Procurement gets a new Service catalog! We have a new full suite of categories in ServiceNow, that will route your questions to the appropriate units within Procurement! Soliciting help for the Flexcard, Equipment Management, Supplier Management, Gateway, Contracts, and general procurement (including bids) can all be routed here: https://ucsb.service-now.com/procurement
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Good News for Federal Grants
UCSB is using a higher micro purchase threshold of $50,000 for federal grants & cooperative agreements (up from the current $10k threshold) when documenting purchases in Gateway. The Office of Management and Budget allows the non-federal entity (UC) to establish a $50k micro purchase threshold for grant and cooperative agreement awards, as long as certain conditions are met. UCSB has met those conditions, and has approval from our federal auditors on file.
NOTE - this change does *not* apply to federal contract awards. Please use the updated UCSB Form A moving forward!
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UC issues supplier letter to reaffirm commitment to worker health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic
Earlier this year, the Sustainable Procurement Working Group issued a letter to 300+ major UC suppliers, reaffirming the UC’s commitment to worker health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter stated the UC’s commitment to social and environmental improvement, and asked for supplier collaboration to improve the health and safety of its extended supply chains. |
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UCSB Leads Way in Sustainable Electronics
UCSB was recognized for the third time with a 2021 EPEAT Purchaser Award, an award celebrating leaders in sustainable electronics procurement. EPEAT allows organizations to efficiently address the lifecycle impacts of electronics like computers, displays, imaging equipment, and servers. EPEAT products are more energy efficient, less toxic, longer lasting, and easier to recycle than other products, while also addressing labor and human rights issues along the entire supply chain. Take a moment to review the environmental and cost benefits associated with UCSB’s EPEAT-registered purchases, including energy savings equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 207 US households!
In addition, the TGIF Grants Committee awarded a proposal to hire a student for a comprehensive written analysis between the two EPA-recognized standards for responsible electronics recycling:
- Responsible Recycling ("R2") Standard for Electronics Recyclers
- e-Stewards® Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment© ("e-Stewards®")
The UC's long-standing policy requires the use of e-Stewards certified recyclers for the disposal of University electronics (UC Sustainable Practices Policy). However, increased recycling costs and limited availability of e-Stewards companies has raised the question of whether UC Policy should maintain this requirement. Review the full proposal here!
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Flexcard News
The flexcard is a great tool for the campus; if your vendor is not in Gateway and you don't have a lot of time to get them added, use the Flexcard! The Flexcard increases the speed of payment for merchants, and reduces the need for petty cash and/or employee reimbursement.
A few updates to consider when thinking about using the Flexcard:
UCEN: As of last fall, the Campus Store is a restricted location for all FlexCard purchases. The change is related to the UCEN being fully integrated as a UCSB department and all interdepartmental transactions should occur via the recharge system. All purchases from the Campus Store must now be placed via Gateway by using the Campus Store punch-out catalog to create a purchase order, where all invoices and payment transactions are converted into recharge transactions.
Building and Grounds Maintenance: Covered Services are now restricted, and cannot be procured on the Flexcard. A Covered Service in this context is anything related to grounds keeping, custodial, laundry, building maintenance, and security. These services were described in the last newsletter, and need to paid for by using existing UC employees. Contact us at flexcard@bfs.ucsb.edu for specific guidance.
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Small Business Supplier Search
Don’t forget that UCSB’s Small and Diverse Business Program website includes tips for finding certified small or disabled veteran business enterprises. We recommend the UC-contracted Supplier Diversity database, Supplier.io Explorer, as this tool sources small and diverse business certifications from hundreds of organizations, including SAM and the State of California, and maintains an active database of small and diverse suppliers used by UC campuses. A Mini Tune Up training session on how to request access and utilize the Supplier.io tool is available for viewing.
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Systemwide Vendor Agreements
Wondering if the UC has a contract with a particular vendor? Bookmark this page:
This site provides links by category for currently contracted supplier agreements that have been competitively bid!
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How to Expedite Service in Procurement |
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You will achieve the fastest response time for questions about requisitions, bids, invoices, contracts and general procurement questions. Instead of emailing an individual, please use the new Procurement ServiceNow Catalog:
https://ucsb.service-now.com/procurement
Please use the Comment tab on a Gateway requisition to get in touch with your assigned
Buyer or Contract Analyst to view status, and document your department decisions.
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