The AKAD-KS Group is the largest provider of private training and further education in Switzerland and stands out due to a wide network of schools in the German-speaking part of the country.
This case study describes the introduction of an e-procurement system at the AKAD-KS Group. The AKAD-KS Group appears in the role of the purchaser.
Background
In 2001 the group comprised 1,393 educational employees and 198 administrative employees. 12,123 students attended the courses on offer. The current company structure is the result of a merger between the AKAD Group and the KS Group on 26 November 2001. The new group therefore became one of the largest privately funded educational institutions in Switzerland with a dense geographical network. The case study specifically examines the performance areas of AKAD Business/HfB and AKAD College.
Industry, product and target group
The range of training and further education products offered by the AKAD-KS Group comprises elementary school, grammar school Matura (’A’ levels), vocational courses with or without recognised final examinations, courses for general education, business and languages. In 2001 a total of 153 courses were offered.
The final examinations on offer in addition to the school-leaving exam are commercial and technical Swiss vocational school-leaving certificates, special admission examinations for entry to universities, polytechnics and higher education institutions, Swiss vocational qualifications, MBA or master’s-equivalent degrees. These training and further education courses are geared to both children and adults, depending on the learning material.
The industry is characterised by a broad spectrum of private suppliers and public institutions. Basic conditions for the education market are agreed in political decision-making bodies. This includes, for example, the funding and/or subsidisation of training and further education. The AKAD-KS Group is the largest private supplier in the market and takes up a leading position in some educational segments.
Corporate vision
The declared goal of the AKAD-KS Group is to contribute to shaping the educational landscape in Switzerland. This goal has been chosen from the conviction that Switzerland as a location already has a good educational system which however has to be maintained and improved on an ongoing basis. The AKAD-KS Group wants to work towards this goal side by side with other providers – both public and private.
Basic functions in e-procurement and in the e-procurement solution
The e-procurement solution realised at AKAD supports the basic e-procurement functions of Operation and Reporting. Sourcing & Settlement as the first step in the overall e-procurement system is, on the other hand, not taken into account. The reason for this is the close, long-term and desired cooperation which was caused by the outsourcing of the central AKAD department. As a result of this, basic agreements were drawn up with a view to long-term cooperation. The ordering process is supported from the Operation department in the main; the payment process, on the other hand, is only prepared. The internet (email/WWW) is used for transmission services.
Catalogue management and content management have no significance in this case, although this function is generally provided in the currently existing e-procurement solution. The reason for this is the high degree of flexibility for digital printing which is demanded in the training and further education field. In the section of AKAD schools which are affected by the e-procurement solution, 80% of the orders are day-to-day business activities, for example orders from the training programs. In this case the contents are not standardised and are generally not completely standardised until just before order placement - the parameters are only clarified just before the actual order is placed, thus making it feasible. Only 20% of the order volume (5% of orders) can be planned long term, i.e. semester business and marketing brochures with a planning period of one month. Even in this case, updates are regularly made to the media.
Fig. 5.1: Role distribution for basic functions
A standard catalogue in the sense of predetermined documents is not planned, as it could not be maintained - version management of the documents alone would be too complex. The maintenance of variations in paper formats and types, attachments, bindings etc. by Mikro + Repro AG constitutes the only relevant component for catalogue and content management. In this case a framework is predefined for AKAD employees, from which they can set the respective parameters to achieve the desired end product for their documents.
In the reporting area, statistical assessments are possible in terms of both time and cost centre. Thus, both the ad hoc information requirement and the information requirement for budgetary planning can be covered. The following chapter deals with order process support.
Processes, roles and functions [order process]
The participating schools of AKAD and Mikro + Repro AG have agreed three days as the time period for the order process. The order must be placed three days prior to utilisation of the copies (exception semester business; see chapter on basic functions). Any orders that arrive later must either be arranged with Mikro + Repro AG (which seldom occurs) or copied internally on existing copiers on the floors.
Only the administrative personnel (secretary’s offices) are allowed to order - as far as order values are concerned, there are no specifications. Unusually large orders will be checked for correctness through the proper channels. The decision not to allow educational staff to place orders is due to the fact that they are mostly assigned to different cost centres and have no way of managing the costs themselves. Also, it is feared that if advisors make direct orders there will be an increase in special orders (less than three days’delivery time) and an associated increase in “express surcharges” as well as an undue burden on the key contact persons at AKAD and Mikro + Repro AG.
The persons making the orders only need a web browser. Using forms, they enter the required parameters of the order (number of pages of the original, order size, paper format, paper colour, covering sheets, etc.) and attach the digital document to be printed (specified by name by document name and department allocation, ususally a PDF document). It may also be the case that originals of the documents are only available as paper copies. In these cases, different contact points in the company are visited by couriers several times a day in order to bring in any originals for reproduction. At the same time, completed documents/copies are filed there again for their intended use. An exception in the case of delivery are orders to which a dispatch order with direct delivery to third parties has been attached. These are immediately prepared with the appropriate letters, labels and delivery notes and sent off immediately. When the AKAD employee actually hands over the order, the whole order is calculated with all the parameters (paper, binding, attachment, etc.) after it has been recorded and prior to the file upload. The order is only sent off together with the file after it has been checked by the AKAD employee.
Once the order arrives at Mikro + Repro AG, it is checked a second time immediately before production. If any queries arise, the person who placed the order is contacted by phone (in the case of up to 30% of orders, adjustments have to be made later due to manual configuration work or incorrect orders). After production, a further comparison is made between the order and production (automatic counting by the printing machines). If the order is correct within tolerable deviation limits in paper and material consumption, it is assigned to the cost centre/project stated in the order and finally sent off as described in the previous sections. The billing process is not supported by the system (apart from the structured preparation of all orders according to cost centres for a collective invoice).
A speciality of the e-procurement solution for this application context is the handling of an order after it has been determined that the order and production deviate beyond the tolerance limits. After a check has been carried out by Mikro + Repro AG, a flag is placed in the order marking the changes that have to be made in production (mutation).
The mutated order is forwarded to the customer again for checking who then has to agree to the amended order (provide a visa). Only then can the order be reassigned to the project and the process subsequently continue as normal. This process is carried out using purely internet-based methods and seldom requires telephone enquiries. If the customer does not provide its visa, it is reminded about this several times by mail by the Mikro + Repro AG system.