SciQuest Brings Procurement Functionality to the Kuali Foundation
Posted: 10-15-2008 : CARY, N.C.

CARY, N.C. -- SciQuest, Inc., the global leader empowering enterprises to realize the potential of strategic procurement, today announced that the company will serve as a commercial affiliate of the Kuali Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that coordinates the efforts of colleges and universities to sustain and evolve a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise software applications. Originating from Indiana University and based on open-source and community-source principles, the Kuali Foundation is comprised of more than 200 institutions worldwide.

The Kuali Financial System (KFS) consists of a suite of applications and modules that include accounts receivable, budget construction, capital assets and other critically important functionality required for efficient financial management in higher education. As a commercial affiliate, SciQuest will develop functionality that enables users to seamlessly integrate their procurement processes with the Foundation's Financial Management System.

"As the leading edge of many institutions' efforts to achieve savings, eprocurement is an increasingly critical component of any enterprise financial system in higher education," said Brad Wheeler, associate vice president of information technology at Indiana University and chairman of the Kuali Foundation's board of directors. "SciQuest's participation as a commercial affiliate and the company's integration of procurement automation functionality with the Kuali Financial System will greatly benefit our members and the higher education community."

Eprocurement Emerges as a Critical Component of Financial Management Systems:

At many colleges and universities, spending by faculty and staff on required goods and services is only eclipsed by payroll and capital projects in its impact on the bottom line. The unique ability of eprocurement systems to provide a platform upon which to consolidate buying power with suppliers, automate paper-based purchasing processes and deliver unprecedented visibility into where and how money is being spent often represents the single greatest opportunity for colleges and universities to generate savings without budget cuts.

As a result, eprocurement is increasingly considered a critical component of financial management systems. In addition, eprocurement extends the reach of financial management systems to the larger faculty and staff community--allowing organizations to bring all enterprise-wide spending under management for the first time.

"There is a growing realization that eprocurement provides the missing link that enables organizations to get the most out of their investments in ERP and financial management systems," said Jamie Duke, SciQuest's chief operating officer. "SciQuest offers one of the few eprocurement platforms that can seamlessly integrate procurement capabilities and comprehensive supplier enablement with a wide range of available ERP and finance systems, making it easier than ever for organizations to realize the savings and efficiencies that modern eprocurement solutions are meant to deliver."

Nearly 70 colleges and universities use SciQuest's on-demand eprocurement and supplier enablement solutions. Presenting users with an intuitive online shopping experience, SciQuest fosters the user adoption required to aggregate institutions' buying power, negotiate more favorable terms and conditions, and provide financial management with unprecedented visibility into spending organization wide.

The Kuali Foundation began in 2004 as a cooperative effort among seven partners and a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop an open-source, community-owned financial system. Success with the joint development of KFS led to three additional development projects. More than 20 organizations are investing partners in the Foundation, including Cornell University, Florida State University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona, the University of British Columbia, and others. For more information on the Kuali Foundation or its annual meeting of participants, Kuali Days -- November 18-19, 2008 in Newport Beach, Calif. -- visit http://www.Kuali.org.

About SciQuest
SciQuest's procurement automation and supplier enablement solutions empower leading organizations to realize the potential of strategic procurement. The company's specialized knowledge, on-demand software, and service-first approach enable public and private enterprises across the globe to manage spend, drive ROI, and advance their critical missions.

SciQuest's deep understanding of its served vertical markets combined with a broad supplier network and intuitive, online shopping experience increase user and contract adoption while improving operational efficiencies. Through software-as-a-service (SaaS) deployment, organizations can quickly implement the right eprocurement solution to augment existing ERP investments or fully enable all aspects of purchasing from sourcing to settlement.

For more information about SciQuest, please visit http://www.sciQuest.com or call 877-710-0413 in the U.S. or +44 1794 341182 in Europe.