Steps in Purdue University Fort Wayne's Purchasing Process

The following sections outline the various purchasing and payment processes available at Purdue Fort Wayne. If there are any special requirements that should be addressed with Facilities, ITS, Shipping/Receiving, please make those contacts before purchasing the goods or service.

Purchasing Steps using the Purdue Purchasing System:

1. Department follows their internal purchasing authorization and record keeping process.
2. The requisitioner for that department initiates the shopping cart in the Purdue Purchasing system.
3. Orders that are $10,000 or more must follow a formal bid process.  Departments should contact the Purchasing department to discuss this purchase with the appropriate agent. See Request for Quote Steps section below for details.

Note: We do recommend departments contact the Purchasing department in cases where the department needs suggestions on vendors.

Purchasing Card (P-Card)

Departments may make incidental purchases by using a Purdue University MasterCard. The Purchasing Card Manual website contains detailed information about requesting a card, acceptable uses of the card, reporting a lost or stolen card, etc. The P-card program for Purdue Fort Wayne is managed through the Purchasing office in partnership with  your business manager.  Business managers must approve requests and changes to P-cards.  For access to P-card forms go to the Forms/Ariba Handouts website and select the P-Card forms tab.

ZV60 Payment

Having a vendor invoice the department for goods or services may be the best method depending on the situation. Here are some criteria that would indicate ZV60 is likely the best option versus a purchase order or p-card.

• If the vendor is not in the Ariba P2P system and it is likely we will not issue more than a couple of orders annually to this vendor.  
• Emergency or repair services - typically these costs are not known until the service technician comes on site to see the problem, and there is no time to issue a purchase order beforehand. 
• The purchase of the items is not an allowable expense on the department's p-card.
• Vendor does not accept p-cards or charges additional fees to use them.

Click on the To ZV60 or NOT to ZV60 tab on this web page for answers to questions about handling an invoice received.

Purchasing Steps in the Request for Quote (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP) Process

Purchase requests that total $10,000 or more must be competitively bid unless this is an emergency repair situation or there is a proprietary component (see Special Purchases below for additional information if this is a sole source situation). Purchasing is the only authorized entity on campus that can perform these services.  It is important to get Purchasing involved early to allow time for the process to be followed and items to be ordered and delivered.  If installation is required additional time will be needed as well.  Some items can take several weeks between the time of purchase and the goods arriving.  A good rule of thumb is to allow a couple of weeks for the agent to pull all the information together, identify vendors and submit the bid.  Allow at least a week for the vendors to respond.  The more complicated bids such as those involving design or the vendors to come on-site will require additional time.  If the bid is done in a rush fashion some vendors will not be able to participate because they can't meet the time line.  The end result may be higher cost to the department. 

Note: We do recommend departments contact the Purchasing department to get multiple quotes on any purchases where the University does not have contract pricing, the cost of the items is such the department may realize significant savings (say $1,000 or more), or in cases where the department needs suggestions on vendors. The Purchasing Agent involved may also elect to bid a purchase where it is determined best practice.

1. Agent for the commodity verifies the specifications.
2. Agent determines if the purchase requires a Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP). Most Purdue Fort Wayne purchases do not require the solicitation of bids. In these cases vendor selection is based on the department's preference, existing vendor contracts, and the Purchasing staff's knowledge and experience.
3. Purchasing will issue a Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP) if any of these apply:
   • Order totals $10,000 or more
   • Falls under the State public works statutes (any project for which contractual labor is used on site to construct, alter, repair or improve facilities owned or leased by the university). Public works projects would be handled by Physical Plant.
   • Department and agent believe it to be the best business practice
4. The RFQ/RFP is issued to a pool of qualified vendors chosen by the agent and the requester. Once the bid request is issued by Purchasing there should be no communication between anyone other than Purchasing and the bidding vendors unless approved by Purchasing.
5. Responses are reviewed and vendor(s) chosen based on price, delivery terms, availability, and other specifications stated in the RFQ/RFP.
6. Awarded vendor will be contacted and a purchase order issued.
7. Agent will also notify the other participating vendors the bid has been awarded.

Please allow time for the purchasing staff to complete all steps necessary for a purchase. The amount of time needed varies greatly but is affected by the nature of the items being purchased, the dollar amount of the purchase, whether an RFQ is necessary, and the Purchasing department's workload. Do not expect Purchasing to place an order on the same day that the requisition form is received.

Request Special Purchases

If there is a legitimate reason, typically proprietary, that restricts the purchase to a specific brand or service, of which only one vendor can supply such goods or services, a Special Purchases (formerly known as Waiver of Competitive Bid) form must be completed. Attach any supporting documentation, have it properly signed and send to the Purchasing Department.The Purchasing agent and director will review the form and discuss any questions with the requestor. If approved, the order request will continue through the purchasing process. If this request is not approved the requester will be notified that the order will go through the bidding process.

New Ariba Vendor

Before requesting a new vendor be added to the Ariba system ask these questions:

 1. There may already be vendors in Ariba that provide these goods or services.  Please contact the purchasing agent that handles the commodity in question to identify current vendors and compare pricing.  Click here to find the appropriate purchasing agent.

 2. Do we use this vendor on an ongoing basis?

•  EX: If you do not expect to use vendor several times per year it’s not practical to add vendor to Ariba.
•  EX: If we use the vendor exclusively for repairs on an as needed basis, it’s better to pay via p-card or ZV60.

