New Procurement Services website enhances buying experience

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Procurement Services recently launched a new website that includes a number of features intended to make purchasing easier and faster for the university community.

The new website, designed by Michigan Creative, includes — among other upgrades and features — a new look and feel, easier navigation, enhanced searching, and new and revised content. It also incorporates input from users, which was invaluable in the development process.

“We really made a concerted effort through surveys and focus groups to reach out to our customers across the university as well as our suppliers to determine exactly what they wanted to see in a new website that would enhance their experience and make it easier to do business with us,” said Colin Anderson, interim director of procurement services. “They gave us a number of great ideas for the new website. In many ways, this is their site and we really wanted it to reflect their vision of a best-in-class procurement website in everything from design to content.”

In addition to a functional navigation structure, the new website offers large graphical buttons that will take employees to commonly used services such as M-Marketsite, U-M’s online catalog for goods and services, and Concur, the university’s travel and expense system.

“The website is extremely easy to use and includes a wide range of very useful resources that I consult on a regular basis,” said Cheryl denBroeder-Kelly, an administrative coordinator at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. “And it has a clean design that enables me to quickly locate the procurement information I need in several different ways, which is very helpful.”

The website also has a news section that offers visitors the latest information about upcoming events, special offers from suppliers, and other updates from Procurement Services.

“I think the new website looks really good. Everything flows well and I really like the design and simplicity of the website,” said Jami Moore, president of JEM Tech, a U-M strategic supplier for IT data center products and services.

The new website also includes a tour that allows visitors to quickly review the site’s new features.

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