Purchasing Process Guide

Procurement Guidelines

To uphold the University's reputation for fair dealing, employee's who are authorized to make purchases or otherwise influence purchasing decisions must abide by the following guidelines:

Conflict of Interest: Avoid making, participating in, or attempting to influence any decision if you know or have reason to know that you have a financial interest in the outcome of that decision.
Favoritism: Avoid any personal business or professional activity that would create, or appear to create, a conflict between your personal interests and the interests of the University.
Personal Purchases: Do not use University credit, purchasing power, or facilities to make purchases of goods or services for yourself or for non-University activities.
Unauthorized Purchases: Do not make purchases you are not authorized to make, and only order goods and services that comply with University policy.
Employee-Vendor: Do not purchase or lease goods or services from any University employee or from a business in which a UCSC employee has a 10% or greater interest.
Near-Relative: Do not purchase or lease goods or services from a near-relative of a University employee or from a business in which a near-relative of a University employee has a 10% or greater interest.
Gratuities: Refrain from accepting gifts, preferential discounts, travel, entertainment, favors or services from current or potential suppliers to the University that might influence, or appear to influence, purchasing decisions.
Anti-Kickback: Must not accept money, commission, valuable objects, offer of employment, or compensation of any kind which is provided or offered, directly or indirectly, by a supplier, contractor or subcontractor in connection with a grant or purchase contract.
Split Purchases: Never split a transaction to bypass approval limits.
Supplier Non-Discrimination: Do not use race, religion, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin of a supplier as criteria when conducting business.
Open Competition: Encourage competition through open, equitable, and fair dealings with suppliers.
Quote and Bidding Requirements: Ensure informal or formal solicitation requirements are met.
Supplier Relationships: Avoid the intent or appearance of unethical or compromising practices in relationships, actions and communications with University suppliers.

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Add a New Supplier

Requesting set up of a new CruzBuy Vendor

Whenever possible, use an established supplier in CruzBuy for ordering goods and services.There are many UC System-Wide and local UCSC agreements that can and should be used when procuring goods or services. Procurement awards contracts based on a rigorous competitive bidding process focused on pricing, quality and sustainability. When leveraging these agreements, the competitive bidding requirements are already satisfied as well as offers UCSC advantageous pricing, favorable terms and conditions, and compliance with Certificate of Liability Insurance (COI) requirements.

New suppliers should be added when the supplier is essential to university research, instruction, or if the new supplier will be used on an on-going basis. The onboarding process for a new supplier is time consuming and will slow down requisition processing times. To review current or systemwide suppliers you can search within CruzBuy or in CalUSource. Go to the CruzBuy Supplier Quote and Price Reasonableness page to find out how you can access CalUsource and find other contracted suppliers.

Adding a New CruzBuy Supplier

UCSC requires suppliers to complete a Payee Setup 204 form (routed through DocuSign) for supplier onboarding and PO issuance. The UCSC Financial Accounting and Reporting Office (FAR) will routinely have the new supplier setup completed within two working days after receipt of the completed Payee Setup 204 form. If the Payee Setup 204 form is incomplete or contains errors, it will delay supplier setup and requisition processing.

Note: Payee Setup 204 forms should still be used for individuals who are being paid for non-CruzBuy related transactions (e.g. Direct Pay vendors, employee reimbursements, honoraria). For questions regarding the Payee Setup 204 Form, please contact finpolicy@ucsc.edu. Department CruzBuy requesters should not obtain Payee Setup 204 forms from CruzBuy suppliers or send completed 204 forms to Financial Affairs for on-boarding of CruzBuy suppliers.

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Access UC Agreements

University of California Purchasing Agreements: UC systemwide contracts offer significant discounts for goods and services and provide other benefits such as performance/delivery guarantees, free delivery, volume incentives, and insurance protection. Procurement Services strongly encourages the use of our systemwide contracted suppliers.

A comprehensive list of UCOP agreements is available and can be viewed sorted by Contract Name, or by Supplier Name.

