ANU Contract Management Portal (a Contract Register and Contract Management System)

The ANU Contract Management Portal is maintained centrally by the University Procurement and Contracts Office (UPCO).  It is required for all colleges/schools and divisions to enter specific details for all applicable contracts regardless of $ value or length of contract into the ANU contract register.

*Applicable Contracts

This applies to contracts in which ANU has:

  • procured a good, service or work 
  • entered into a commercial agreement

It does not include:

  • Research contracts
  • Contracts in which ANU provides a service
  • International agreements (for example joint program, articulation etc) 
  • Commercial tenancy providers who operate under a lease arrangement

Provider – Portt

ANU has entered into a contract with Portt for the development, implementation and maintenance of the ANU contract management portal.  For the remainder of this document we will refer to the ANU contract management portal as Portt.

Portt Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Whilst UPCO maintain Portt, each college/school and division should have 1 nominated Portt SME for their specific area.  The Portt SME is expected to update the contract register quarterly on behalf of their college/school and division.  Portt SMEs are invited to join a Portt Teams Channel to receive training documentation, quarterly reminders and any other communication as required.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1.   Why is a University Wide Contract Register and Management System important?

Due to the complex and disaggregated nature of the University, it is challenging for UPCO to gain and maintain oversight of the University’s commercial contracting activities. This lack of visibility contributes to an inability to provide proactive contract management support to contract owners across the University. This exposes the University to a high degree of risk including the continuation of commercial activities with suppliers who:

  • are providing poor quality goods/services and not delivering value for money.
  • do not have current insurance certificates and cannot meet their liability obligations.
  • are operating under an expired contract.
  • have exceeded the approved expenditure under the contract.

Additionally, UPCO are unable to report with certainty or accuracy on the University’s commercial contracts and there is limited ability to assess the University’s financial commitments under such contracts.

Once central location to record ANU contract details will:

  • Improve oversight of the University's contracts
  • Support improved contract management activities
  • Generate accurate reporting 
  • Reduce the University’s risk exposure

2.   Who will have access to this information?

Portt is designed so that each area only has visibility to their division’s contracts.  UPCO has visibility to all areas.

3.   Do I have to maintain Portt throughout the year?

Yes, Portt can be updated continuously and needs to be updated (at a minimum) once every quarter with any new contracts being added. UPCO will prompt you to update Portt once every quarter.

 

4. Is Portt an approval tool?  

No, Portt enables active contract management and is also a contract register. You will still need to go through the right channels to seek approvals – please refer to the delegations framework.

 

5. Should my contracts be stored in Portt?  

No, please see below table which describes the key differences between ERMS and Portt:

Electronic Record Management System (ERMS)

Portt

ANU’s approved Record Management System

ANU’s contract management portal 

To comply with the University’s Records and Archive Management Policy, it is a requirement that ANU Staff store all finalised procurement documentation and signed contracts in ERMS

It is a requirement that all applicable* contracts signed by the ANU are recorded (i.e. specific details entered) in Portt 

 

https://erms.anu.edu.au/https://anu-discover.portt.cloud/action-center

To comply with:

  • Record Keeping
  • Auditing
  • Policy & Legislation

To comply with:

  • Reporting

To enable:

  • Active Contract Management
  • ANU wide contract visibility

 

7. How long does it take to load contract details into Portt? 

In late 2022 Portt realigned and simplified their product offering, making it less restrictive and more user friendly. Last year (2023) UPCO worked closely with Portt to implement their new and improved product and create new ANU specific training guides to reflect these changes.  We conducted a pilot within the UPCO, ITS and FS procurement teams.  Loading new contract information now takes between 5-10 minutes per contract (depending on the complexity of the contract) and has received positive feedback from the pilot teams.

 

8. I am the new SME for my college/school or division.  How do I get started?  

Please reach out to the Contract Office (contract.office@anu.edu.au)

 

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