Frequently Asked Questions
Q1.
How do I find UCL Contracted Suppliers?
A1.
Go to the procurement website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/procurement/
Select ‘UCL Contracted Suppliers’ on the left hand menu options.
You will need your UCL ID and password to get into the site. There is a list of categories.
Click on the desired category to see the supplier(s) for your selected category
Q2
What should I do if I find a product or service that is cheaper from a non-contracted supplier?
A2.
Occasionally it may be possible to get a quote which appears to be lower than that from a
contracted supplier. Typical reasons include: Other cost factors such as maintenance, consumables, delivery, installation and disposal
have not been included
 Different service costs – a supplier maybe able to have lower service costs for a one-off
but could not service the whole of UCL consistently
 Loss leader
 Different quality and/or standard – the product may not meet UCL’s requirements for
quality, health & safety compliance and sustainability
After taking into account the above factors consider if the price difference is it significant both
in percentage terms and absolutely. If the price of the item is minimal you may wish to review
if any potential savings outweigh the cost of you are wasting your time checking the price
If the price difference is significant tell the contracted supplier. UCL contracted suppliers are
expected to match or better non-contracted supplier lower prices. If the contracted supplier
agrees that the quality of the lower price quoted product or service is the same as theirs and
they are unable to match the price please notify the relevant Procurement Manager before
proceeding. In some cases the Procurement Manager will authorise use of a non-contracted
supplier however it is imperative that the Procurement Manager is consulted before any order
is placed.
Q3.
How do I find the name of a supplier Contract Manager?
A3.
Go to the procurement website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/procurement/
Select ‘UCL Contracted Suppliers’ on the left hand menu options.
Select the category then the supplier you are interested in
Click on the supplier’s name, the contract details page will open which will include the name
of the contract manager.
Q4.
How do I complain to a supplier?
A4.
Please send an email to the supplier’s UCL Account manager and copy in the relevant UCL
procurement manager (This will be shown on the first page of the supplier page)
Q5.
A supplier has told me that they are a UCL preferred supplier, how can I check this?
A5.
Go to the procurement website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/procurement/
Select ‘UCL Contracted Suppliers’ on the left hand menu options.
Select the category of the supplier
UCL has ‘contracted’ suppliers not ‘preferred’ suppliers all of whom have been through a
competitive selection process by Procurement Services. These are suppliers who we have
formal contracts or agreements with in line with UCL Financial Regulations. There are many
other suppliers who are on the MYFINANCE system who are not contracted to UCL. These
are not in any way ‘preferred’ or ‘approved’.
In addition you could always check if the supplier is on the FIS system. How to do this will
depend on the (MYFINANCE) responsibilities that you have. Select ‘PO Enquiry’ and then
‘Suppliers’
Q6.
A supplier has asked me to sign an agreement/contract, what should I do?
A6.
Do not sign, refer the matter to Procurement.
It is a common tactic for sales people to ask you to sign something quickly, typically at a week
or month end. They may dangle an inducement such as” x% discount if you sign by this
afternoon". Disregard this; it is generally a sales tactic which may not be true. Ask them in put
the offer in writing and tell them that you have to talk with procurement before anything can be
signed. Avoid being explicit about who can sign.
Q7.
A7.
I want to buy a PC/Laptop/Tablet computer and can’t find it in the catalogue on MYFINANCE?
It is recommended that you purchase only the approved brands of PC’s from the suppliers
listed on the procurement website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/procurement/agreements/it or the
ISD Purchasing website http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/staff/purchasing/departmental/pricing .
A number of standard models are recommended on the ISD Purchasing website. The
suppliers listed offer suitable warranties etc. in the event that anything goes wrong with the
equipment. ISD Purchasing can advise on the most suitable equipment to meet your
requirements, arrange for a quotation and can place the order for you so it is worth contacting
them in the first instance.
Some Dell equipment is available via a punch-out catalogue on the Science Warehouse
which is accessed via MYFINANCE. You will need to check with the MYFINANCE helpdesk if
you do not have the correct access. We are also working with a couple of suppliers to add a
range of laptops with suitable warranties to the catalogues on Science Warehouse and these
should be available in the near future.
