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Purchasing Department

Purchasing Policies

• Mission and Goals
• Objectives
• Organizational Authority
• Purchase Order Definition
• General Procurement Process
• Purchase Order Requisitions

Mission and Goals

1. Saint Xavier University has a Centralized Purchasing Department charged with providing faculty, staff and students with necessary supplies, equipment and services. The primary mission of the Purchasing Department is to acquire needed materials and services as economically as possible, and to set high standards of quality and service within acceptable delivery time frames.
2. Policies and procedures have been developed to allow for purchases to be made in a timely and organized manner that provides for essential accountability of institutional expenditures. The Purchasing Department is provided with the responsibility and authority as delegated by the Vice President of Business & Finance.

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Objectives

1. To provide cooperative interaction between the Purchasing staff and vendors and between the Purchasing staff and members of the faculty, staff and students.
2. To prepare, with the cooperation of University departments, quality and quantity specifications for the items and services to be purchased, and to insure the timely delivery of these items and services at the right price.
3. To provide the faculty and staff with current information on new products and services, alternative materials and costs.
4. To encourage fair and open competition among vendors through negotiation, competitive bidding and contract buying.
5. To insure that purchase orders and contracts contain all necessary conditions such as quantities, warranties, shipping instructions, f.o.b. points, credit terms and discounts.
6. To maintain adequate records, files of vendors, and catalogs.
7. To participate in established cooperative purchasing programs and contracts.
8. To comply with all applicable state and federal laws.

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Organizational Authority

1. All goods and services purchased shall be authorized by the appropriate individuals through an official purchase order or a properly executed contract.
2. All contracts or leases shall be executed by the President or Vice President of Business & Finance.
3. Purchase orders shall be executed by the Vice President of Business & Finance.
4. Purchase order/check requisitions for the purchase of goods and services involving University administered funds shall conform to amounts in approved budgets. (Grant funds included.)
5. The Director of the Library shall be authorized to issue purchase orders and blanket purchase orders for books, reference materials, microfiche, microfilms and periodicals up to a limit of $2,000.
6. The Bookstore Manager shall be authorized to issue purchase orders for text books and other items for resale.

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Purchase Order Definition

1. The purchase order is the normal instrument by which goods and services are procured to fill a requirement. It is the seller's authority to ship and invoice for goods and services specified on the order. It is a legal instrument which expresses the buyer’s part of a contract of sale. Once accepted, it has the legal force of a binding contract.
2. Blanket purchase orders are issued to vendors covering expendable supplies, services, maintenance or rentals, where the unit price of the item or service has been established by agreement or bid. Blanket purchase orders may not be used for the purchase of capital equipment. Blanket purchase orders are generally issued for a period of one fiscal year.

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General Procurement Process

The purpose of this section is to explain the major steps in the procurement process, particularly those steps that pertain to the using department. The following represent these basic steps.

1. The using department completes a purchase order requisition approved by the Department Head and forwards original to the Purchasing Department.
2. The Purchasing Department checks account for sufficient fund balance to cover the purchase, then encumbers the account, and issues a purchase order number. Any purchase order over $200.00 have to be approved by the Vice President of Business & Finance.
3. The original purchase order is faxed or mailed to the vendor by the Purchasing department and files two copies (alphabetically & numerically). One copy is also sent to the requisitioning department.
4. The vendor ships the material to the Receiving Department. Receiving sends the packing list and material to the using department. When the material arrives at the department, it is checked against the originators copy of the purchase order for quantity and price.
5. Accounts Payable/Purchasing Department sends a copy of the invoice to the using department. The using department approves the copy of the invoice and forwards it to the Purchasing Department. The Purchasing Department vouchers the invoice for payment, and forwards it on to Accounts Payable for issuance of payment to the vendor. One copy of the original purchase order is kept with the invoice for Accounts Payable to file.

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Purchase Order Requisitions

General Provisions: A purchase order requisition is used to initiate the procurement of all supplies, equipment and services. The requisition is prepared by the using department and the original is forwarded to the responsible Department Head for a signature of approval, then routed to the Purchasing Department.

When preparing the requisition/purchase order the following basic information must be completed before the requisition can be accepted:

1. Complete name of vendor, mailing address, and vendors account number for Saint Xavier University (if known);
2. When using a "New" vendor, specify for Tax Exempt notification;
3. Room or building to which delivery should be made;
4. Name of person initiating requisition;
5. Quantity of items required;
6. Unit (each, dozen, etc.);
7. Description;
8. Cost;
9. Requested delivery date;
10. Shipping charge (if known);
11. Account number (departmental);
12. Approval of Department Head, Purchasing Agent and Vice President of Business & Finance;
13. All requisitions must be typed or printed;
14. Requisitions will not be processed without account number, vendor name and pricing;
15. All signatures must be originals, no stamps;
16. Specifications or descriptions should be concise, but complete in detail (where appropriate, state size, color, finish, weight, etc.);
17. Indicate any special handling or receiving requirements;
18. If a source is not known, the Purchasing Department will locate a source for the materials required; and
19. Individuals submitting a check request for themselves, or other individuals, must indicate the Social Security number of the payee

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