UC Contract Repository Access: Suppliers will often ask for the UC agreement reference to extend the preferred UC pricing. To view the supplier agreement and supporting documentation you will need to request a copy of the contract from Procurement Services or obtain access to the University of California Contract Repository which requires a login and password.

Contact the Business Contracts office in Procurement Services for copies of UC agreements or to obtain a UC Contract Repository User Name and Password.

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How to Establish a Goods Only Blanket Order

A blanket order is a purchase order with a specific supplier for a "not-to-exceed" amount when specific quantities and/or specific individual costs are unknown. Blanket orders cannot extend beyond June 30th of the current fiscal year unless associated with a contract or an agreement.

It is the responsibility of the requesting department to monitor the available balance of a Blanket Order.

Preparing the CruzBuy Requisition

The CruzBuy user requesting a blanket order should first coordinate with the proposed supplier to ensure they will accept a blanket order. The campus requester may then submit a CruzBuy purchase requisition using the CruzBuy “Goods Only Blanket Order” form. For service related blanket orders, use the CruzBuy services form.

Instructions for completing the “Goods Only Blanket Order” form:

“Catalog No.” field: "Blanket PO FYyy" will auto-populate in this field. Replace the “FYyy” with the current fiscal year.
Note: This field can also be modified to add UCSC42 if the requesting department requires review of the invoice(s) prior to payment.
Example: “UCSC42 Blanket PO FY20” or “Blanket PO FY20”

“Product Description” field: Provide an accurate and clear description of the goods being purchased.
Example: Ripe, yellow bananas with a hint of green that are slightly firm but not too squishy

Quantity and Estimated Price: Quantity and estimated price must be flipped on all blanket orders.
Example: $3000 should be entered as: Quantity 3,000/ Estimated Price 1

Order for Resale: Select yes or no
Definition of resale: The sale of tangible goods purchased from a supplier that is to be resold by the University to a customer. This sale would be exempt from tax at the time of purchase as the University will collect sales tax when the item is ultimately sold to a customer, if tax is applicable.

Previous purchase order#: Enter the previous purchase order number related to this request (if applicable).

Blanket start and end dates: Note that blanket orders cannot extend beyond June 30th of the current fiscal year unless associated with a contract or an agreement.

An additional line item of $10.00 must be added to the requisition as a placeholder to ensure the PO does not close prematurely. Additional placeholder lines must also be added for each fiscal year if associated with a multi-year contract.

Department Requesters must use the following Supplier Quote Requirements in determining whether a bid or quote is required to be attached to the requisition.

Restrictions

Blanket requests cannot exceed $100,000 per fiscal year, unless approved by Procurement (documented with SSPR, associated multi year contract, etc.) Please contact strategicsourcing@ucsc.edu with questions.
Blanket requests cannot be used for a CruzBuy catalog supplier (hosted or punchout).
Blanket requests cannot be used for hazardous, controlled, or restricted materials.
Blanket requests cannot extend beyond the last day of the fiscal year without an associated contract.
Blanket requests cannot be used for capital expenditures - e.g. inventorial equipment (single item equipment exceeding $5,000).
Blanket forms should not be used for items that must be requested on a specific form (e.g. Service Request, Food & Entertainment, Vehicle/Rental Charter, etc).
NOTE: Blanket POs for Services must be requested on a Service form.

Increasing / Changing a Blanket Order

If it is necessary to increase or make changes to the blanket order, the requesting department must submit a CruzBuy requisition using the “Change Order Request” form. Provide a detailed description of the requested change(s).

NOTE: Requests for a new blanket order must be processed instead of submitting a change order to extend the term of the blanket order past the current fiscal year when there is not a multi-year contract or agreement associated with the purchase.

For information on how to submit a change order, please visit the Purchasing Process Guide.

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How to Submit a Change Order

Tip: The fastest way to order a new item or to increase the quantity of an existing line item is to create a new CruzBuy requisition.

