bydoing away with most paper requisitions.

“Approximately 80 percent of purchase requisitions we get are hard copies,” she says. This translates into reams and reams of paper that pass through her office every week. But once users learn how efficient TechMart can be, Lowenthal expects the purchasing process to create less waste.

“The system is used at more than 50 universities across the nation,” Lowenthal adds. “A big plus is that the system is geared to the scientific community.”

Indeed, site users will be able to browse and choose products from the catalogs of 30 suppliers. The big names are represented, including science and technology providers Bio-Rad, Grainger, QIAGEN, and Roche, among others; paper and pushpin suppliers Office Depot; and hardware and software specialists CDW.

“I tell people it’s just like shopping on Amazon.com,” Lowenthal says, referring to the online book and media merchant. Much like that experience, a shopper can browse for a particular item, compare prices and features, and add the selections to a virtual shopping cart. Once the shopping is completed, the system takes over and automatically forwards the order to the supplier.

“The current E-req system in Oracle is not user-friendly,” she says. “You can go through 12 screens from browse to order, while TechMart can do the same in only three screens.” She credits Doris Shimabukuro, TechMart Project Manager, and the project team for putting together the “guts” of the project.

TechMart’s arrival does not spell curtains for Oracle, however.

“Oracle will still be our official system of record,” Lowenthal adds, referring to the Oracle Financials suite of applications that the Institute has used since mid-1999. All TechMart transactions will seamlessly flow into the Oracle financial suite and will be reflected the same as current purchase actions.

TechMart is the moniker given to the system that will be used specifically at Caltech. The technology is a suite of E-procurement systems called HigherMarkets produced by the North Carolina-based SciQuest, Inc.

TechMart will become available for use on June 20. The system will be introduced to the Caltech community at a June 16 supplier showcase, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Bechtel Mall. In advance of the implementation, formal training for all end-users will begin the week of June 6.

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