On the pool deck, Susan Blum is known for boisterously cheering on her daughter at local swim meets.
With similar enthusiasm, Blum, a supervisor in purchasing, has trained hundreds of UNMC employees to create purchase orders, quick checks, orders to General Supply and access reports through the computer system.
For her dedication to UNMC, and its internal and external customers, Blum has received the Chancellor’s Gold ‘U’ Award for February.
“We have an ever-changing environment,” Blum said from her third-floor cubicle in the Administration Building. “There are always new computer systems to learn and new people to train, which has kept it very interesting. There’s never a dull moment here.”
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Today, the university’s Financial Management System (SAP) enables end users to electronically create requests for goods or services through General Supply or outside vendors. “Now end users receive the products or services necessary in a much more timely manner,” Blum said.
In 1985, the goal of the Purchasing Department was to process a purchase requisition within three days of its receipt. But after routing for signature approvals, it could be seven to 10 days until the end user wrote the requisition, Blum said.
Today, an end user may enter a request by 4 p.m. and by noon the next day, the purchase order would have been faxed to the vendor, Blum said. In some cases, she said, when a product or service is needed immediately a department may receive an emergency “Confirming Order” within minutes.
“The implementation of SAP and the acceptance of the system by UNMC end users has greatly improved the efficiency of the Procurement Department,” Blum said. “Products can be ordered, delivered and paid for much quicker and more efficiently. This allows all areas to focus on improving customer satisfaction.”
An aspiring special education teacher, Blum forged a new path when changing educational requirements prompted her to enter the workforce. After doing property management with a real estate company, she joined the UNMC department of pathology in 1982 as a part-time secretary. Three years later, she moved to purchasing, where the Omaha native soon found herself training employees on purchasing software.
“Susan’s primary focus is always the customer, regardless of whether their computer data entry problem is large or small, regardless of whether they are a unit supervisor or an entry level secretary, the customer who has a question or a problem always comes first,” her nominator said.
“In times of budgetary crunches and staffing limitations, Susan always makes sure the purchasing department has coverage (even if vacation is lost by her covering those shortages). Susan is an individual who “behind the scenes” keeps her department running and thriving and has earned the trust and respect of the many people she trains each year on SAP.”
When the phone rings, Blum knows it could be an employee with an SAP inquiry, a vendor or a potential bidder. “You have to be able to think on your feet and think quick,” she said.
She credits senior programmer/analyst Katharine Susman in ITS with the creation of the Logistics Launch Pad (ZORDER), a one-stop shopping screen to simplify SAP business functions. “I’m sold on it,” Blum said. “It can’t get much easier than it is right now. As a result, we can focus more on customer service than routine data entry. Also, over the years, Del Lee and Tom Keenan have kept my duties interesting by allowing me to participate in projects meant to streamline and enhance our processes.”
When she’s not “managing piles” of paperwork in her cubicle, Blum can be seen across campus training employees at their desks. “It’s nice to know so many people on campus,” she said. “UNMC is really comfortable. It’s like having a huge family.”
Blum and her husband, Jim, have two children, Jenna, 15, and Jesse, 10. She enjoys antique auctions, attending her son’s “game of season,” her daughter’s horse shows and being the “loudest screamer” at her daughter’s swim meets.