A step to save time and trees

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Center transitions to electronic forms; paper requisitions end March 1

Can you remember the last time you bought a paper airline ticket, sent a letter when you wanted to chat with a friend, or completed and mailed in a paper survey? Chances are, it has been a while, and not surprisingly. E-tickets, e-mail and online forms, once thought to be a wave of the future, are not only a reality, but in many cases the preferred method of doing business. As the world around us becomes increasingly paperless, the Hutchinson Center is no exception.

In the coming months, we will begin to move toward paperless forms in an effort to reduce costs, answer the demand of increasing audit scrutiny and meet more stringent compliance requirements. These factors, coupled with a global environment of technological growth and advancement, necessitate a more consistent application of procedures and facilitate the move toward electronic forms. On March 1, 2006, the Center will formally eliminate paper requisitions.

Transition began in July

The transition from paper to electronic forms began at the Center this past July with an update to Financial Management Systems (FMS) security that featured online project authorizations, which are controlled and maintained at the project level. Since July, Center faculty and staff have responded overwhelmingly in favor of this update, citing ease of use and time saved in processing as two major improvements. As the Center continues the move to electronic forms, similar impacts will be felt in areas as widely varied as submission of grant applications, the procurement process and time and effort reporting. The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance has already successfully transitioned their time and effort reporting from paper to electronic forms and has had paperless requisitioning for the past two years. This is an example that the Center will follow beginning early next year with the elimination of paper requisitions.

"For the past two years, the Finance department has focused on installing and stabilizing the PeopleSoft system," said Herb Bone, the Center's controller. "Now we want to revise our business processes to maximize utilization of this system and move away from paper forms."

Currently, less than 20 percent of all requisitions completed at the Center are submitted via paper forms. Moving to an entirely electronic format will ensure quality in requisition processing up front by reducing overall process time, eliminating the current bottleneck for problem resolution and removing unnecessary touch points throughout the process. All types of goods and services, including capital equipment, maintenance contracts and other sensitive purchases, can be requisitioned online.

In anticipation of the need for additional training and support prior to March 1, FMS has made available a number of resources designed to ease the shift from paper to electronic forms. Several additional requisitioning-training classes have been added to the FMS training calendar beginning this month and running through March 2006. You may reserve space in a class for individuals or for entire labs or departments, depending upon your group's need. A new online requisitioning training course will be deployed in November 2005, providing a complete introductory requisitioning course right at your workstation. Additionally, reference materials will be made easily accessible online and live phone support will be available for timely answers to your questions.

In the coming months, FMS will continue to provide updates and information regarding training and support for electronic requisitions. To sign up for a training class, view the online training course or access user reference material, visit the FMS Web site at centernet.fhcrc.org/CN/depts/fms. If you have questions regarding training or the transition to electronic requisitions, please contact FMS Support at FMS_Support@fhcrc.org or (206) 667-5700.

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Next electronic requisitions training class is Oct. 26 in Yale

FMS is offering requisitioning-training classes now through February 2006. The classes are held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., in the Yale computer-training lab, J2-115, on the following dates:

• Oct. 26
• Nov. 2, 16
• Dec. 7
• Jan. 11, 18, 25
• Feb. 1, 9, 15

Class size is limited and registration is required. To register, contact FMS Support. For more class information, visit the FMS Web site.

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