April 24, 2023

Supply Chain Management News

April 2023

Dear Campus Community,

  

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


This month's features:  

  • BFS, BLU Portal, and BearBUY Outage on Friday, April 28, 2023
  • NEW! Systemwide Agreements Available in BearBUY!
  • Fiscal Close Information for 2022-2023
  • Wage & Benefits Parity Rates
  • Update to AT&T cellular and data plan rates
  • REMINDER: Log in to DocuSign to Ensure Receival of your Completed Documents



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

Visit Our Website

BFS, BLU, and BearBUY Outage on Friday, April 28, 2023

Please note that BFS, BLU Portal, and BearBUY will not be available on Friday, April 28, 2023, from 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. due to regularly scheduled system maintenance.


Please prepare for planned system downtimes and visit the Controller’s Office website for the planned 2023 BFS maintenance schedule.

NEW! Systemwide Agreements Available in BearBUY!

We are pleased to announce 3 new systemwide agreements available in BearBUY! These agreements are for the following:


  • Supplier: Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC
  • Specializes in Zeiss microscopes, accessories, and services. 
  • Contract #: 2022003255
  • Supplier Contact: Brian Schmidt
  • Email: brian.schmidt@zeiss.com 


  • Supplier: Polycarbin, Inc.
  • Specializes in direct plastic lab supplies such as recyclable pipettes and pipettes.
  • Contract #: 2023003584
  • Supplier Contact: James O’Brien
  • Email: james@polycarbin.com


  • Supplier: Anthony Travel
  • Specializes in group travel for small businesses.
  • Contract #: UCOP-261
  • Supplier Contact: Pat Walsh
  • Email: patwalsh@anthonytravel.com

Fiscal Close Information for 2022-2023

Purchase Order requests for amounts over $10,000 should be submitted before Friday, May 19, 2023, with complete documentation if orders are needed prior to the end of fiscal year on June 30, 2023.

Wage & Benefits Parity Wages

Please be advised that UCOP has released the new wage and benefits parity rates for 2023/24 for contracts that involve “Covered Services.” Covered Services include:


  • Janitorial services
  • Foodservice labor
  • Laundry services
  • Grounds keeping
  • Building maintenance (excluding skilled crafts)
  • Transportation and parking services
  • Security services
  • Nursing assistant services, medical imaging, and other medical technician services


For more information, please visit the Contracting Out for Covered Services website. 


If your department has active Covered Services contracts, please reach out to your Buyer with any questions regarding the newly updated wage and benefits parity rates.

Update to AT&T cellular and data plan rates for UC Berkeley employees telecom agreements for cellular phones

Good news - thanks to the Network Support Team (CNS), the prices of university-sponsored phone plans with AT&T have been reduced dramatically and are some of the lowest that can be found anywhere. For example, the unlimited talk, text, data, and mobile hotspot rate is going from $106.39 to $44.99. Existing customers will have their rates automatically adjusted. The campus Verizon cellular/data plans are still excellent as well at $50.05 monthly for unlimited talk, text, data, and mobile hotspots. There are also many additional benefits that go beyond preferred pricing. Both AT&T and Verizon plans include unlimited everything with no throttling and Travel Passes is automatically added to accounts when you travel internationally in covered areas. Review AT&T cellular plans and device pricing and Verizon cellular plans and device pricing on the Telecom catalog. As we clarified in September of last year, the university does not reimburse the procurement of cellular equipment and/or monthly service purchased outside of the university-sponsored plan. If your role requires the use of a business cell phone paid for by the university, Berkeley IT's Cellular (Wireless) Phone plans are now better than ever.

REMINDER: Log in to DocuSign to Ensure Receival of your Completed Documents

Have you completed a DocuSign form and did not receive a completed copy in your email’s inbox? 


Here are some helpful hints to follow PRIOR to filling out your DocuSign forms (especially, when it comes to the Request to Contract Out for Covered Services form in particular):


  • If you never logged into DocuSign, you must login for the first time to provision your DocuSign account PRIOR to filling out forms using DocuSign. This will ensure that you receive a copy of your completed DocuSign form(s).
  • If you are unsure of whether or not you have logged into DocuSign before, please login.
  • If you log in to DocuSign to provision your account AFTER filling out and submitting your form, you will NOT receive a completed copy and you will NOT see it in your inbox. Once you login and provision your account, you will receive your form copies and see them in your inbox moving forward.


For technical DocuSign support (i.e. you cannot see your DocuSign forms in your DocuSign account or did not receive a copy of your completed DocuSign form), please contact esignatures-support@berkeley.edu.

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