Change Orders are used for the following reasons:

Change a FOAPAL
Increase or decrease unit price on an existing line item
Increase or decrease quantity on an existing line item
Add a new line item to the purchase order, when associated with original items ordered
Change the description or details of an existing line item (e.g. item substitution for out of stock item)
Change terms, including adding special notes
Cancel a purchase order processed with the "Hold PO" feature (order not sent to supplier)

If you determine that you ordered the wrong item after the PO is issued, do one of the following:

If the supplier has not yet shipped the order - submit a change order request in CruzBuy instructing Procurement Services to cancel the order
If the supplier has already shipped the order - ask the supplier how you can return and then notify Procurement Services by processing a CruzBuy change order explaining details using the Internal Notes feature in CruzBuy

Tolerance level on POs: Current policy allows FAST/AP to pay invoices for POs with a price discrepancy of $100 or less. It is therefore not necessary to process a change order if the final price is within this range. If the discrepancy between the PO and invoice is between $100 and $500, FAST/AP must receive an explanatory email providing authorization from the requester before the invoice will be paid. A change order must be processed for any order whose final price increases by $500 or more.

Restrictions for Change Orders:

Change orders cannot be used to change the supplier name. To change the supplier name, you must cancel the PO, if possible, and complete a new order to the correct supplier.
Change orders cannot be done for catalog or punch out suppliers. Contact Buy4Me@ucsc.edu with questions.
Change orders cannot be used to add a UCSC42 catalog number, which is used to specify required review and approval by an authorized departmental or divisional employee prior to invoice submission to FAST/AP for payment. The UCSC42 catalog number can only be entered with the original requisition.

Change Orders to POs requiring CruzBuy PO revision: If the supplier requires a copy of a revised PO, create a comment in CruzBuy to alert the buyer. The buyer will then revise the PO accordingly and re-distribute the PO to the supplier.

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Contracting Out

The University of California is committed to maintaining a strong in-house workforce and supporting living wages and benefits for employees. To reinforce this commitment, the UC Board of Regents approved Regents Policy 5402, which generally prohibits contracting for services and ensures equitable treatment for any allowable contract workers. In addition, the AFSCME Service (SX) and Patient Care Technical (EX) collective bargaining agreements contain language that reinforces, and in some cases goes beyond, the Regents Policy.

This new policy in combination with the SX & EX agreements impose limitations on the use of third-party supplier services such that contracting out can only be used as a last resort to address temporary needs. Departments must first explore all UCSC staffing options before contracting out unless the circumstances meet one of the rigid exceptions outlined in the collective bargaining agreements. In addition, Departments must secure Labor Relations approval to contract out for Covered Services (SX & EX) before a purchase order, change order or master services agreement is issued.

Covered Services include:

Transportation and Parking Service
Full-Service Catering, Security Services
Building Maintenance (excluding Skilled Crafts (K7) such as plumbing, carpentry, and electrical)
Grounds Keeping
Cleaning/Custodial/Janitorial/Housekeeping Services
Hospital and Nursing Assistants (Vocational Nursing)
Laundry Services

Procurement is working in tandem with Staff Human Resources (SHR) to implement and maintain compliance for Policy 5402 and the active bargaining agreements. To find out more about Contracting Out including campus reporting requirements, exceptions to the policy, wage benefit parity, and the approval process visit the SHR Contracting Out Website.

Please be advised that the contracting out process takes time, so it is important to plan ahead to allow enough time for the approval processes and/or contract negotiations to be finalized. Questions about this can be directed to buy4me@ucsc.edu.

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Fair Wage / Fair Work

The Fair Wage / Fair Work (FW/FW) policy was implemented in June 2015, and increased minimum wages for UC workers to $15 an hour.This minimum wage requirement applies to both direct and service contract employees, requiring vendors to pay their employees a wage that meets or exceeds UC’s minimum wage requirements when hired to perform services on campus.

FW/FW requirements only apply to service agreements, not to agreements for the procurements of goods alone. Also, it does not apply to Public Works agreements with a wage determination at or above the UC Fair Wage or to contracts funded by extramural agreements.

