The Higher Education e-Procurement (HEeP) marketplace is a HE sector-wide project to provide web-based e-procurement marketplace functionality to all universities in the UK. The project is partially funded by Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), backed by the Joint Procurement Policy & Strategy Group (JPPSG) and run out of the University of Salford.
Softwire designed, developed and tested the HEeP marketplace software from the ground up. At its core, the marketplace allows buyers within universities to select from a list of pre-approved suppliers and to order goods from those suppliers. However, the real innovation is in the integration of the marketplace with both the existing financial software packages used by the universities, and the e-commerce websites and back-office systems used by their suppliers.
The supplier website integration is implemented using Softwire’s Webmap product, and allows suppliers to join the marketplace without making any changes whatsoever to their own website – hence significantly lowering the barrier to entry. The financial software package integration is implemented using Microsoft BizTalk Server to electronically route purchase order and invoice documents between universities and suppliers using a number of standard XML document formats.
In addition to developing the software itself, Softwire also provided several training courses for administrators and users of the system and assisted with the recruitment of systems administration staff.
Due to the innovative approach taken to solving the e-procurement integration problem, the HEeP marketplace won two notable awards for the University of Salford and is also the subject of a Microsoft case study.
Customer testimonial
“Having been involved in the selection of high value, corporate software applications I am only too aware of the need to identify a suitable supplier that both understands the business issues surrounding a project, and can accurately translate user requirements into functional software.
From the very first meeting with Softwire it was apparent that they had a detailed understanding of requirements for the HEeP e-procurement marketplace and the technical expertise to deliver a 'leading edge' solution. This has proved to be entirely true with Softwire exceeding all expectations by delivering software whose quality is 'first class' and which portrays in-depth knowledge of the complexities surrounding e- procurement within the U.K. Higher Education sector. To achieve this in itself is unique, however to do so within budget, on time and with a firm focus on delivering customer satisfaction is remarkable in this day and age."
Ray Corner, Director of Finance, University of Salford.
