Procurement Quarterly

Procurement Quarterly: FY22 Q4

How could it already be Spring? It’s a time of renewal – trees are turning green, flowers and azalea bushes are blooming, and Easter week is upon us. Wait… that also means Fiscal Year-End (FYE) isn’t far behind. Okay…let’s just go back to enjoying those spring flowers!

The gang in Procurement Services hopes this finds everyone in your office/department/family doing well, enjoying the nicer weather, and gearing up for that annual “renewal” we lovingly call FYE!

Fiscal Year-End (FYE) Processing

More information about FYE will be distributed in the coming weeks. For now, University Planning & Budget and Procurement Services wanted to call your attention to an issue that may affect your Department’s preparation for the same. Like most entities, the University is experiencing significant supply chain delays. Items experiencing significant delays in delivery and/or installation include, but are not limited to:

• Furniture
• Computer and audio visual (A/V) hardware/equipment
• Vehicles (including golf carts)

Procurement Impacts

Procurement Services advises that, while there are no guarantees, if you wish to use FY ’22 funds to acquire items in any of the above commodity lines, you might use the below as a guideline for planning purposes:

• Furniture orders typically require an eight (8) week lead time once all specifications are together and the order placed. That means that all measurements have been taken, fabrics and finishes selected, plans approved and order placed – not simply submitting a Requisition for which all of those details have yet to be determined. To have an outside chance of being received and installed before FYE processing deadlines, final orders must be placed at least eight (8) weeks prior to the FYE processing deadline.
• Depending on the item being ordered, computers and A/V hardware/equipment can require a twelve (12) week lead time. Fully specified orders must be placed at least twelve (12) weeks prior to the FYE processing deadline.
• Orders should only be placed for vehicles and/or golf carts if said vehicle/cart has been confirmed to currently be present on the dealership floor/lot. We have no reasonable expectation that a vehicle or cart not currently present on the dealership lot/floor will be delivered prior to FYE processing deadlines.

Budget Impacts

As in past fiscal years, Purchase Orders (PO’s) on E&G (Fund 110000) and Carry Forward (Fund 111000) funds placed but not received and paid by the FY ’22 FYE invoice processing deadline will roll into FY ’23 with their FY ’22 budget intact. The funds encumbered on those Purchase Orders can only be used to pay for those specific PO’s. The FY ’22 funds encumbered for those PO’s will be forfeited back to the general fund on October 1 if the items ordered have not been received and paid in full. Because a Purchase Order is a legally binding contract between the University and the Supplier, the Department placing the order is legally obligated to make payment for the item(s) ordered. Should the order not arrive and be paid for before October 1, the Department will have to make payment using departmental FY ’23 budget funds. Because campus has been made aware of the need for longer lead times well in advance of FYE, delays on delivery will not qualify as an extenuating circumstance to hold POs open past the stated FYE deadlines.

Purchase Orders placed on any Non-E&G funding source that are not received and paid by the FY ’22 FYE invoice processing deadline will roll into FY ’23 but without the associated FY ’22 budget attached to them. The Department still has a legal obligation to make payment for any orders placed and should pursue additional budget authority through the Auxiliary Budget Oversight process to pay for the order when received.

Please feel free to reach out to Planning & Budget at (904) 620-2502 or banner-budget@unf.edu for guidance on the use of funds and/or FYE processes. Contact Procurement Services at (904) 620-2730 or banner-purchase@unf.edu for guidance on the acquisition of goods and/or services.

• Friday, June 10 – Deadline to submit FY ’22 Requisitions (Req’s), iContracts & Change Orders
• Monday, June 20 – First day to submit FY ’23 Requisitions (Req’s) & iContracts

A reminder that suppliers must be registered through the Jaggaer Supplier Portal for a Purchase Order to be issued or contract/agreement to be signed. All supporting documentation must be present by the posted deadline for processing to be completed.

The procurement team has been working with Departments/Suppliers with whom existing contracts will soon expire. If your Department has a new need exceeding the $75,000 bid threshold that Procurement Services may not be aware of, please submit a Sourcing Event Request via the new Jaggaer portal.

Campus & Suppler Survey

We want to thank everyone who took the time to respond to our 2022 Campus Survey! We received 50 responses to the Campus Survey and 40 responses to the Supplier Survey. Your feedback will help shape our goals for the upcoming fiscal year. Three major takeaways were: (1) strong customer service scores, (2) a preference for web-based over in-person training, and (3) areas for improvement (site navigation, preferred suppliers, and communicating policy).

