"THE ONLINE STORE HAS ALLOWED US TO, WITH A MINIMUM OF COST AND EFFORT, PROVIDE A SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE TO OUR INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS"
Richard Shortland, Assistant Finance Director, The University of BirminghamRichard Shortland
Assistant Director of Finance
University of Birmingham
"The Online Store has allowed us to, with a minimum of cost and effort, provide a simple and effective service to our internal stakeholders to allow them to take payment for their goods and services online. This is fundamental to our vision of a customer service-driven, professional and leading institution and we would now not be without this service. We look forward to driving the Online Store forward with a number of initiatives to make best use of our internal resources and expand the range of items and services which can be purchased."
RETURN ON INVESTMENT ANALYSIS
A comprehensive analysis of the Return on Investment the University of Birmingham has achieved through the use of WPM Education's E-Payment Solutions
The University of Birmingham achieve an annual Return on Investment of over £47,000 using WPM's e-payment solutions.
IN SUMMARY
The University of Birmingham no longer issue invoices to students for fees and collects circa £7m from 15,000 transactions annually through the Card Payment Gateway, which has had a direct impact on the Finance Office. With the introduction of the Online Store in 2005, benefits are being realised across the University.
Weighing the set-up, development and ongoing support costs against the staff and invoice cost savings, and approximate Return on Investment of £378,000 can be calculated.
1. The set-up and development costs for the University of Birmingham including the implementation cost of the Card Payment Gateway in 2001 and Online Store in 2005.
2. The staff and invoice administration cost saving based on the time saved due to online processing.
3. The additional saving for the University of Birmingham over developing a bespoke in-house solution with similar functionality.
MOVING FORWARD
The Online Store offers the University an opportunity to improve cash flow, whilst substantially reducing staff resources required to process each transaction. To date, the University has only scratched the surface of the potential savings within its budget centres and is actively seeking to increase these. This can be seen by the increased volume of transactions in the 2008/09 session.
The solutions continue to evolve, working in partnership with WPM, a company that has the experience and ideas to take the best from both other educational institutions as well as commercial companies. By listening and reacting to industry and client feedback, WPM Education generates a positive outlook for the future, allowing the University of Birmingham to continually provide a high level of customer service while increasing its return on the investment that it has made.
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