Case Study: Newcastle University achieves streamlined, compliant purchasing and cost savings with Proactis

Newcastle University Uses Proactis to Manage Purchasing, From Approved Suppliers, in One Central System

Newcastle University, a Russell Group institution with 5,500+ staff and 23,000+ students, faced resource‑intensive, paper‑based and often non‑compliant purchasing (free‑text orders or no POs, maverick spend). To centralise procurement and drive better purchasing decisions it engaged Proactis, building on Proactis Sourcing and implementing the Proactis Marketplace alongside its SAP ERP.

Proactis delivered a secure online marketplace hosting 71 approved catalogues (1.6 million line items) and 26 punch‑outs, enabling seamless SAP-to-supplier ordering. The platform now handles over 32,000 orders a year—worth more than £6 million—while increasing on‑contract spend, reducing maverick buying, speeding approvals, and cutting paper and manual effort, producing clear time and cost savings for Newcastle University.

Newcastle University

Neil Addison

Head of Procurement