University Procurement Contracts

Scope

This policy applies to all individuals responsible for university purchases, regardless of the procurement mechanism.

Back to top

Policy Statement

University faculty and staff, with few exceptions, will purchase goods and services through contracts established by Purchasing in order to consolidate the university's spend volume.

Back to top

Reason for Policy

1. Consolidating spend volume permits the university to negotiate agreements offering greater discounts, better service, and additional guarantees.
2. Undirected transactions reduce the overall purchase volumes on the university's 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.

Back to top

Procedures

1. Except as provided below, departments, faculty, and staff will procure goods and services using established contracts whenever possible.
   1. See link to alphabetical contract list in Related Information section below for a list of current established contracts.
   2. Exclusions:
      1. Real estate and construction through the Office of the Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities;
      2. Books and other holdings for the Libraries through the Dean of University Libraries;
      3. Insurance through the offices of University Human Resources and Office of Insurance, Loss Control & Claims;
      4. Contracts signed on behalf of the Board of Trustees by the Treasurer;
      5. IU Press (for goods or services related to publications);
      6. Sponsored research agreements through the Office of Research Administration;
      7. Legal services through the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel;
      8. University Director of Travel Management Services for travel related contracts;
      9. University Director of Sponsorships, Licensing and Trademarks for contracts related to protection of the university marks, licenses, and sponsorship activity.
2. Faculty and staff will use P-Cards and automatic purchase orders ("APOs") with non-contracted suppliers only when the goods or services are not available through an established contract.
3. Purchasing Department, Fiscal Officers and Accounts Payable staff will audit P-Card and APO transactions to determine compliance with the policy.
4. A faculty or staff member who is aware of problems with an established agreement should contact the Purchasing Department regarding the issue for resolution. Similarly, faculty and staff should contact the Purchasing Department to establish contracts that would help streamline the procurement process.

Back to top

Definitions

Automatic Purchase Orders (APOs): Requisitions of small dollar amount that is generated and approved within the requesting department.

B2B– Business-to-Business: B2B catalogs may be accessed through the KFS system in One.IU (“Shop Catalogs”). These catalogs provide contracted pricing and direct order placement to suppliers.

Established Contracts:  Contracts and purchasing agreements established and/or recognized by the Purchasing Department.  These contracts may be specific to Indiana University or may be established by a recognized purchasing consortium or by the Indiana Department of Administration.

P-Cards: Procurement cards that 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.

Back to top

Sanctions

1. Purchasing may terminate the P-Card and APO authorization of a department or individual faculty or staff member for non-compliance with this policy.

2. Failure to follow appropriate policies and procedures regarding the use of university funds and resources or in obligating the university to financial or legal transactions could put the university in financial and legal risk. Sanctions for failure to comply could result in disciplinary actions up to and including employee termination. Violation of state statutes could result in civil or criminal penalty.

Back to top

Additional Contacts

Back to top

History

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 university purchasing policies related to conflicts of interest and commitment were updated and consolidated into UA-17. 

FIN-PURCH-01 consolidates and updates:

FIN-PUR-1.0 (Purchasing Authority)

FIN-PUR-1.1 (Exceptions to Purchasing Authority)

FIN-PUR-1.2 (Delegation of Purchasing Authority)

Portions of FIN-PUR-2.0 (State and Federal Statutes and Regulations)

FIN-PUR 4.0 (Responsibilities in Acquisition Process)

FIN-PUR-16.0 (Transactions Utilizing the Pre-Disbursement Processor).

FIN-PURCH-02 updates and renumbers FIN-PUR-20.0 (University Procurement Contracts).

FIN-PURCH-03 consolidates and updates:

FIN-PUR-5.0 (Competition)

FIN-PUR-5.1 (Development of Vendor List)

FIN-PUR-5.2 (Use of Other Recognized Sources as Basis of Award)

FIN-PUR-5.3 (Negotiation)

FIN-PUR-5.4 (Emergency Situations)

FIN-PUR-5.5 (Purchase Order Award Criteria)

FIN-PUR-5.7 (Documentation)

FIN-PUR-12.0 (Board of Trustee Reporting)

Portions of FIN-PUR-18.0 (Auctions and Reverse Auctions).

FIN-PURCH-04 updates and renumbers FIN-PUR-5.6 (Single-Source Orders)

FIN-PURCH-05 consolidates and updates:

FIN-PUR-3.5 (Purchases for Employees)

FIN-PUR-10.0 (Restricted Purchases).

FIN-PURCH-06 updates and renumbers FIN-PUR-7.0 (Prepayment of Orders).

FIN-PURCH-07 is a new policy.

FIN-PURCH-08 updates and renumbers FIN-PUR-9.0 (Furniture Purchases)

FIN-PURCH-09 consolidates and updates

FIN-PUR-3.0 (Purchasing Ethics)

FIN-PUR-3.1 (NAEP Code of Ethics).

FIN-PURCH-10 updates and renumbers FIN-PUR-11 (Release of Procurement Information).

FIN-PURCH-11 consolidates and updates:

FIN-PUR-14.0 (Disposal and Redistribution of University Property)

FIN-PUR-14.1 (Sale of Computing Equipment)

Portions of FIN-PUR-18.0 (Auctions and Reverse Auctions). 

FIN-PURCH-12 updates and renumbers FIN-PUR-21.0 (Non-Solicitation on Campus)

FIN-PURCH-13 updates FIN-PUR-13 (Purchases from Historically Underutilized Suppliers)

FIN-PURCH-14 consolidates and updates:

FIN-PUR-10.1 (Protection of Old Growth Forests)

FIN-PUR-19.0 (Procurement of Appliances and Electronics).

Specific to purchasing policies, UA-17 (Conflicts of Interest and Commitment) consolidates and updates:

FIN-PUR-3.0 (Purchasing Ethics)

FIN-PUR-3.3 (State Conflict of Interest for Procurement Transactions)

FIN-PUR-3.4 (Gifts and Gratuities)

The following FIN-PUR policies were rescinded or converted into Standard Operating Procedures as follows:

FIN-PUR-6.0 (Common Construction Wage) was rescinded.

FIN-PUR-8.0 (Endorsement) was rescinded.

FIN-PUR-15.0 (Strategic Alliances) was converted into a Standard Operating Procedure.

FIN-PUR-17 (Procurement for Off-Shore University Activities) was converted into a Standard Operating Procedure.

 Post-2019 History

The policy’s additional contact information was updated on March 27, 2023.

On May 1, 2023, non-substantive changes were made to remove references to KFS disbursement vouchers. 

Back to top