TAFE NSW creates digital guidance for staff to use its SAP systems

TAFE NSW' Nicole Cutler.

TAFE NSW is using SAP WalkMe to guide its thousands of staff in using its procurement and expense management systems that are powered by technology from the same vendor.

Chief procurement officer Nicole Cutler told the SAP NOW AI Tour in Sydney that SAP Ariba and SAP Concur have “set a new standard” internally for the digitisation of key processes.

The government-owned public vocational education and training provider started deploying Ariba back in 2019, and has more recently gone live with Concur, which typically is used to manage expenses, travel and invoicing.

Cutler said that over time, the focus has shifted from what the SAP technology is able to digitise, to supporting staff in using the two systems.

That has led to the implementation of WalkMe, which is designed to guide users in how to interact with SAP’s various technology platforms.

“It integrates over Ariba and Concur and basically gives step-by-step instructions on what to do next,” Cutler said.

“When you've got 17,000 people in your organisation, you need step-by-step instructions on what button to push and what data you need to enter.”

A case study suggests that WalkMe has been in use for about a year, with most interactions around Ariba, and a small but growing number for Concur.

The technology has led to “greater user self-sufficiency” and a 24 percent reduction in support calls and tickets being lodged, according to the case study.

“It means that people aren't having to go out of the system, call helpdesk or go through QRGs [quick reference guides] and the like,” Cutler said.

The on-hand guidance also means fewer data entry errors.

“Importantly, the data going into the system is really, really accurate now, which obviously means the back-end reporting is awesome,” Cutler said.

During the presentation, it was also revealed that TAFE NSW is in the process of adopting Ariba Category Management, a spend classification tool that is marketed by SAP as being AI-assisted.