Press Releases

Marine Science Institute at UCSB Goes Live With Coupa e-Procurement

Over 500 Worldwide Research Projects Improve Purchasing Efficiencies and Budget Management with e-Procurement Implementation

Foster City, Calif. – June 2nd, 2008 – Coupa Software, the leading on demand e-procurement vendor for organizations of all sizes, today announced that the Marine Science Institute (MSI) at The University of California, Santa Barbara, has gone live with Coupa e-Procurement On Demand. MSI, a national and international leader in ocean research, selected Coupa e-Procurement for automated procurement of supplies for its more than 500 active research projects throughout the U.S. and around the world. The Coupa e-Procurement implementation supports MSI's efforts to increase efficiency and manage budgets.

After evaluating the Coupa open source e-procurement project, Coupa Express, to determine Coupa's ability to support purchasing requirements in a higher education environment, MSI chose Coupa e-Procurement On Demand. In addition to three full-time purchasing department employees and 25 administrative staff, approximately 500 faculty, researchers and students employed by MSI will use Coupa e-Procurement to administer more than $3 million in supplies and equipment annually. Coupa e-Procurement enables MSI to provide its geographically dispersed users with hands-on access to a central system in order to place, receive, and track orders.

“With a multitude of different requirements for purchasing and delivery, dispersed project teams must be able to access a single procurement system from any remote location, from Australia to Antarctica,” said Tim Schmidt, manager, MSI at The University of California, Santa Barbara. “Coupa e-Procurement's web-based system is intuitive and easy to use, giving us a complete picture of purchasing at any time. By replacing our manual, labor-intensive process with Coupa e-Procurement, we will increase efficiencies by cutting back superfluous activity, and over time, expect to save money and consolidate our supplier base.”

Coupa e-Procurement On Demand automates the entire procure-to-pay process from requisitioning and purchase order creation to RFQ generation, receiving, inventory and invoicing. A one-stop shopping center where employees can conveniently find approved products, share their experiences, place order, and launch the approval cycle, Coupa e-Procurement helps organizations control spending while improving procurement efficiency. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) model ensures quick implementation and installation, as well as easy maintenance without additional investment in new hardware or software.

“Higher education institutions are looking for solutions that improve operations and reduce costs, but that are easy enough to install and use that they don't divert from the core mission,” said Dave Stephens, CEO and co-founder, Coupa Software. “Coupa helps organizations like the Marine Science Institute make the leap to e-procurement with a cost-effective solution that is accessible and easy to use for all staff.”

About Marine Science Institute
The Marine Science Institute (MSI), established at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1969, ranks nationally and internationally as a leader in ocean research. Founded in 1969, MSI administers and supports research projects involving faculty, professional researchers, technical staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students from 14 disciplines, including marine biology, ocean engineering, physical oceanography and marine biotechnology. MSI's faculty and professional researchers stand at the forefront of their fields, regularly redefining our current knowledge of marine science and policy.

About Coupa Software
Coupa is the leading on demand provider of solutions that automate and control purchasing for organizations beyond the Fortune 500. Coupa e-Procurement On Demand delivers a simple, quick and affordable solution for requisitioning, purchase orders, RFQs, inventory and invoicing, with no hardware to buy or software to license. With best-in-class ease of use, deep roots in the e-procurement sector, and a network of more than 2300 suppliers, Coupa’s solution enables companies to greatly increase efficiencies and save money quickly.

For more information please visit www.coupa.com or call 650.585.6306.