INNOVATION - The Consortium

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DISCOver The BeneFITS OF eLeCTrOnIC anD InTerneT OrDerInG The COnSOrTIum emBraCeS ChanGe The LaTeST TeChnOLOGY FrIenDLY, FaST anD PaPer Free! BY InveSTInG In The LaTeST TeChnOLOGY, The ConSorTIum Can now provIde eCo-frIendly InvOICeS anD STaTemenTS vIa emaIL. In September 2005, we launched our new invoice and statement service which uses the latest computer and digital print technology. This has significantly improved the efficiency of our transactional printing and over the last few months we have been moving more and more documents across to this system. This new process allows us to send documents electronically rather than print, fold, put in envelopes and post them. Invoices and statements can be attached to an email as a standard PDF file so they can be easily viewed once received. There are numerous benefits to using electronic invoices, as opposed to traditional methods: • Documents are received immediately – no postal delays • They don’t get lost in transit – undeliverable emails are immediately returned to The Consortium so we can let you know if there’s a problem • Once received, customers can simply copy them to colleagues via email and store originals electronically, making it much easier to share information • No paper is used during the process, keeping clutter to a minimum and reducing the strain on the environment • Customers who use our website can achieve completely paperless transactions without the need for more sophisticated e-procurement systems • Documents are sent straight to the person responsible, reducing pressure on busy post rooms or receptions • PDF files are universally portable, look just like the printed document and can be read by anyone with free Adobe Acrobat Reader • If required, numbers and text can be simply copied from PDF documents and pasted into other software such as spreadsheets without affecting the original document Of course, with electronic documents, the cost to process and deliver is much lower than conventional print, pack and post, allowing us to focus resources on more important things like keeping our prices as low as possible. That’s why we are very keen for customers to try out this new service. We have already switched requests for copies of invoices to email rather than print, and we can now offer a fully electronic transactional document email service to customers on request. SIMS information via a disk If you would like to switch to electronic documents there is no charge – it’s completely free. All you need to do is email us on: enquiries@theconsortium.co.uk expressing your interest in our electronic document service. We will then contact you with further information and if you wish, set you up to receive electronic invoices and statements. Don’t worry, if you are unsure how this will work for you, we can send you a free ‘one off’ sample copy invoice. Just email: invoices@theconsortium.co.uk and include the words “Free Trial” in the subject box. We’ll send you your last invoice by return email to see what you think. If you like it then, either email us at:enquiries@theconsortium. co.uk or call us on 0845 330 7780 and we’ll switch you across straight away. SIMS FMS Ordering System If your school uses the SIMS FMS ordering system we can send you a SIMS disk with our latest product codes, descriptions and prices to load directly into your system. You can then quickly create your order and email it to us at sims@theconsortium.co.uk for immediate, order processing (or print your order and fax or post it to us). SIMS eprocurement solution Alternatively, with SIMS FMS eprocurement, you can create the content of an order on The Consortium website and then import it directly into SIMS for review and authorisation. Once authorised, the order is sent to The Consortium in a machine-readable format - XML. The Consortium then processes it and sends an email acknowledgement back to you. Alternatively, an order can be typed directly into SIMS and emailed to The Consortium. Using the Website allows authorised people (e.g. Heads of Department) to set up their requirements using any Internet connected PC, at home or at work, with an up-to-date view of stock and prices. The SIMS administrator can then import these for review and authorisation. SIMS SIMS makInG e-proCuremenT eaSY! What our customers say As a selected supplier, The Consortium system allows staff to order goods online, invoices to be sent electronically and transferred automatically to the Councilís accounts system via the Councilís mainframe computer. Electronic transfer to The Consortium bank account then pays invoices electronically. This process makes 10,000 invoices obsolete each year. Reduces cost Robert Liddington, Corporate Purchasing Manager, Bristol City Council Due to the expanding nature of our business, EP4Free has given us total control of our expenditure with The Consortium, across all of our sites. With their help, we have created a mechanism to purchase the products we need at an agreed price. Carol Walton, PA to the Directors, Apetito Food & Catering Systems Many organisations understand the benefits of electronic ordering - e-procurement eBusiness @ The Consortium made easy reduced costs, increased productivity, improved accuracy – generally making the whole process of buying simpler and more efficient. The Government also recognises these benefits and has set targets to encourage public sector organisations to adopt e-procurement in some way. Indeed, some budgets are being reduced by the value of the expected saving! We recognise that our customers manage procurement in many different ways and that a single e-procurement offering may not suit everyone. Instead, The Consortium offers a range of electronic solutions, from e-ordering through to fully integrated e-procurement. Included with this edition of STREAMS is a leaflet containing an overview of all the available options. Each one has been designed to “make buying easy” which ever way you choose to order. Take a look…and see how we can help you make those key efficiency savings. ... Increases productivity Improved accuracy EP4Free SIMS SIMS e
