Administration-Finance

 

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Purchasing

Lisa Bruns
Purchasing Assistant
tel: 631-420-2245
fax: 631-420-2559
Lisa.Bruns@farmingdale.edu

Procurement Card Guidelines
Project Sunlight
Return Procedure

OVERVIEW:

State operating funds and IFR funds are covered by the State Finance Law and Flexibility Legislation applicable to the State University . These laws and regulations apply to all University Departments and activities using State Operating and IFR funds.

MISSION:

To purchase quality goods and services economically and efficiently and in compliance with SUNY and New York State procurement regulations.

PROCEDURE:

Each Farmingdale State College Department has personnel authorized to submit a purchase requisition electronically in the SUNY Finance and Management System. Only Department Heads are authorized to electronically a pprove the requisition. Once approved, the requisition is transmitted electronically to Purchasing where it is reviewed, approved, and then a Purchase Order is issued. Purchase Orders are normally mailed to vendors unless stated that they need to be faxed and a fax number is provided.

If the purchase is utilizing a State Contract, the contract number must be noted on the Purchase Requisition. If a vendor is a New York State Certified Minority or Woman Owned Business, it must also be noted on the Purchase Requisition. Please note this on the comment section of the requisition.

Instructions for online web procurement and the list of Sub Object Codes are available on the Intranet under Administrative documentation.

FARMINGDALE PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES: (for non-state contract and preferred source purchases)

Under $5,000-Farmingdale State College requires only one written price quote, which will be maintained at the department level

$5,001-$19,999-Farmingdale State College requires three written price quotes again to be maintained at the department level. Also, ads are placed in the Quarterly Contract Reporter Publication by the Purchasing Department.

$20,000-$124,999 – Fa rmingdale State College requires 3 written price quotes and an individual ad placed in the New York State Contract Reporter Publication. Contact the Purchasing Department for help with this.

$125,000-$249,999 – Farmingdale State College requires 5 sealed bids and an individual ad placed in the New York State Contract Reporter Publication. Contact the Purchasing Department for help with this.

No external state agency prior approval is needed for contracts and purchase orde rs up to $250,000 EXCEPT if any one condition exists: 1) bid protest; 2) low bid or best value not selected; 3) award not made in accordance with provisions of bid; 4) single or sole source procurement

Over $250,000 – Farmingdale State College requires 5 sealed bids, an individual ad placed in the Contract Reporter Publication and approval of both the New York State Attorney General and State Comptroller.

NON-COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT:

Sta te purchase requirements exceeding $2,500 without competitive bidding may be made under the situations listed below only after approval is granted by the appropriate campus designee.

  1. Sole source, single source and/or proprietary purchase.
  2. Emergency purchase (unanticipated purchase required to protect personal safety, life or property).
  3. Small Business, New York State Certified M/WBEs.
  4. Centralized State Contracts.

CHANGE ORDERS:

To change the order after it has been placed, the requisitioner should notify the vendor of the cancellation/change and submit an email to the Purchasing Department outlining the changes. An original Purchase Order Change Notice is sent to the vendor and a copy is sent to the requisitioner.

SELECTION OF VENDORS:

Farmingdale State College selects vendors as follows:

Vendors should complete the Vendor Responsibility, Contractor Certification, Tax Form W-9 and Lobbying L aw forms before any Purchase Order is generated. This only needs to be completed by the vendor on an annual basis for purchases over $15,000. Contact the Purchasing Department to see if a Vendor has completed these forms before requesting them from the Vendor.

If a new vendor is selected, vendor information (tax id, company name, address, city, state, zip) must be emailed to the Purchasing Department to enter into the system and a supplier registration form should be submitted to the vendor to ensure proper information is entered into the system.

OFFICE SUPPLIES ORDERING:

Most office supplies are ordered through Staples which is on State contract. Personnel needing office supplies must access the Staples website via www.stapleslink.com to obtain New York State Contract pricing. Each department should have personnel who have user id's and passwords to access this site. If not, please contact the Purchasing Department.

Orders can NOT be placed online by end requisitioners, only the Purchasing Department. This website is there for you to obtain pricing and then to input this pricing into a requisition.

FURNITURE PURCHASES:

Corcraft is the New York State preferred source vendor for furniture. They manufacture a variety of quality office furniture at r easonable prices.

Corcraft can be contacted at 800-436-6321. Their website is www.corcraft.org .

In the event that a Corcraft product will not meet your departmental needs, you may contact any of the vendors on New York State Contract by following this link: http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/purchase/spg/pdfdocs/2091501011ra30.pdf

SOLE SINGLE SOURCE PURCHASE

Where competition would otherwise be required, but is not feasible due to the sole source, single source or emergency nature of a commodity or service, the campus must be able to justify and document the selection of the vendor and establish the reasonableness of the price. In accordance with the State Finance Law, exceptions to the general requirement for competitive selection shall only be made under unusual circumstance. The campus must maintain in its Procurement Record written justification supporting the sole source, single source or emergency determination. An example of substantiating single source procurement (limited number of suppliers) might be written documentation detailing prior substantial experience of the contractor in provision of the products or services customized to the SUNY environment or a certain service that only one contractor provides in addition to the service or technology being procured. An examp le of substantiating sole source procurement (only one supplier) would be written documentation detailing the unique nature of the requirement, how it was determined only one vendor could meet the need, and how it was determined the cost is reasonable. Another method available to document the sole source status is to advertise in the New York State Contract Reporter and only receive one response.