If you want to purchase a PC/Laptop/Tablet which is not available from any of the approved
suppliers or you need a different specification than the examples listed on the website, then
again you should check with either ISD Purchasing (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/staff/purchasing)
and/or your departmental IT manager to see whether they can either source it for you or
recommend an alternative (there may be an equivalent spec machine from an approved
supplier). You will also need to check that they are happy to support the equipment if it is not
a standard brand. Finally you should check that you have a 3 year warranty as many
suppliers do not offer this.
Q8.
I want to find a contractor for development/design, content management of a website or
creation of a mobile application. I cannot find a suitable contracted supplier listed on the
Procurement website. What do I do?
A8.
Please contact the web and mobile services team in the first instance if you require help and
services in relation to web design, web development, content management or mobile apps.
There are a number of issues which need to be considered when using external suppliers,
including data protection, intellectual property, web standards, licensing and contract terms.
The team can be contacted on web-support@ucl.ac.uk.
Q9.
What are the differences between Procurement and Purchasing?
A9
Different people will mean different things in asking this question.
Procurement’s core function is to obtain best value on the goods and services that UCL
purchases. We do this by negotiating contracts for goods and services. For the majority of
what is purchased we are obliged to follow the EU Public Procurement Regulations. The
principals of the regulations are to ensure transparency and fairness in all public contracts.
Value seems to be not well understood. A lot of users focus on cost price ignoring the other
cost factors such as maintenance, running costs and disposal costs. In addition issues such
as the terms and conditions of contract are not considered. Some users even ignore the basis
of purchase, seeking to buy goods ex-works in India, China or USA comparing this price with
a price which includes delivery and installation at UCL.
So what does this mean for departments: Contracts for the main re-current goods & services which UCL buys will be negotiated by
Procurement
 Purchases of one off items such as equipment should be referred to procurement
 Procurement has very limited resources and we have to prioritise our work flow. In
consequence there may not be contracts for all the goods and services you may expect.
 Procurement services manage recurrent contracts.
 If you experience problems with service you should let us know – contract management is
dependent on departmental feedback
The Financial System used by UCL is Oracle Financials. This is known locally as FIS
(Financial Information System). The system is currently undergoing a major upgrade
(Abacus), which is expected to go live in August 2014.
MYFINANCE is a comprehensive electronic purchase order platform (among other things). It
enables users to place orders and then send orders electronically
The team who run MYFINANCE are part of the Information Systems Division.
Used in conjunction with MYFINANCE is Science Warehouse. This is a portal which shows
the agreed catalogues from some of our contracted suppliers. Users experience this as part
of the system. Suppliers on Science Warehouse will be on catalogue while orders for any
other supplier will be non-catalogue orders.
So what does this mean for departments: Purchase orders are all raised on-line on MYFINANCE
 All orders are sent electronically
 Orders for catalogue items are sent via Science Warehouse
 Items from suppliers on Science Warehouse which are not included in the catalogue must
be ordered as ‘Non-Catalogue Lines’.
 Problems with the ordering system should be raised with the MYFINANCE helpdesk
 Queries about Science Warehouse Catalogue content or pricing should be raised with
Procurement
Q10
I can’t find a chemical that I want on the market place what do I do?
A10.
As UCL needs to be home office complaint for chemicals please contact Sigma or Insight Bio
to source these items on our behalf.
Both these suppliers are approved and can provide the data we need for the home office
return.
For more info please see third party sourcing of chemicals
Q11.
Why does procurement need to get the UCL set of terms agreed with the supplier?
A11.
There are a number of reasons why it is important to protect ourselves against supplier terms.
These are:
1)
Should the goods be faulty or damages we may want to replace or get new
goods. Most supplier terms trying to remove this right!
2)
Shipping charges and duty – we request that the goods are shipped DDP from the
supplier. This removes having to pay for additional duties and shipping charges. But
also supports the college B2B process of making sure purchase orders and invoices
match.
3)
Title in the goods – most suppliers retains the title in the goods until all payments
have been paid. In law this means that we never own the goods. Therefore in our
terms we request the supplier give us title to the goods when they are delivered to
UCL.
4)
Indemnity – supplier normally cap this to the cost of the contract. However should a
member of UCL become injury due to the goods being faulty we request the supplier
to indemnify UCL. This means we can sue the supplier for damages to person,
property and losses.