Suppliers are also required to agree to UC Fair Work requirements. This includes warranting that they are in compliance with applicable federal, state and local working conditions requirements, including but not limited to those set forth in Articles 11 (- Federal acquisition regulations - Commercial goods and services), 12 (- Equal opportunity affirmative action) and 14 (- Premises where services are provided) of the UC Terms and Conditions of Purchase.

As part of monitoring and compliance, a dedicated phone hotline is available to report complaints or issues directly to the Office of the President, 855-WAGES-UC. Also, an online complaint registration system is available for online reporting. Any supplier employee who is providing services to UC who believes his/her employer is not complying with the UC plan, or workplace laws, may call the hotline or use the online complaint registration system to report violations.

For services that exceed $100,000 annually, at the Supplier’s expense, annual audits of suppliers will be performed by:

Reviewing payroll records to confirm FW/FW compliance
Reviewing workplace policies and procedures to identify what processes/mechanisms exist to report complaints about workplace conditions or pay
Verify that any complaints submitted by employees were appropriately resolved
Make available FW/FW work papers to UC internal audit upon request
Document any exceptions and management of corrective action in audit report; and
Document audit results on UC FW/FW certification form and send it to UC Procurement annually no later than 90 days after each 1 year anniversary of the agreement’s effective date.

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Directed Award (Sole Source)

The California Public Contract Code and UC Business and Finance Bulletins require competitive bidding (RFP) for procurement transactions involving an expenditure of $100,000 or more for goods or common services. Purchases from a specific supplier, or limited to a specific brand, or where substitutes to the suggested supplier or brand are deemed unacceptable, (i.e., a sole source purchase), must be accompanied by a written justification explaining the circumstances precluding competition.

UC policy for purchase of goods and services requires competitive bids (RFP) for purchase contracts of $100,000 or more. However, competition is not required for purchases of $100,000 or more if a purchase qualifies as:

Previously competed, and awarded purchase agreements based on UC competitive bid (RFP) requirements. (i.e. purchasing consortium or group purchasing organizations such as National IPA, E&I, US Communities, and GSA). These consortium or group purchasing agreements must be reviewed and approved for use by the PSCS Director
Sole Source - Unique, proprietary, available only from a single source, or designated to be compatible with existing installation, facility, or location
Professional/Personal services
Unusual & Compelling Urgency to obtain the goods or services

For all purchases of $100,000 or more the department must provide a written Source Selection & Price Reasonableness Justification Form.

Approval of sole source request: All requests for Sole Source Justifications equal to, or greater than $100,000 MUST be approved by UCSC PSCS Director.

Instructions on How to Complete the Source Selection & Price Reasonableness Justification Form

The Requesting department will:

Complete all sections of the Source Selection & Price Reasonableness Justification Form. The requester must provide:
- A clear statement of the unique performance factors of the product or supplier specified
- Why those unique factors are required
- What other products or suppliers were evaluated
- The reason(s) for rejecting the other products or suppliers
Provide the signature of the Principal Officer. (Dean, Assistant Dean, VC, AVC or Director). By signing the form, the Principal Officer is certifying that he/she finds the justification accurate, factual, and complete to the best of his/her knowledge.
Attach the completed and signed SSPRJ form to the CruzBuy requisition (internal attachment).

PSCS is available to discuss the proposed sole source transaction with you, to assess whether or not the situation qualifies for the bid exception. Even if the purchase is not deemed to be a sole source, it may still be appropriate to do a direct award (no competition) for one of the reasons listed above.

For additional details on policy for requirements for competition and sole source, please see Business and Financial Bulletin (BUS) 43, Part 1, Purchase Transactions.

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Suppliers That Do Not Accept UCSC Purchase Orders

The suppliers below do not accept UCSC purchase orders.

Business Name	PO Acceptance
Amazon	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Costco	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
CVS/Longs	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Dollar Tree Store	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Global Industrial Equip.	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Staples, Inc	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Target Stores	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Trader Joe's	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Walgreens	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy
Whole foods	Will not accept a UC Santa Cruz purchase order - not enabled in CruzBuy

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Suppliers With Special Requirements

The suppliers below have special ordering requirements.

