System upgrade cuts through bureaucracy

The Volusia County (Fla.) school district's enhancement of its online purchasing system has received an honorable mention in the 2008 Best Practice in Public Procurement Awards from the Florida Association of Public Purchasing Officers.

Responding to complaints that the time between ordering and receiving items was too long, the district upgraded its system to allow users to create an online shopping cart.

Prior to that, a teacher would have to go online, write down information on the items to be bought, and give the list to a clerk, who would enter the data into a requisition system.

The shopping cart feature allows teachers to select an item from the catalog, enter the quantity requested, and complete an order. A clerk approves the order without having to re-key it.

“At a high school, this can save three to four hours per week of data-entry work for the clerk and reduces the chance for processing errors,” the district says. “In addition, it speeds up the time it takes the orders to get to the warehouse and thus improves delivery time.”

Another benefit is that teachers now can go online and check the status of their orders.