September 19, 2022

Supply Chain Management News

September 2022

Dear Campus Community,

  

Supply Chain Management (SCM) would like to inform you of important updates and events. 


This month's features:  

  • Cost Saving Tips When Ordering Items on Dry Ice
  • Reminder: Energy Star Appliance Purchases
  • Airgas Service Changes
  • BearBUY Updates: November 7th



If you have any questions, please contact the BearBUY Help Desk at 

510-664-9000 (options 1, 2) or bearbuyhelp@berkeley.edu for immediate assistance.


Thank you for your continued support, 

Supply Chain Management

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Cost Saving Tips When Ordering Items on Dry Ice

Do you frequently order items that ship on dry ice? Here are a few cost saving tips to consider when placing your next order:


  • Do not ship Next Day Priority (AM). If next-day delivery is required, Next Day standard or PM (Noon-5PM) is much cheaper and equally reliable.  


  • If feasible, 2-day delivery will provide significant savings. Most temperature-controlled packages can withstand 3-5 days in transit.


  • To the extent possible, please order from the primary preferred suppliers for Life Sciences and Lab Suppliers: Fisher, VWR, or Thomas Scientific. All three companies have agreed to reduced or no-cost freight and offer better rates on temperature controlled deliveries. Fisher, in particular, carries over 2,000 items from Promega's product line and most of the Agilent product line. While these suppliers may have slightly higher unit prices, those prices are more than offset by the reduced shipping and handling costs and frequently used materials are stocked locally by Fisher and VWR. Thomas Scientific is a certified small business for all of your federally funded contracting needs.

Reminder: Energy Star Appliance Purchases

Please be advised that as part of our energy conservation efforts, all new appliances must be Energy Star certified products. Freezers, especially ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers are heavy users of electricity. Please support the University’s Sustainability goals by replacing end of life equipment with more efficient and reliable equipment. For assistance with purchasing ULT freezers, please contact your buyer.

Airgas Service Changes

Airgas, UC’s main supplier for liquid nitrogen for cryogenic storage, has notified UC that Airgas delivery drivers can no longer perform certain high-risk functions that fall outside of contracted services.


Effective October 7, 2022, Airgas drivers can no longer perform these services for high-risk samples/research:


  • Connection/disconnection services for high-risk sample applications
  • Inventory management for high-risk sample applications
  • Filling of open-mouth dewar flasks if they contain samples.


If Airgas has performed any of these discontinued services for your lab or department, please reach out to our Airgas campus rep. Michael Rose at Michael.Rose.NCN@airgas.com or Alex Butler, Strategic Sourcing Commodity Manager at abutler@berkeley.edu for assistance.

BearBUY Updates: November 7th

BearBUY’s Fall upgrade release will be in production on November 7, 2022.


Coming soon are:

  • Form updates with a new user experience. Forms in the new user experience will have a slightly updated look and feel. They will also no longer open in a separate window.
  • More online training for Shoppers will be available in the Learning Management system (UC Learning). It will include information on looking up invoices, running searches, and how to request changes to purchase orders. This training is encouraged, but not required for shoppers.
  • New required Training for Change Order Preparers and Buyers launching in November.


More information on the upcoming BearBUY upgrade release and new eCourses will be available in October. Please stay tuned!

Helpful Hints
Order Status

If you need assistance with determining the status of your order in BearBUY, visit the How to Find the Status of Your Order page on the SCM website

Please note that your SCM assigned Buyer will not receive the requisition until it has been approved by the department Org Node approver.
Expediting an Order

If an order warrants expedited handling, please change the priority on the requisition to "Urgent". If you have already submitted the requisition, please contact your assigned Buyer via email and be sure to include the requisition number.
Who is My Department's Assigned Buyer?

If you are unsure of how to start your purchasing transaction, contact your Buyer for assistance by using your Org Node and Department Name to find your assigned Buyer located in this matrix.
Splitting Chart of Accounts (COA) At Header Level Vs. Line Level

Splitting COA at the Header Level will apply the split to all lines on the PO. 

Splitting COA by Line Level allows you to customize COA percentage allocated to that specific line.

BEST PRACTICE for Subawards
  • Line 2 should always be set at the Header Level Chartstring using Account Code 57810.
  • Line 1 should be overridden at the Line Level Chartstring using Account Code 57811.

For any questions on how to split a COA, please contact your regional purchasing team: https://regionalservices.berkeley.edu/home.
SCM Service Level Turnaround Times

Urgent requests will be handled on a first-in-first-out basis. Standard turnaround time (Service Level Agreements) for purchase and contract types are available on our Service Level web page

Please be aware that contract negotiations with suppliers may cause delays.
Ship To Address vs Final Destination

A Ship To Address is the address that is sent to the supplier. When the supplier is delivering items, they will deliver to the ship to address (which is also visible on the PO they receive).

A Final Destination code is an address only associated to UC Berkeley. Final destination code are used when departments have a central receiving location. The ship to address is the central receiving facility. When the packages are received, the department central receiver looks the PO up in BearBUY and looks for the final destination code. The final destination code is then the office/room number of where shopper needs the items. Final destination codes are never sent to the supplier and are NOT reflected anywhere on the PO.  
BearBUY Resources
Below are links to the BearBUY homepage, instructional aids, training courses, and information on how to create Service Now tickets for BearBUY related issues. 
Whether you are an experienced or a new BearBUY shopper, it is always best practice to take the BearBUY: Basics for Shoppers training if you haven't already.

To take this ESSENTIAL training, please click on this course #: BEESS950-Online