University Procurement Contracts
FIN-PUR-20.0
Note: In 2019, university policies related to university purchases (formerly FIN-PUR-01 through FIN-PUR-35) were updated and consolidated into FIN-PURCH-01 through FIN-PURCH-14. The History section of this policy contains complete information on where the topics covered by each FIN-PUR policy can be found in FIN-PURCH. A few FIN-PUR policies have been rescinded or converted into Standard Operating Procedures, and the History section contains that information as well.
About This Policy
- Effective Date:
- 02-01-2010
See current policy
- Date of Last Review/Update:
- 07-27-2016
- Responsible University Office:
- Procurement Services
- Responsible University Administrator:
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- Policy Contact:
Jill Schunk
Associate VP, Office of Procurement Services
jschunk@iu.edu
- Policy Feedback:
- If you have comments or questions about this policy, let us know with the policy feedback form.
Policy Statement
University faculty and staff will use established contracts for goods and services when available.
Exclusions to Policy:
Book purchases are excluded from this policy.
Reason for Policy
Purchasing has established many contracts for goods and services. University employees should purchase goods and services through these contracts in order to consolidate the University's transactions. Consolidating spend permits the University to negotiate agreements offering greater discounts, better service and additional guarantees.
Procedures
Faculty and staff should use P-Cards and Automatic Purchase Orders (APO) with non-contracted suppliers only when the goods or services are not available through an established contract.Purchasing staff will audit P-Card and APO transactions to determine compliance with the policy.
Accounts payable will also monitor requests for reimbursement on Disbursement Vouchers (DVs) for similar transactions where faculty or staff have used personal funds to secure goods or services and have sought reimbursement from the University.
If a faculty or staff member is aware of problems with an established agreement, he or she should contact the purchasing department regarding the issue for resolution. Similarly, faculty and staff should contact the purchasing department to develop contracts that would help streamline the procurement process.
Definitions
Automatic Purchase Orders: Requisitions of small dollar amount that is generated and approved within the requesting department.
Disbursement Vouchers: A Disbursement Voucher (DV) is a transaction that enables payment directly to a payee for very specific goods or services as outlined by the Office of Procurement Services and Financial Management Services.
B2B– Business-to-Business: B2B catalogs may be accessed through the KFS system in One.IU. These catalogs provide contracted pricing and direct order placement to suppliers.
P-Cards: Procurement cards are issued by the University to departments, faculty and staff for small dollar transactions with suppliers who will not accept purchase orders or APOs but will accept p-cards.
History
The purchasing department has established many agreements for goods and services, available either through the B2B system or on the procurement system, to provide for ease-of-use procurement transactions. These systems allow for the creation and approval of requisitions within the requesting department without further action from the purchasing department.
With the introduction of the P-Card, also developed for the convenience of faculty and staff for small dollar transactions, we have witnessed the use of P-Cards and APOs merely for convenience and without regard to the cost savings, enhanced services and warranties afforded by university agreements. In instances where an employee has spent time and resources searching for product that is currently on contract, there is additional cost to productivity. When pricing can be identified for a particular item that is better than the contracted pricing, overall benefits and total cost of ownership must be weighed. When these instances occur purchasing should be made aware so that the entire University community may be able to benefit from an improved contract price.
Undirected transactions reduce the overall purchase volumes on our contracts, thereby weakening the University's future bargaining position with suppliers. The University community shares in the responsibility for the development and maintenance of excellent contracts for goods and services.
Please note: This is an archived version of the policy. View the current version.