Behind the scenes at many community colleges are inefficient procurement processes inhibiting faculty and staff from being as effective in meeting a diverse set of campus and student needs. Helping campus leaders think strategically about the behind-the-scenes operations that go into this process is something Varis can help shed light on and solve.  

Listed below are frequent challenges that we hear every day from community college procurement staff. Whether purchasing is centralized or decentralized, Varis can help encourage the right buying behavior. 

Challenges in community college procurement 

  • Lack of resources to effectively source and maintain vendors: Departments have budgets for each semester, but often face challenges with budget reductions and/or project prioritization. There is also consideration needed for long-term strategic planning and aligning budgets to multi-year plans. Once budgeting and planning have been carefully crafted on campus, then attention turns to managing the vendors who appropriately align to your procurement needs, campus projects, and (most importantly) your fiscal responsibility. Another frequent challenge in sourcing and maintaining vendors is a lack of resources to do so. Often there is a high turnover of procurement staff,; adding difficulties to ramping and training new employees. In addition to staff turnover, the sheer volume of supplier sourcing and contract management presents enough challenges on its own.  
  • Existing technology: We believe technology can help but often what is currently in place is more of a hindrance than help. There are technologies in place to manage finance, accounting, and daily procurement workflows, but there is a lack of tools at the front-end of procurement to facilitate spend controls and contract compliance. Many colleges are missing an easy-to-use tool that serves as a “starting point” for staff and employees to make needed purchases. A one-stop shop or marketplace to facilitate product research, discovery, price comparison and purchasing. Currently, the starting point for many institutions is a state/campus “repository” of vendors that is difficult to decipher, poorly organized and takes an enormous amount of time to navigate.  
  • State and institutional requirements: Like any educational institution, community colleges must adhere to strict regulatory guidelines, adding complexity to the procurement process. Reflective of the name, community colleges often have targeted initiatives in their respective area to make positive impacts to the workforce, local/small/minority businesses, and diverse student demographics. At most colleges, buyers struggle to understand and follow state/campus compliance and procurement rules. Entry level buyers on campus want to do the right thing…but often the process is so complicated that they cut corners or find workarounds that result in overspending and non-compliance.  

The future for community college procurement 

  • Strategic sourcing: Strategic sourcing is about developing channels of supply at the lowest total cost, not just the lowest purchase price. This enables a business to cut costs and improve processes while securing lasting relationships with the right suppliers. Start with an assessment of needs by department to fully understand what each department requires. This type of collaboration not only strengthens relationships between departments but may lead to sourcing initiatives with other educational institutions or entities that can lead to group purchasing arrangements. Combining purchasing power can unlock new pricing from suppliers if certain volumes are exceeded.  
  • Technology Integration: Facilitate the actual purchasing around campus by deploying a consumer-like experience that is familiar to faculty and staff. Create a single resource where all employees on campus can purchase what they need to do their jobs. This is a starting point, where most (if not all) products can be readily accessible from your trusted suppliers. Creating this type of consistency means finding a system that requires minimal training to implement, understand and use.  
  • Collaborative Decision-Making: Throughout any implementation and into the adoption phases of modern technology, involve key stakeholders from each department early in the process to answer questions directly and troubleshoot any issues. Whether it is about what type of catalogs are needed or creating shopping lists for repeat purchases, be visible with the leaders across campus to solve any issues. 
  • Make Compliance Automatic: As mentioned, buyers on campus typically break compliance rules and procedures due to frustration with complicated processes. With a focus on deadlines and urgency, most buyers seek the fastest and easiest way to procure goods for their department projects and needs. This tends to result in cutting corners with processes, overspending and lack of compliance (which can trickle up to state-level non-compliance). We propose a simple solution: make compliance automatic. If most shopping can be mandated in a private, easy to use, one-stop-shop marketplace, then buyers can easily find what they need and are directed to approved vendors, contracted pricing, making it easy to follow procurement rules.  

A real-world example from a pacific northwest community college 

  • What was the existing process for procurement? During the pandemic, procurement was the wild west for this community college; the mentality of staff and faculty was to source by any means necessary. Products were scarce and staff were faced with logistical issues, while adapting to modern technologies to continue educating students. Fast forward to 2024, and procurement guidelines that may have been broken during those times are now being reigned in to do what is right, not what is expedient.  
  • What was the primary problem? Staff continued to buy from a consumer website or visit a nearby retail store and then submit receipts for reimbursement on the same products for which the college had already negotiated better pricing. Compliance was a big concern facing this community college. Finance and procurement leaders needed to encourage buying from established contracts to make purchasing easier to source and track, while also leveraging negotiated savings.  
  • Varis implemented across the campus: Implementation of the Varis® purchasing platform was coordinated by one person overseeing: workflow creation, choosing contracts, and synchronizing to financial systems. Through that main point of contact, other departments were brought into the discussion to share their input before going live. Having an executive sponsor supporting the implementation and including other department leaders was necessary to success.  
  • Life after implementing Varis. Substantial changes in tech transformation always face internal resistance early on until staff are comfortable using the solution. Partnering with an executive sponsor to help find “internal champions” who are excited about using innovative technology was a great first step. This college started with a particular department, and after initial success, word of mouth led to others following suit to increase adoption.  

With community college budgets continuing to shrink, operations need to be more strategic. What is your campus doing? Connect with us on LinkedIn and share your experience or reach out to as to find out more. 

About the authors 

Steven Bryan — Steven Bryan is in Business Development at Varis. For the past 15 years he has worked with the public sector, which started by winning a state contract in Maryland for a water sport business that led him into procurement technology. He was the first hire for a startup called GovSpend that grew to over 200 employees where he became the VP of the Government Division. Steven has also taught a procurement class for the MPA program at Clemson University.  

Marie Strohl, M.S. Ed —Marie Strohl spent 20 years of her career in educational roles. Starting as a biology/chemistry instructor; she worked at the prestigious Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. There she supported low-income and minority student populations to fulfill Ewing Kauffman’s dream and increase equitable opportunities for students in the KC urban core. She went on to hold roles in student success, advising, and admissions for a local community college in Kansas City, MO. Marie’s current interests are focused on technology; supporting new innovations to enhance our nation’s colleges and increase their ability to stay nimble in a modern world.