Buying Manual updated December 8, 2017

There were several updates to the Buying Manual effective December 8, 2017. A brief description of the changes follows.

We have reduced the number of “preferred” suppliers that campus customers are required to use in accordance with University Policy 3.25, Procurement of Goods and Services. This change provides faculty and staff members with increased flexibility and freedom to select suppliers to meet their needs. We continue to provide access to contract suppliers, who have participated in a competitive bid process, and for convenience and ease of use, to suppliers with negotiated pricing agreements, which include terms and conditions and verified insurance. Suppliers with negotiated pricing agreements are not exempt from bid requirements for purchases over the university bid limit of $10,000. Please see the corresponding Buying Manual changes.

• Section 100, Authorized Business Expenses – clarification on using preferred suppliers.
• Section 102, Requirements for Vendor Selection and Order Creation – clarification on vendor selection and explanation of pricing agreements.
• Section 402, Bid Solicitation and Exemptions – clarification on bid exemptions for preferred and contract suppliers.
• Section 902, Definitions.

In addition, Section 203, Payment by Disbursement Voucher has additional information about required approvals for advertisements (per University Policy 4.10) and for donations (per Community Relations), and Section 205, Vendor Setup has information on the associated documentation needed for vendor setup. Donations will be prohibited on procurement card (Section 302) to ensure proper accounting and tracking of donations.

Other minor updates include:

• Section 302, PCard Prohibited Transactions includes expanded explanations for cloud services, software licenses, and software purchases in conjunction with CIT’s technology risk assessment requirements.
• Section 503, Lease Programs includes minor updates to the external lease program.
• Section 609, Energy Procurement’s authorization requirements have been updated by the vice president for facilities services.
• Section 618, Technology Risk Assessments has been updated in conjunction with CIT and University Audit requirements.
• Section 900, The list of unique contracts for services in Forms has been updated.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your center director or email us at procurement@cornell.edu.