The COnSOrTIum emBraCeS ChanGe ChanGeS aT The TOP I’m writing this today the 20 th March and as far as I can recall that is almost exactly 36 years to the day I submitted my application to become a Buyer at the Consortium. It is tempting to indulge in a certain amount of nostalgia at times like this but I learnt the management maxim that “you can’t change the past but you can work to improve the future” early in my career, so my inclination is to look forward to the next phase in life. That said, I count myself very lucky in having the opportunity to work with some really super people over the years, far too many to name, and to have been involved in such an ever changing set of management issues and challenges. Life has never been dull at The Consortium! When I observe the personnel of other companies I come into contact with it becomes very clear in comparison just how good a team we have at the moment. Looking to the future I believe that the company now has one of the best combinations of talented and motivated people we have ever managed to assemble. There are also great opportunities for it to go from strength to strength both in its dealings with existing customers and the growing number of new ones who are attracted by the high service standards and professionalism we maintain. Whilst I am looking forward to handing over the Chief Executive role to Melanie from the 6 th of April you can be sure that I will still have a keen interest in the fortunes of the Company! JEFF Coming your way soon – our fresher, brighter new website. In March this year we launched our new website based on the latest web technology. The most noticeable change is a clearer cleaner look and feel with easier navigation around the products. Dig more deeply and you’ll find a greater capability to customise to your own needs and a much improved search capability to help you find what you want. Many of the changes we have made won’t be obvious to you, but based on the very latest .NET technology, our new website is far more flexible and provides us with a superb platform to develop our web service for you now and in the future. A goodbye letter from Jeff… neW WeBSITe We realise how important a fast and stable website is for many of you so we are phasing in the new website to ensure any disruption is kept to an absolute minimum. The first customers were migrated to the new website in March (mainly our newer care customers) and over the next few months we will gradually migrate more of you over, before finally closing our old website this autumn. Please do let us know what you think of our website (whether the old one or the new one) and what ideas you have for us to improve it further. On our website, just click on “Customer support” and then “Contact us” to access information about the many different ways you can give us this information. Jeff Gould, chief executive at The Consortium has retired – 36 years after joining the organisation. He will continue as a parttime director at The Consortium but is being succeeded as chief executive by Melanie Teal, who was previously Customer Director. Melanie Teal became chief executive in April this year, after 15 years at the company and numerous different job roles. Before joining The Consortium, Melanie worked in the Financial Services sector. Melanie has worked in many different parts of the company, including purchasing, catalogue production and sales, in addition to assisting in a radical redesign of The Consortium’s warehousing and distribution processes back in 2002. As a result, she has a real understanding of the challenges faced in just about every department of the company, and is particularly aware of the importance of satisfied customers and suppliers, to the success of the business. Melanie has an experienced senior team to support her in her role: Mark Barnett – Chief Operating Officer, with the company for 10 years and responsible for its supply chain Joe Cadell Business Support Director, a blue chip computer whiz, ex- Zurich and British Airways Asked about Jeff’s retirement, Melanie Teal said: Mike Gahan Finance Director, joined in November from First Bus Group Brian Potter Marketing and Sales Director, a veritable direct marketing guru “Jeff has instilled his passion for developing people and helping them to deliver their potential throughout our organisation. He will be a hard act to follow but will still be on hand (in a non-exec capacity) as we take the company forward.” This paper is from a sustainable forest Melanie Teal Chief Executive
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INNOVATION - The Consortium

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