Commonfind is the first integrated buyer-supplier network designed for the education market. Its features are three-fold. First, it provides aggregate purchasing through a consortium of suppliers who bid to provide services and products, ranging from equipment maintenance to office supplies.
Secondly, the buying takes place on the Web which, thirdly, allows the process to become more streamlined and, in some cases, allows university office staff to go directly to suppliers, freeing up purchasing staff for other responsibilities.
It's been estimated that this e-procurement system will eventually let us save 10 to 25 percent in costs, both through the aggregated buying and the streamlined process, said Ester Burns, GVSU senior buyer.
Another feature of the service is that the university's current local vendors can join Commonfind's consortium of suppliers.
That lets our local suppliers stay in our loop and keep bidding on Grand Valley contracts, plus, because the service is national and on the Web, it opens the locals up to a market that's as big as the number of participating institutions, said Mick Doxey, GVSU director of business services.
Other colleges and universities in the Commonfind start-up group include: Babson College; Harvey Mudd College; Miami University; Smith College; Stevens Institute of Technology; Villanova University; Wellesley College, and Wheaton College (MA).
GVSU will begin testing Commonfind this month through its Purchasing office. Ultimately, the university will use the service campus-wide.
Commonfind was developed through a partnership between Commonfund, a leading financial manager for educational institutions, CampusFirst, the leading insurance underwriter for educational institutions, and Intelisys, a leading provider of e-marketplace solutions.