EMERGENCY:

Is defined as “an urgent a nd unexpected requirement where health and public safety or the conservation of public resources is at risk.” A failure to properly and timely plan in advance for a procurement, which then results in a situation in which normal procurement practices cannot be followed will not constitute an “emergency.”

SMALL BUSINESS, NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED M/WBES, RECYCLED OR REMANUFACTURED PURCHASES:

Where commodities or services are available from Small Business or New York State certified M/WBEs; or where commodities or technology that is recycled or remanufactured is available, purchases may be made in amounts not exceeding $125,000 without competitive bidding. Advertising requirements under NYS Economic Development Law still apply.

CENTRALIZED STATE CONTRACTS:

A department may elect to purchase any commodities or services, regardless of amount, from an existing Office of General Services (OGS) centralized state contract following the procedures and requirements established by OGS, as appropriate for SUNY.

PURCHASE APPROVALS:

In addition to departmental authorized signatures, the following approvals must be obtained prior to the submission of a purchase request to the Purchasing Department:

  • Space Heaters/Air Conditioners/ Electric Fans approved by: Physical Plant Direc tor
  • Rehab or Repairs to Buildings and Facilities and Site Work Done by Outside Contractors approved by: Physical Plant Director
  • Security Systems approved by: Chief of Police
  • Technology Equipment Including Toner/Ink Cartridges approved by: IT Department

IT Approval makes the following HP printer recommendations for Staff and Faculty.

EXPEDITING OF PURCHASES:

If a purchase must be processed immediately, a completed requisition may be hand carried to the Purchasing Department where we will enter it on the spot and print a copy of the Purchase Order which then must be walked to the Controller's Office for signature. Once that signature is obtained, we can either call in or fax the order to the vendor.

The other alternative is for the Purchasing Department to use their Procurem ent Card so as long as the purchase is under $10,000. Please contact the Purchasing Department for further information.

VENDORS WHO DO NOT ACCEPT PURCHASE ORDERS:

If you come in contact with a vendor who does not accept purchase orders as a means of ordering an item then the Purchasing Department can purchase the item via our Procurement Card. The item must be for under $10,000. The proper procedure would be for a purchase requisition to be sent to the P urchasing Department with appropriate signatures and a description of the item(s) to be procured. Please note on the purchase requisition that it is to be ordered via credit card. Please contact the Purchasing Department for further clarification.

OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS/BLANKET PURCHASE ORDERS:

  • Open PO's are to be used in circumstances where items may be needed in an emergency basis and you can not wait for Purchasing to cut a PO . Open P Os should only be used to order smaller items.
  • Open PO's should NOT be used to order IT equipment or anything where items may be on state contract and would get a better price if you went through the Purchasing Department.
  • Individual items purchased via an Open PO cannot exceed $5,000 .
  • Open PO 's for services can be made out above $5000.
  • Any changes to Open PO's should be emailed to the Purchasing D epartment but should show that they were approved by the Dean/Department Head first or else we will not be able to process the change.
  • Once an Open PO reaches $0, a new Open PO must be created.
  • We can increase and decrease Open PO's at any time during the fiscal year.
  • In the detailed item description of the PO, it should be clearly stated that this is an Open PO or a Blanket PO for the current fiscal year and that it will be used for spare parts o r maintenance of a piece of equipment or something along those lines. If you have an account # with the particular vendor you are cutting an Open PO to then please include that in the detailed item box.
  • All invoices for Open PO's should state the PO # and should be sent to A/P on a timely basis.

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS (MSDS)

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are required by law to be provided at no charge by manufacturers or vendors of products containing hazardous materials. MSDSs include information on chemical composition, exposure limits, potential health effects, first aid procedures, personal protective equipment requirements, and spill/leak procedures.

Please indicate on the purchase requisition that "All procurements must be accompanied, where appropriate, by the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) that meet the requirement of the Hazard Communication Standard. No hazardous or toxic materials will be acce pted or used until the proper MSDSs have been received from the supplier (manufacturer, importer or distributor)."

STATEMENT OF REASONABLENESS OF PRICES:

Price justification can include, but is not limited to:

  • The vendor's published list price
  • Prior invoices from this vendor to other consumers
  • Invoices or cost sheets from prior state contracts
  • Comparisons to other vendor's prices for similar products/services
  • Comparison to similar purchases by other campuses
  • Historical cost or price comparison

RETURN PROCEDURES

In the event of an item(s) needing to be returned, please take the following steps:

  1. Call the company and explain the situation. Have them issue you a return merchandise authorization number (RMA#). If the company is at fault, then they will probably pay for shipping. Please have them clarify who is to pay for shipping. If they will, then they may send you a return tag or one may have been provided in the box when they shipped the products. Also find out if they will come to pick up the boxes or if we are to ship them.
  2. Email Purchasing with the following information:
  3. The original PO#
  4. The account #
  5. The original requisitioner
  6. The items being returned
  7. The reason for return
  8. The RMA #
  9. Who is paying for shipping
  10. If they are picking up the shipment or if we are to send it back
  11. The address the items are to be returned to
  12. Once you have emailed Purchasing, we will put together a return authorization   form and send a copy to your department, accounts payable and central receiving. Once you receive confirmation from purchasing that this has been done then you can contact central receiving to have them pick up the merchandise.