Customer Focus Group

The Office for Supply Management Services utilizes customer focus and advisory groups to provide a forum for faculty and staff to exchange ideas, discuss purchasing-related issues, and offer feedback on upcoming purchasing initiatives and projects.

Focus group members for commodity initiatives have an opportunity to meet with representatives from key "preferred suppliers," discuss service and support requirements, and review new products and services. The customer focus groups consist of a diverse group of faculty and staff members with whom we will be able to identify opportunities for improving the purchasing experience, address commodity-specific issues, and share our plans for future purchasing initiatives. Feedback from the customer focus groups will also enable the Office for Supply Management Services to prioritize future process improvements, service enhancements, and purchasing initiatives.

Advisory groups are usually commissioned by the Office for Supply Management Services and purchasing technology project teams to assist with "test driving" new or enhanced technologies, identify any problems, and participate in user acceptance testing.