ERP Evaluation and Recommendation update

Dear Colleagues,

When we last updated the community, the ERP Task Force and our five evaluation committees were hard at work reviewing the written responses to our negotiated request for proposal (NRFP), in order to shortlist respondents for the demonstration phase of the process. Over the course of four weeks in late April and early May, more than 60 employees and five students participated in one or more of 70 demonstration scenarios from each of two potential partners. The demonstrations covered many aspects of the proposals, including Finance, HR, Student Information System, Technical Requirements, and Implementation and Change Management. I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated in these sessions, as it was a significant time commitment.

Since the last demonstration sessions were completed the ERP Task Force and staff in Purchasing have been calculating all the scores and consolidating all the feedback in to a recommendation report. I am pleased to share with you that after all that effort, there was a clear leader among the two proponents, and the Task Force was unanimous in its recommendation of the Deloitte/Workday proposal.

Workday’s  student-centred design focus, ability to streamline key processes, self-service functionalities for students and staff, consistent and easy to use interface, strong reporting capabilities, and commitment to ongoing product innovation were key considerations. Feedback from students who participated in the demonstrations was very positive. The Task Force also felt that the implementation and change management services proposed by Deloitte would be important for the project’s success.

The recommendation report was shared with the Senior Leadership Team and the Audit and Finance Committee of Langara’s Board of Governors for their review. The report was presented at the full Board of Governors on June 21 and the ERP Task Force received approval to enter in to contract negotiations with the recommended Proponent. We are now initiating the negotiation process with the aim of completing that work this summer. If we are successful in coming to an agreement, then work on the implementation of the system will begin likely in October. More information about the system and implementation plan will be shared with the community this fall as the project plan takes shape.

This project provides the opportunity to renew and streamline our business processes and improve services for students and staff. While there is much work ahead of us, I am very pleased that we have achieved this important milestone in the project. I want to thank the members of the ERP Task Force for their excellent work on the NRFP and the evaluation process, and the Senior Leadership Team and Board of Governors for their support of this endeavour.

Sincerely,

Viktor Sokha
Vice President Administration and Finance
Chair and Executive Sponsor, ERP Project Task Force