Purchasing Services
presents
Procurement Guidelines
Training -2014
Can you answer?
• Is UT’s purchasing of goods and services centralized or
decentralized?
• What is the University’s threshold for doing a competitive
bid process for goods _______ and services ________?
• What does the acronym RFP stand for?
• Is it proper to accept Mud Hens tickets, dinner at
Mancy’s or gifts of value from our suppliers?
• Can you purchase lab animals or radioactive materials
with your p-card?
• Can you use the p-card to pay for membership fees,
dues, subscriptions?
• What is the $$ value in which we encourage you to use
the p-card (providing the supplier takes the p-card?)
• What is the most common reason for using a competitive
bid waiver form?
• Can anyone sign an agreement/quote/statement of work
in the purchase of goods and services?
Our Website
http://www.utoledo.edu/depts/supplychain/
 Lists Staff members, contact information and their respective
commodities.
 Provides online access to procurement manual
 Lists current University contracts and information sheets
 Lists University Policy & Procedures as it relates to the procurement
functions.
 Provides instruction for suppliers interested in doing business with
the University.
 Provides information on our supplier diversity program.
 Has links to finance, receiving, property control and accounts
payable.
What we purchase
 The Purchasing Department administers procurement in
accordance with State of Ohio law and University policy.
• Our annual purchases total approximately $380,000,000 per year
and include various equipment and supplies, as well as contracted
services which support the University’s academic and research
programs, auxiliary departments, UTMC and campus wide activities.
 We are a decentralized purchasing community whereby many
individuals have ability to spend university monies and must take
great care to do so knowledgeably and wisely.
Ethics of Purchasing
• ALL University Staff and Faculty must be above
suspicion of unethical behavior when conducting
procurement activities.
• Ohio Ethics Law – do not accept gifts, meals, money,
entertainment
• Key Standards of conduct:
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Avoid Conflicts of interest
Avoid behaviors that may negatively impact procurement decisions
Know and obey laws and regulations
Protect confidential and proprietary information
Maximize value for each dollar of expenditure
Conduct business with suppliers in good faith and with equal
consideration
Purchases under $5,000.00
Excluding Services:
 Utilize the University issued Procurement Card (P-card)
**some exceptions apply – refer to Procurement Guidelines Manual
 Procurement Card –
 Administered and audited by Accounts Payable
 Utilized anywhere “Master Card/Visa” accepted, for nonrestricted goods and travel.
 Authorized users and card limits are determined at the
departmental level.
 ‘Self Service’ Purchasing – decentralized – information on
suppliers by category has been added to the purchasing website
P-card Categories of Spend
Typical Categories where P-card can be used:
• Travel (rental car, hotel, airfare, food)
• Lab research
• Office Supplies
• Maintenance & Repair supplies
• Promotional Items
• Local retail (eateries, building supplies)
• Subscriptions, membership dues
• DO NOT PAY SALES TAX, YOU MUST TELL THE
SUPPLIER UT IS TAX-EXEMPT
P-card Exclusions
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Hospital Inventory Items
Radioactive materials/items-radiation safety compliance
Medical devices and small equipment
Lab, research animals and human subject interests
Services, construction and renovation projects whereby
onsite work effort requires insurance liability and workers
compensation certificate validation, terms and conditions
review an detailed specifications to be followed
• Consulting agreements
• Service and Maintenance agreements for
software/equipment
Purchases of $5,000 - $49,999 for
goods and up to $74,999 for services:
•
Requires University issued Purchase Order (legal &
binding document) generated by Purchasing
Department to most responsible supplier.
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•
Note: the supplier selected by the end user department may/may not be
the supplier that receives the order. Purchasing may be able to advise on
alternate suppliers whereby we receive contract pricing or better delivery
options.
Competitive quotations [either by written, faxed or
verbal request] should be obtained either by the end
user department or Purchasing.

Note: the Purchasing Department has the authority and responsibility to
question specifications, quantities, and all other aspects of a proposed
purchase in an effort to obtain the most beneficial purchase for the
University. Purchasing reserves the right to seek additional competitive
quotations to find the best solution.
Purchases of Goods over $50,000
and Services over $75,000
 Requires formal competitive bidding event and analysis in
accordance to policies.
 Requires Purchase Order generated by Purchasing Department.
 The awarding of these contracts shall be made to the supplier
who demonstrates the best overall value to the institution (not
always the lowest cost) as determined by an established set of
evaluation criteria and scorecarding process.
** Splitting of orders to avoid competitive bidding is a violation
of the law.
Purchases over $500,000
• $500K or $500K and with a term > 5 years
• Requires Competitive Bid Process
• Requires the Board of Trustees approval prior to
processing. (exception: if the purchase was already
approved as part of the annual budgeting process)
• Lead time is approximately 2 – 3 months and depends
on scheduled Board meetings.
Competitive Bid Exceptions
There are a few instances whereby a purchase may be
made without competitive bidding:
• Maintenance contracts purchases from manufacturer or
authorized dealer/supplier of the specific equipment to
be serviced.
• Purchases from other public agencies or Group
Purchasing Organizations (GPO)
• Purchases as defined by Competitive Bid Waiver
process
Competitive Bid Waivers
Competitive Bid Waivers (CBW) should be few and
far between. The President has final signature
only after Purchasing has validated the
departments request for waiver.
3 types of common reasons for waiver request:
1.
2.
3.
Sole Source
Emergent Need
Economic Situation
Grant Purchases
Purchases utilizing grant or outside sponsored
research funding may have additional
restrictions based on Agency guidelines, rules
and regulations.
To be compliant, purchases will follow the most
restrictive of the University procurement policies
or the specific funding agency’s guidelines and
regulations.
Group Purchasing Organizations
The University is a member to many Group Purchasing Organizations
(GPO). GPO’s aggregate their members spend and conduct
competitive bidding events on behalf of its members.
Our
purchasing policy accepts these contracts as meeting our
competitive event requirement and are therefore acceptable to use
for purchases.
GPO’s the University belongs to:
State of Ohio Contracts
Inter University Council
UHC/Novation
Amerinet
E&I
US Communities
MTEPA/AEPA
NJPA
MHEC
MiDeals
Legal terms
There are many contractual obligations to be worked
through in contract terms and conditions. Care must be
taken by all parties to ensure contracts have proper
review and approval by the appropriate University
officials, Office of Legal Affairs and Purchasing prior to
execution.
You are personally liable and will face disciplinary actions if
you obligate the University by signing a contract without
appropriate authority and review.
T’s & C’s to watch out for
• Indemnification – as a public university we can NOT
indemnify another entity
• Governing Law – must be state of OHIO, cannot accept
another venue
• Paying of attorney’s fees – cannot accept
• Freight terms – who pays for shipping at what point
• Liability language
• Termination clauses – do we have an out if we desire to
end a contract early – do not do ‘evergreen’ terms
• Taxes – we are tax exempt
Purchasing Website Navigation
http://www.utoledo.edu/depts/supplychain/
We exist as a SERVICE to you!!
Get us INVOLVED early on;
Ask for our expertise in sourcing and
contracting.
WE are ready to help YOU!
If you have further questions, please contact
myself or any of the purchasing staff.
Thank you for becoming a knowledgeable buyer
of goods and services for UT!
Jennifer Pastorek
Director of Supply Chain
419-530-8707
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