New invoice payment system

WQ.101/2023

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES BY DEPUTY M.R. SCOTT OF ST. BRELADE

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 6th MARCH 2023

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 13th MARCH 2023

Question

“With respect to Government's new invoice payment system (the “System”), will the Minister advise –

1. how many complaints have been received regarding either –
   1. the manner in which the change to the System was notified to suppliers of goods and services, and the manner ofits implementation; or
   2. the System providing excessive information to suppliers of goods and services creating unnecessary administration for them;
2. whetherthere was a plan in place for implementation of the System; and
3. whether the System will be reviewed to assessits impact on suppliers of goods and services and, if so, when?”

Answer

1. Connect Suppliers Ariba/Finance is a global SAP ERP system which provides integrated functionality from procurement though to accounts payable and has been implemented to replace increasingly unsupported Supply Jersey and JD Edwards technology. The implementation of Release 1 took place in January 2023 and during the past couple of months GoJ has actively listened and responded to our suppliers during a significant transitional period. It is inevitable that a number ofissues will arise from any such major transition to a new system, but we are confident that the issues raised are being addressed.

1. Some suppliers have highlighted they would have preferred earlier communications. The ITS Programme determined that there was an optimum time for notifying suppliers of the change in system. To notify suppliers too soon could have meant the Connect Suppliers Ariba message was not acted upon. Suppliers were notified at what was thought the optimum time.
2. At implementation there were instances of suppliers receiving multiple notification emails. A small number of suppliers complained, and as a result this issue was addressed as part of Hypercare support and quickly resolved.

GoJ have actively responded to queries from Suppliers. Queries have been received by both to Commercial Services and Accounts Payable departments. As expected, there has been a peak in demand on our services and query management, however this has provided departments with key themes on areas we need to target and provide support to our Suppliers. We have published links to all of the communications and considerable training material issued to our Suppliers on Gov.Je alongside a useful list of FAQ’s for additional support.

3. GoJ has received only 1 formal complaint through the customer feedback management system (CFMS). There have been approximately 12 informal complaints received. Thesehave been due to a lack of supplier understanding of the new process and these have been resolved through targeted support.

2. The implementation of Connect Suppliers Ariba/Finance was fully planned by the ITS Programme. This implementation plan has been managed digitally and encompasses the key components of the transition from Supply Jersey and JD Edwards to Connect Suppliers Ariba/Finance. These elements included all planning aspects to allow for a programme Go-Liveof Release 1 during January 2023 and to provide structured support during the post Go-Livehyper care period. The implementation plan was developed during 2022 and is overseen bythe Programme Partner alongside the ITS Project Management Office (PMO) in addition to the Intelligent Client Function (ICF) supporting with project management. There was comprehensive programme governance around the design, development and implementation of Connect. The period of Hypercare support post Go-Live of the new system is being used to resolve issues quickly as they occur.
3. The transfer to a new procurement and payments system will be under regular review moving forward. Following the initial transition period, there will be a period of embedment and further communications toall users will follow.