Please find below the message from the Financial Affairs Department and the Information Systems Department providing an update on the Coupa procurement portal:

“Dear all, 

Since the Coupa procurement portal went live in January 2025, the Institute’s teams have been facing significant challenges in processing orders, supplier invoices, and payments, with adverse consequences for the work of the scientific teams and support functions, as well as for relationships with suppliers and service providers. 

Aware of the situation and committed to resolving these persistent difficulties, we would like to provide you today with a comprehensive update on the actions taken since our last communication in February 2026, in which we announced, in particular: the completion of an external assessment of the main causes of the operational issues, the development of a structured action plan based on this assessment, and the prioritization of the most urgent situations. These actions have since been successfully completed. We would like to report on them today, sharing initial concrete results and commitments for the future.  
 

What we have learned- A structured analysis of the causes
In January 2026, a comprehensive analysis of the order-to-invoice process was conducted. Seven main causes were identified, leading to the development of a structured roadmap. 

Among those that most directly impact you: 

• Automatic invoice scanning did not meet the initial objectives, creating additional work for the finance department and causing a massive backlog in invoice posting and payment processing; 

• The process for approving orders and any order changes was too lengthy; 

• The volume of orders placed based on quotes structurally leads to more bottlenecks in the invoicing process. 

Based on this assessment, an action plan was launched in April 2026, overseen by the Senior Executive Vice-President and led by the Vice-President Financial Affairs, with the support of a dedicated project manager, and implemented operationally by teams from the Financial Affairs Department and the Information Systems Department. 
 

What has been done - Measurable results 
Five priority initiatives have been launched since April 2026.
Here are the concrete results achieved to date: 

• Purchase order approval times – average processing time reduced from 16 days to less than 3 days: The initial approval time for purchase orders has been reduced from 16 days to less than 3 days. At the same time, the processing time for order changes - a frequent source of frustration - has dropped from an average of more than 2.5 days to less than half a day. These two improvements directly benefit all requesters and administrators. 

• Processing the backlog of invoices – 63% of the backlog processed: As of June 29, 2026, the backlog of pending invoices totaled 7,400. To process this backlog as quickly as possible, a dedicated system was put in place: a support team consisting of three, then four temporary staff members under the supervision of a manager exclusively dedicated to this objective, working in close coordination with the accounting teams. To date, 63% of this backlog has already been processed, representing more than 4,600 invoices cleared. 

• Automated invoice recognition – the AI solution – deployed across 85 suppliers: this issue had been the source of a very significant portion of the bottlenecks from the start. The number of invoices awaiting automatic recognition was reduced by more than 85% between early July and late August 2026, thanks to the combined efforts of the teams and an AI solution developed entirely in-house by the Information Systems Department. It is being rolled out gradually, and initial results are already evident among the 85 suppliers, who account for more than 30% of the total invoice volume. 

• User Support – New Version of the Guide: A new comprehensive guide - the Coupa Book - is now available to walk you through using the tool step by step. A dedicated chatbot will soon be available on the portal to answer the most frequently asked questions in real time and resolve common issues without having to submit a support request. 

• Routing Invoices to Accounting Teams – Pilot Completed: A fifth project focused on exploring the automatic routing of invoices received in Coupa to the teams capable of processing them - this requirement, which was specified during the Coupa project’s design phase, had not been implemented and was creating a bottleneck and causing additional delays. A comprehensive pilot project was conducted between April and August 2026, enabling a detailed analysis of the processing of several thousand invoices. The insights gained will directly inform the in-depth work planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. 

Additional resources have been deployed to resolve this situation. 
To process the backlog of invoices, an external support team- comprising four temporary staff supervised by an interim manager - has been working exclusively on this task since July 2026. 
At the same time, the accounting team responsible for day-to-day processing has been reinforced with two new hires, restoring the team to an appropriate size.  

What the teams do on a daily basis, in addition to ongoing projects 
Alongside these projects, the teams in the Financial Affairs Department and the Information Systems Department continue to carry out numerous daily tasks to ensure service continuity and support users: 

• Enhanced monitoring of critical issues and coordination with strategic suppliers, with the assistance of the procurement and management teams; 

• Maintenance of tools and interfaces; 

• Continuation of control and compliance measures (enhanced validation of bank account information to limit the risk of fraud - implementation of requirements related to the electronic invoicing reform in effect since September 1, 2026). 

Our commitments for the coming weeks 
We recognize that, despite these efforts, the challenges are far from being fully resolved, and unfortunately, we are unable at this time to set a date for a return to normal operations. We regret this, and we remain committed to resolving these challenges and continuing to support the campus, with the following priorities: 

• Processing the backlog of invoices dated before June 29, 2026: The goal is to complete this processing within a few weeks. 

• Improving the automation rate for invoice processing: This is one of the key elements for restoring satisfactory operations on a sustainable basis. The goal is to return to a rate close to the one that existed before Coupa. The rollout of the AI solution is continuing, gradually expanding to cover a larger number of suppliers. 

• User training and support: A training program has been offered to the 220 users who generate more than 70% of orders; an onboarding program for new hires and certain targeted requesters will be implemented by the end of 2026. 

Longer-term improvement initiatives: In addition to the projects currently underway, further work on the purchase-to-payment process and the Coupa tool will begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. 

A Sincere Thank You 
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for your patience, understanding, and resilience in the face of these significant and persistent challenges. 

We would like to acknowledge the work accomplished by all the teams working on Coupa within the Finance Department and the Information Systems Department. Their commitment has enabled us to continue prioritizing the most critical cases and to make progress, step by step, in clearing the backlog. 

We assure you of our full commitment and our readiness to help resolve the situation and provide you with the best possible support in this matter. 

We will send you a progress report by mid-November 2026."

The Financial Affairs Department and the Information Systems Department