Procurement

The mission of Procurement Services is to be the leader in higher education procurement by delivering the highest quality customer service to the Brandeis community through an efficient and collaborative best-in-class sourcing and procurement process.

Any university employee, staff or faculty member responsible for requisitioning, procuring or paying for products or services should be familiar with this policy.

Roles and Responsibilities

Procurement Services supports all departments in the acquisition of products and services for Brandeis University at the lowest total cost of ownership. University departments may work independently to source their requirements and select vendors in accordance with university policy and procedure.

Procurement staff is readily available to assist departments with questions and work collaboratively in an effort to communicate with vendors, facilitate the vendor relationship and execute final contract and agreements. Procurement Services maintains ownership and has the responsibility for making the final determination of all purchases, negotiations and contracts.

Specifically, the department:

  • Works in a proactive manner with campus staff to ensure the successful administration of expert procurement services and methodologies.

  • Conducts training for campus staff on effective procurement processes and procedures.

  • Establishes and facilitates a competitive vendor marketplace, wherever applicable, through the development of best-in-class sourcing methodologies and procurement specifications; soliciting and processing requests for proposals; and directing and managing negotiations for pricing; terms and conditions; and contracts, and where necessary, conferring with the general counsel for advice and resolution of specific matters.

  • Administers and maintains purchase records for federal, state and internal procurement audit requirements.

Policy Overview

Procurement Services is the central purchasing authority for the university and is responsible for facilitating and managing the purchasing process on a university-wide level. In conjunction with the Office of Financial Affairs, Procurement Services is responsible for ensuring compliance with university procurement policy.

Authorization to a vendor or supplier for the purchase of products or services must be completed through an approved university purchase order or a procurement Card (P-Card).

The university requires competitive bidding in order to appropriately safeguard university assets. As a condition for receiving federal funding for research, the university maintains a purchasing system that is routinely audited to confirm compliance with federal acquisition regulations. These regulations mandate competitive bidding. When audited, the university must certify that the university's policies are in compliance for all transactions, not just those that are federally funded.

In some circumstances, competitive bids are not appropriate and the requirement for obtaining them is waived. These circumstances include those outlined in the Sole-Source Policy section below.

To ensure objectivity and eliminate unfair competitive advantage, vendors, supplier and/or contractors who participate in the development or drafting of specifications, requirements, requests for quotes or proposals must be excluded from competing for such purposes.

Unless an invoice received is substantiated in advance of the initial order by an official Brandeis purchase order number, the university is under no obligation to pay for goods or services.

To avoid potential conflicts of interest, no employee, officer or agent of the university should participate in the selection, award or administration of purchases or contracts in which, to his or her knowledge, the employee, immediate family or partner has a financial interest in the supplier's organization.