Case Study: University of Surrey achieves significant savings and automated eInvoicing with Proactis

University Achieves Savings Through Best Value Purchasing And eInvoicing

The University of Surrey, a top UK university with about 15,000 students and ~£50m annual non‑pay spend, wanted greater savings, stronger best‑practice purchasing and the introduction of electronic invoicing. To achieve this it selected PROACTIS (formerly EGS) to work with its UNIT4 Agresso finance system, delivering punch‑out access to preferred supplier catalogues and a move to “pure” XML eInvoicing.

PROACTIS implemented punch‑out catalogues and system‑to‑system XML invoicing, enabling 15 high‑volume preferred suppliers and giving users an “Amazon‑like” ordering experience. The university now places 30% of orders through the eMarketplace, receives 17% of invoices via XML (4,000+ per year), saves at least £6 in processing cost per invoice, and has reduced manual work and restructured its Finance team — with PROACTIS supporting plans to grow punch‑out volumes to 40%.

University of Surrey

Robin Hunt

Director of Procurement