Costco
Costco does not accept UCSC purchase orders. For food purchases, use the UCSC Travel and Entertainment Card. For non-food product purchases, a procard can be used.

Fisher Scientific (ThermoFisher)
In stock items ship at no charge to UCSC. Additional charges apply for items with a SKU beginning with "NC" or "50", as Fisher does not normally stock these items.

Fry's Electronics
Inconsistent acceptance of purchase orders: use at your own risk. POs are only accepted at their retail locations.

Henry Schein Animal Health
As of 08/07/17 Henry Schein Animal Health will implement a $100 order minimum. If you place an order for under $100 there will be a $10 freight fee added.

Home Depot

Bring printed PO and photo ID to Home Depot location.
Provide the "Pro Desk" with the PO and have them bring up the UCSC phone number: 831-459-4488 (printed on the PO in the Billing Address field).
Home Depot cashier will call their "Credit Services" to verify the account.
UCSC has one card for the entire University, which is Card No. 5 (Last name begins with A which means Anyone with a signed PO).
Home Depot cashier will enter all the information into the cash register so that the PO will appear on the receipt and on the statement.
Pro Desk hours: M-F 6am – 6pm, Sat 6am -3pm, Sun desk is closed.

Invitrogen
All orders are subject to $39.95 flat rate freight charge per order. $12.50 for primers. Dry ice charge may also apply. If using a quote, the quote number must be included as an external note from the CruzBuy checkout screens.

OSH
OSH maintains a "Nameless Account" for UCSC, not set up, or maintained, by Procurement Services. Shoppers need a copy of the PO and a photo ID. The cashier will call corporate office to verify that UCSC has an account. Account name is "UNIV CA SANTA CRUZ".

Safeway
Only POs with the UC Seal are accepted. Printed requisitions or order summaries are not accepted. Purchase orders can only be used at retail locations between 8:00am-8:00pm. For Safeway Gift Cards see the How To Buy Guide: Gift Cards.

Sears
Appliance orders must be made with UCSC's corporate account manager at (408) 937-1350.

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After the Fact (ATF) Justification for Unauthorized Purchases

Delegation of Authority

In order to purchase goods and services at the University of California, Santa Cruz, a faculty or staff member must have the appropriate delegation of authority. The current delegations of authority are documented within UC- DA 2100, and is re-delegated from the UCSC Chancellor to UCSC Procurement & Supply Chain Services under SCDA-MM0001. This delegation provides the authority to issue purchase contracts, subcontracts, and standard purchase orders for the purchase of goods and services supplied to the University.

Excluded from this delegation is the authority to purchase books, periodicals, and other materials for library collections for the UCSC McHenry Library and the Science Library, and items for resale by the UCSC bookstore.

The Pro-Card is a delegation of authority to procure low-risk, low dollar-value goods that are within the restrictions and limits established for the individual Pro-Card.

Any purchase made outside of the authority delegated by the Chief Procurement Officer is an unauthorized commitment of University funds and may become the personal responsibility of the individual making the unauthorized purchase.

Specifically, BFB-BUS43 UNAUTHORIZED PURCHASES states:

Responsibility - An individual who has not been delegated purchasing authority who makes an unauthorized purchase of goods or services shall be responsible for payment of the charges incurred. The unauthorized individual can be required to pay either the full amount whenever the purchase is found to cover unneeded items or items whose purchase would not otherwise be authorized and the transaction cannot be cannot be canceled, or the amount of any cancellation charges incurred when cancellation can be arranged. Furthermore, the unauthorized individual can be required to pay the difference between the charges such individual incurred and those the University would be reasonably expected to have incurred whenever the purchase is otherwise found to have been proper.

Unless you have delegated authority, you MAY NOT sign or commit the University to purchasing agreements!

