The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) is out to improve its financial performance with the help and technology of international spend-management solutions company, Ivalua.
The provincial crown corporation tasked to manage and run the day-to-day lottery, casino and Internet-based government-owned gaming business in behalf of the British Columbia, has seen it fit to integrate Ivalua’s spend-management technology. The objective of which is to streamline the lottery company’s supplier approval procedures, as well as to improve the visibility of supplier contracts.
As it is, BCLC collaborates and deals with more than 1,200 suppliers all year round, sourcing products, and services needed for its daily operation as a provincial lottery organization. In selecting Ivalua as its contract spend management solutions and services provider, BCLC’s system will have advanced capabilities in collaborating with vendors, therefore allowing greater competency and internal accessibility.
The BCLC-Ivalua contract agreement includes the replacement of existing applications as means of ensuring consistency of vendor data with BCLC’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP being the information system covering operating aspects such as spending plans, actual acquisition of goods and services, inventory management, product sales, marketing spend, and availability of funds as well as human resources.
Ivalua’s spend management solutions include tools that manage user access and user privileges as support to BCLC’s multi-level authorizations. BCLC’s decision-makers will be able to access complete and up-to-date information sourced from anywhere in the world through Ivalua’s strategic supplier relations management tool. Basic supplier information is enhanced with other relevant data in addition to the usual Request for Proposal (RFP), invoices, purchases orders, and agreements between BCLC and its existing suppliers.
Spend transaction and supplier data availability goes beyond the basics, as Ivalua’s platform has a Supplier Repository module. It stores input coming from within the organization, from Internet sources, from the suppliers themselves and from third party providers. The latter provides data related to a supplier-entity’s financial risk, pending lawsuits, and community profile. The spend management platform furnishes direct access to a supplier’s portal via a secure extranet mode, enabling BCLC to exchange information with suppliers rapidly and safely.
Another functionality that could improve BCLC’s vendor approval processing is the Certification Management Tool that allows for the centralization of all legal documentations. The certification management tool has the capability to sort non-compliant documents and expiring contracts with its search engine filter. To which follow-ups for missing, invalid, and expiring documents are automated, and carried out in accordance with validity periods and warning time, as set by BCLC for each type of required document.
In addition, the spend management software-as-a-service (SaaS) furnished by Ivalua includes a risk management tool that can configure risk types and measurement indicators for BCLC’s ERP. Such capabilities include permitting update of risk evaluation data using forms, or by automated integration of partner data. That way, BCLC’s decision makers are afforded with a multi-faceted assessment and analysis of the risks posed by each supplier.
Ivalua Incorporated maintains head office in Redwood City, California, and is represented in the Canadian region by Ivalua Canada, located in the City of Montreal in Quebec, Canada.