Procurement Announcements

Nov12018

Notice to Vendors: Fraudulent Purchase Order Email Activity
We want to alert you to an email scam involving purchase orders and requests for product quotations purporting to originate from UC Santa Cruz, but are in fact fraudulent. While the university cannot prevent this illegal action, we are actively working to inform our suppliers of this on-going activity. Common features of these supplier-targeted counterfeit UCSC orders include:

• The email message is poorly written, with misspellings and awkward sentence structure.
• Orders start with an e-mail inquiry asking for a quote for a small order followed by a subsequent request for a larger order.
• The order designates a Ship To address that is not a UCSC facility or indicates the product will be picked up at the supplier’s premises.
• Invalid contact information, such as email addresses using deceptive extensions; e.g. @ucsantascruz.com or @ucsc.mygbiz.com.
• The message may include an attachment that is designed to look like a purchase order, and may include a logo or other graphic, or a signature.
• Please note that the university’s internet address is www.ucsc.edu and it is not our practice to ask our suppliers to ship to addresses that are not UCSC campus facilities. It is also not our practice to place orders for merchandise that will be picked up at supplier premises.
• They list the address of UC Office of the President in Oakland, which is not a UCSC address.
• They include the title of Procurement Chancellor, which is a fictitious position.

If you believe you have received a fraudulent order or quotation request you may forward it to UCSC Procurement Services at buy4me@ucsc.edu to verify the communication’s legitimacy before responding. You may also contact the Procurement Services department by telephone at: 831-459-2311.

Oct232018

New "After the Fact" Process Implementation and Form
PSCS is implementing a new ATF Justification for Unauthorized Purchases process, effective November 1, 2018, which employees of the University who request goods and services need to make themselves aware of. An ATF purchase order occurs when a University employee places an order with a supplier without first completing a CruzBuy requisition and establishing a Purchase Order.

ATFs can create significant problems for the University. In many cases, the ATFs result in higher costs for goods and services than might have been paid through standard purchasing methods or by utilizing contracted suppliers. Historically, ATF purchases result in supplier purchase agreements with unfavorable terms and conditions, violate the University’s purchasing policies, place the University at risk financially, and create additional, often unnecessary, work for administrative support staff.

ATFs will NOT be processed and approved by PSCS through CruzBuy after November 1, 2018 without an ATF Justification form completed and attached.

Jul162018

Uniform Guidance Implementation
Uniform Guidance (UG) is the set of rules and regulations that governs the administration of federally funded projects during their lifespan. The bulk of Uniform Guidance went into effect on December 26, 2014, but much of the guidelines that impact University Procurement Services were delayed. To be compliant with UG standards, PSCS has implemented these guidelines effective July 1, 2018. This implementation is a requirement for UCSC to remain eligible to receive federal funds.

If you are involved in the purchase of goods and services for sponsored projects, please review the recently posted guidelines on Uniform Guidance. The UCOP Source Selection & Price Reasonableness Justification Form is to be completed by the requesting Department and attached to the CruzBuy requisition for all federally funded purchases greater than or equal to $10,000.