Skip to Content

Edison - A Bright Idea for State Government

Edison

  • Edison Logo

    Why Is Change Necessary

     

    In addition to the projected cost savings, Edison will lead to more effective and efficient government in the following areas:

    Streamlined Processes
    A lot of time can be wasted entering the same data into different systems. Currently, a department might have to enter identical information into TOPS, STARS, a service-delivery system, and an Excel spreadsheet. The goal of Edison is that information will only need to be entered once. This leads to fewer errors, increased efficiency, and time and money saved for an agency. The system also makes the approval process more efficient by allowing electronic workflows, signatures and approvals. In other words, when a worker in your Memphis branch office completes a task, you’ll know immediately and be able to approve the work just as quickly.

    More Effective Decision Making
    An ERP system gives managers access to real-time data, allowing them to make decisions based on the most current information. Edison’s integration will also help to make information consistent across functional units. For example, the names of employees and vendors will appear the same way throughout the system because the information is only entered once. The system will also allow users to plan for how an action in one functional area will affect another area, helping agencies to spend their always-tight budgets more wisely.

    Opportunity to Reevaluate Business Processes
    Many of our current business processes serve the State well. Many do not. It’s likely that State employees at every level have experienced a process that just doesn’t seem to make sense – the procedure that no one seems to know the reason for, other than that it’s been done that way for as long as anyone can remember. Edison will allow the State to take advantage of best practices available to government organizations, and give managers the opportunity to eliminate some of the processes that have outlived their usefulness. The result will be more efficient and effective service delivery.

    Better Quality of Life for Employees and Citizens
    In addition to the benefits to the State’s bottom line, numerous State employees will be freed from repetitive and redundant work-related tasks, giving them more time to address the needs of the citizens whom they serve. In addition, employees will be able to update their personal information, complete annual benefits enrollment, view their leave balances, submit travel expenses, and check their Flexible Benefits accounts – all online.

    A Few Specific Examples

    Enterprise Learning Management (ELM)

    ELM will enable State agencies to manage their training needs more effectively by collecting all relevant training information in one spot. With ELM, agencies can:

  1. Maintain a record of learning resources, such as equipment, materials, and facilities;
  2. Create a catalog of activities, including instructor-led, web-based, and blended learning;
  3. Manage current and completed employee training objectives; and
  4. Schedule, deliver, and track live instructor lead training (ILT) through the web.

  • A manager, for example, will be able to see which employees need to complete a continuing education course required for their job classification, check whether current agency facilities and instructors can accommodate the training need, schedule a course, and then enroll the appropriate staff members.

  • Employee Self Service (ESS)

    ESS gives employees the freedom to enter and change many types of personal information, freeing up time for managers and human resources officers. Workers, for example, will be able to complete the following processes online:

  1. Enter leave and overtime requests;
  2. Enroll in State training courses;
  3. View employee and dependent benefit enrollment;
  4. Establish up to three direct deposit accounts per employee; and
  5. Participate in interactive performance evaluations.

  • eProcurement

    The eProcurement module will reduce the time associated in procuring one-time and recurring items and services. Its benefits include:

  1. Automatic determination of whether items are on contract so procurement officers will no longer have to look up this information manually;
  2. Ability to create simple requisitions using a three-step process, in which items or services can be selected from a number of sources, including a user’s “favorites” list, a catalog, or through a special request form; and
  3. Power to conduct requisition status and lifecycle tracking using fully integrated point and click transaction drilldowns.

  • In addition to cost and time savings, eProcurement will help to greatly expand the number and type of transactions that can be completed using a procurement card.

What is Edison?

What Is Edison?
History of ERP in Tennessee
Why Is Change Necessary?
What are the Benefits?
Learning From Other State's Experience
The Road Ahead