 3. Does vendor accept purchase orders?

Proper Signatures on Purchase Requisition (Form 12)

Before sending either a Purchase Requisition (Form 12) to the Purchasing department for processing, these signatures must be on the form:

1. Signature of the person authorized to approve disbursements from the funding account used.

2. Signature of your business manager.

Proper Signatures on Purchasing Contracts

Contracts should be sent (preferably electronic copy) to the Contracts Administrator for review and signature.  The administrator will require that the owner of the contract (employee within the department who's responsibility is to abide by the contract) also review the contract, complete and sign the Contract Ownership Form to indicate their approval to agree to make this purchase and/or agree to the terms. This step can be done after the completion of contract negotiations but before the administrator will sign the agreement or forward for proper signature..

Contracts that have a value* of over $100,000 will need to be signed by the Vice Chancellor for Financial and Administrative Affairs.  The Contract Administrator will facilitate that process.

*The value of a contract is the amount of money the contract is expected to cost the university.  For multi-year contracts that amount would be multiplied by the number of years. 

Unallowable Purchases

Purdue has identified categories of  items that are not allowable purchases using university funds.  Examples of these items are:

Food and beverages except in accordance with Hospitality Expenditure Policy

Alcoholic Beverages

Office Furnishings  - decorative wall hangings, lamps, area rugs for offices,  kitchen items such as microwaves or refrigerators except when being purchased for a separately maintained university or department  lunch or lounge area.

Raffles, bingo, games of chance—While "games of chance" are not allowable, "games of skill" are. Before committing to any such questionable activities, check with your business manager to determine if it is allowable.

Awards, prizes, and gifts — Except in accordance with Procedures for Gifts, Gratuities and Recognition - Vice President for Ethics and Compliance - Purdue University

Charitable donations—Neither University-controlled funds nor Foundation funds may be used to make a gift or donation to a charitable organization, including civic fund-raising activities.

Before making such purchases or commitments,  please verify with your business manager that such items can be paid for with your university funds.

Returns, Partial Orders, Canceling Orders

In the Ariba Procure-to-Pay (P2P) system there is a return process to be followed whenever ordered items need to be returned (damaged, incorrect part sent/ordered, etc.) or canceled.  It is critical whenever items need to be returned that you do so within the vendor's allotted grace period. This is typically within 30 days of the item being shipped to us.  Please follow these steps in a timely manner to ensure that returns are correctly handled and to avoid payment issues.

When using links to Ariba's QRC use this format for the username:

username: boilerad\"yourPurdueaccount"  Ex:  boilerad\celick

Office Depot Returns

Contact Office Depot (888-263-3423) for approval to return the item(s) and obtain an Authorization To Return number (ATR#). Write the number on the outside of the box and contact Shipping & Receiving at x16158 to pick it up. Refer to the Office Depot Return Process for additional information.

The ordering department MUST process a return receipt in Ariba P2P. Use the Receiving in Ariba QRC to process the return.  If you are unsure of how to process this receipt, contact Purchasing @ 1-6800.

 Non-Office Depot Returns On Items Just Received

Complete the Return Authorization form (RA).  Contact the vendor to obtain approval and an RMA number.  Verify the return shipping address and request a return shipping label, if applicable.  Attach a copy of the RA form to the box and request pick up of the item(s) by Shipping & Receiving.

The ordering department MUST process a return receipt in Ariba P2P.  Use the Receiving in Ariba QRC to process the return.  If you are unsure of how to process this receipt, contact Purchasing @ 1-6800.

NOTE:  If that item is being replaced, you will need to process a receipt in the system once the replacement arrives; otherwise Purdue will not pay for that item.

Other Order Situations

Periodically you may have recently submitted purchase orders where:

• the vendor no longer carries the item
• your department wants to cancel the item or a purchase order

There are steps we must complete in the Ariba P2P system so that the effected purchase order reflects those changes. Below are the steps to follow:

Item Not Available

If an item ordered is no longer available from the vendor, process a Close Partial
PO receipt in P2P using the Receiving in Ariba QRC. If you are unsure of how to process this receipt, contact Purchasing @ 1-6800.

Cancel an Item or Order

If you discover that an item or purchase order submitted needs to be canceled, the
vendor should be contacted immediately. You will find the vendor phone number listed on the purchase order.  Once this step is complete, process a Close
Partial/Entire PO (whichever is applicable) in Ariba P2P to cancel the item or
order using the Receiving in Ariba QRC.  If you are unsure of how to process this receipt, contact Purchasing @ 1-6800

Returns on Used Items

ITS typically handles any computer warranty returns on equipment they service.  Contact ITS Helpdesk to open a track.

Furniture warranty repairs - please contact Jennifer Schillo.

TO ZV60 or NOT TO ZV60

We have discovered there is some confusion on the proper process to follow when a vendor sends their invoices to the department instead of Purdue Accounts Payable or the Accounts Payable clerks at Purdue University Fort Wayne Purchasing.  Here are the steps that should be followed:

•  If the order was done through Ariba, a purchase order was created.  Note on the invoice the purchase order number or highlight that number if the vendor referenced it and send the invoice to Purchasing.  Do NOT create a ZV60 form. 
•  If you are not certain that a purchase order was created for the invoice contact the Purchasing department. We will need to know the vendor name, what time frame the order might have been placed and the cost center. We can do a search to see if we find the purchase order and provide you that number for the invoice reference.
•  If you contacted the vendor and paid by credit card – then do not create a purchase order in Ariba or create a ZV60.    
•  A ZV60 should be used only when a purchase was made without a purchase order or p-card payment.

It is very important that you follow this process to avoid issues with dollars tied up in a purchase order commitment and also spent via ZV60 payment. Please discuss with your business manager if you believe you may have purchase orders that were paid via ZV60.