Unauthorized After the Fact Requests

An After the Fact (ATF) purchase occurs when a department makes a purchase commitment before PSCS issues a CruzBuy purchase order. An ATF results in having to obtain proper approval after the commitment was made instead of before. For example, authorizing a supplier to begin work before PSCS issues a purchase order, even though the department has submitted a requisition, is an ATF. Similarly, obtaining goods or services on credit and subsequently submitting the invoice with a CruzBuy requisition is an ATF.

Based on a 2018 audit by UCSC Audit & Management Advisory Services (AMAS), ATF purchases were found to be excessive and create undue cost and risk to the University. The recommended corrective action for ATFs is to require additional approval from the department head by completing the ATF Justification Form with appropriate signatures and attaching it to the CruzBuy requisition.

Before processing the requisition for an after-the-fact, and unauthorized purchase, PSCS requires the following information be submitted. Departments must use the ATF Justification Form to communicate this information.

A detailed description of the goods or services that were contracted for.
A statement regarding whether or not the price is considered reasonable and the basis for making that determination.
A written justification for why the unauthorized procurement action was taken.
An explanation of the action taken to preclude any future unauthorized purchases.
Confirmation the department assumes all risks for the unauthorized transaction related to insurance, wages, data security breach and intellectual property rights.
The department head is required to approve and sign the justification form. After 3 occurrences by the same individual the ATF approval must be signed by the Dean or VC.

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Overview

University of California conflict of interest rules and State law generally prohibit a University employee from providing goods or services to the University as an independent contractor or participating in decisions in which they have a disqualifying financial interest.

UC strives to avoid employee-vendor relationships both to comply with the law and to prevent the appearance of favoritism. If a potential employee-vendor relationship exists, you must disclose it in advance to UCSC Procurement Services.

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Employee Vendor Relationships

An employee-vendor relationship is a relationship between a UCSC employee and a proposed vendor that might create a conflict of interest. An employee-vendor relationship exists when:

An employee proposes to rent, sell, or provide goods or services to the University
An employee owns or controls more than 10% interest in the vendor who proposes to rent, sell, or provide goods or services to the University
A former employee proposes to rent, sell, or provide goods or services to the University
A near relative of an employee currently provides, or is being proposed to provide, goods or services to the University
A near relative of an employee owns or controls more than 10% interest in the vendor who currently provides, or is being proposed to supply, goods or services to the University

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Employee Vendor Transactions

Purchasing goods or services from UC employees is generally prohibited under California law unless the procurement falls within an allowable exception.

Generally, UC employees are prohibited from being hired as independent contractors. However, the University may enter into a contract for goods and/or services with an employee who has teaching or research responsibilities, or a student employee, if the goods and/or services cannot be obtained within the university or from a commercial source.
No purchase of goods and/or services from a UC employee with teaching or research responsibilities is allowable without prior review and approval of the transaction by Procurement Services.
Requesting units must complete the UC Supplier Conflict of Interest Form and submit it with a CruzBuy requisition for review and approval, subject to a determination by the Procurement/Supply Chain Director (or designee) that the goods and/or services cannot be obtained within the university or from a commercial source.

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Near Relative Transactions

Potential employee-vendor relationships resulting from the purchase of goods or services from the near relatives of UC employees must be disclosed in advance. An analysis of the relationship may result in approval if, and only if, the UC employee has not influenced, participated or is involved in any way in the University's decision to purchase from an employee's near relative.

No purchase of goods or services may be made from the near-relative of a UC employee before review and approval of the transaction by the Procurement Services Director.
Requesting units must complete the UC Supplier Conflict of Interest Form and submit it to the Business Contracts office before making any commitment to purchase goods or services from a UC employee. (Employee-Vendor Disclosure Forms submitted after the goods or services have been received by the University will require the grant of an exception by the campus Conflict of Interest Coordinator.)

Note: Near relatives are as follows: Spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, including step-relatives and in-laws in the same relationship to a UC employee.

Contact: Business Contracts office.office.

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Financial Affairs

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Purchasing Process Guide