Online system smooths way through world of red tape

By CHRIS BARTON

The Inland Revenue Department is paving the way for increased access to Government services via the net with its implementation of Wickliffe's e-procurement system.

The system, branded StationeryXpress, began trials in November and is now used by 300 IRD staff and 2000 tax agents for ordering tax forms and booklets.

"We move millions of forms a year," said IRD procurement manager Kevin Broughton.

Besides providing the cost savings that come with electronic procurement, Mr Broughton said, the main motivation for using the system was to provide better customer service.

While tax agents already have the ability to order tax forms via the IRD's InfoXpress telephone service, the web-based system has the advantage of providing images of each of the forms, which helps to reduce ordering errors.

It also has a delivery tracking, allowing users to check order status.

As well as the ordering portal, Wickliffe provides facilities management of the IRD's warehouse.

Mr Broughton said the next step for the IRD was to consider full outsourcing of its warehouse and a greater use of e-procurement for other consumables.

The department is also looking at the possibility of digital rather than printed forms - enabling users to download forms for printing on their own printers.

StationeryXpress is the flagship application of Wickliffe's Ecos (electronic commerce online system) which, as well as providing printed materials, also has ordering for a range of MRO (maintenance, repair and operational) supplies including paper, stationery and computer consumables.

Ecos is the result of a $500,000 development begun in November by the Dunedin-based printing and distribution firm to web-enable its Online Ordering System (Oos), running on an IBM AS/400 linked to a nationwide frame-relay data network.

Oos, along with Wickliffe's IVR (interactive voice response) telephone-based solution, provides ordering services for 2275 online users from 52 New Zealand companies including the Land Transport Safety Authority, AMP Life, National Bank, BNZ, Motor Trade Finances, Goodman Fielder, Ravensdown Fertiliser, Tower Insurance and Shell NZ.

Marketing manager Malcolm Hendry said Wickliffe expected many existing customers to move across to Ecos. The company predicted customer numbers would increase to 200 and users to more than 7000 by the end of the year.

He said several other Government departments had also signed up in the past two months, but had yet to put many orders through. Those that are placing regular orders include the Department of Internal Affairs and Transit NZ.

Developed in association with IBM Business Partner CSI (Computer Systems Implementation), Ecos was created using IBM AS/400 Applications Development Tools, IBM Visual Age for Java, and third party HTML and graphics generators.

With an annual turnover of $80 million, Wickliffe employs 460 staff at production and distribution facilities in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

"Wickliffe began as a print company that distributes. Now we are a distribution company that prints," said managing director Warren Leslie.

Ecos is also developing access to a master library of electronic forms for authorised staff in an organisation to draw on for digital print on demand.