Westpac abandons procurement system

Westpac has pulled the plug on the deployment of a new automated procurement system that would have streamlined the bank's internal purchasing and approvals process from the point of ordering right through to payment.

The bank had been assessing a Source-to-Pay managed service from Infosys but it has now decided not to proceed with the rollout of the system.

Infosys is a long-term partner of the bank and has supplied personnel and technology to the bank for a number of years.

Westpac has not said how much had been invested in the abandoned initiative, but it had assembled a sizeable change management and data input team to manage the changeover and suppliers had been told to expect changes to Westpac's procurement processes.

However, in a recent email to suppliers, chief procurement officer Simon Le Gear acknowledged that the bank had been "re-planning and reviewing" the automated procurement system since late last year.

"That process has now been completed and after thorough consideration, we have made the decision not to proceed with the implementation of the new system. For the foreseeable future, we will retain the status quo on all ordering and invoicing processes," said Le Gear, who also apologised for any inconvenience to suppliers.