Jacksonville Supplier Diversity Exchange

In partnership with UNF Procurement Services, the Florida Department of Management Services Office of Supplier Diversity will host the Jacksonville Supplier Diversity Exchange on campus the morning of Thursday, May 12. The event provides training and networking for local small and diverse businesses. A link to registration is on the Procurement Homepage.

Jaggaer Features

In the past month, Procurement Services has rolled out three features within the Jaggaer system. Employees with access may now complete a New Supplier Request within the portal, view supplier/individual registration status, and submit Sourcing Event Requests. Users may login via MyWings > Employee Tools > Jaggaer (Supplier/Bid Portal) to access the Jaggaer platform. If you are unable to login, contact Amy Lehnhoff to be added to Jaggaer. A recording of the Supplier & Sourcing Requests session from March 23 is available on the Webinars page.

Scenes from MedNexus

Procurement Services Buyer Carolyn Carley-Richart was a catalyst to the launch of MedNexus through her involvement in the sourcing/delivery of furniture and equipment. The below images provide just a glimpse of several areas within the MedNexus facilities including the beautiful atrium and simulation suites.

Bids Awarded in Q3

John Burdine, Manager of Construction & Facilities Procurement, issued and awarded three trade bids this quarter to provide a contract option for ongoing maintenance projects/jobs across campus. Having these contracts in place means that the University won’t have to conduct a bid process for each individual job, which should lead to shorter project timelines. Bids awarded include:

• ITB 22-18 Flow Stations Update (Energy Control Technologies and Tom Barrow Co.) – Provide Flow Stations for various Air Handling Units (AHU), Makeup Air Units (MAU) and Energy Recovery Units (ERU).
• ITB 22-19 HVAC Services (Brooks Building Solutions, Chiller Medic, Comfort Systems USA Southeast, Johnson Controls, Mechanical Services of Central Florida, Nelson & Company, St Johns Air, ThermaServe, Trane U.S., Weather Engineers, and WW Gay Mechanical Contractor) – Qualified, state-licensed Certified Air Conditioning Contractor(s), or Certified Mechanical Contractor(s) to provide various HVAC services for all UNF properties, on an as-needed basis.
• ITB 22-20 Electrical Services (American Electrical Contracting, Brooks Building Solutions, and FA Systems/Techpoint) – Qualified, state-licensed Certified Electrical Contractors to provide various electrical services, and parts, and materials for UNF properties, on an as-needed basis.
• ITB 22-21 Plumbing Services (Campbell Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors Southeast, Turner Plumbing Co., and Watts Mechanical & Fabrication) – Qualified, state-licensed, Certified Plumbing Contractors to provide various plumbing services, and parts and materials for UNF properties, on an as needed basis.

For more information on HVAC, Electrical, and Plumbing Services, visit Maintenance Contracts.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to John Burdine in recently being elected to the North Florida Procurement Association (NFPA) Board of Directors. John joined UNF Procurement Services as Manager, Construction & Facilities Procurement in April 2021, after having served in a similar role at the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) for several years. We appreciate John, not only representing UNF with NFPA, but also taking a leadership role in it!

iContracts

Q: What is the status of my contract?
A: Owners should first check the notes in their iContract container, to see if any updates have been posted. Non-standard contracts may take some time to review. If a contract is needed by a specific date or it is a rush, please document this in the notes tab and also contact the Office of General Counsel by phone at (904) 620-2828 or email (generalcounsel@unf.edu). Owners are encouraged to become familiar with the contract terms of the agreement they are entering.

Reminders:

• General Counsel does not get notified automatically if there is an update to a contract container that is already in General Counsel Review stage. If you upload a new version of an agreement, please email General Counsel to inform them. General Counsel has noticed an uptick in additional documents being added without notice.
• The primary point of contact for revisions, questions, etc. related to an agreement will be the iContract owner – unless General Counsel is directed otherwise.

P-Card

• Leaving UNF or transferring departments: Employees should stop using their P-Cards two weeks prior to their leaving UNF, or transferring employment within UNF, when their new position does not require use of a PCard. This will ensure that all purchases have posted to SunTrust/Truist and uploaded into Concur for reporting/reconciliation. Now that the cardholder must submit their expense reports, those who are leaving UNF must have submitted their final expense report/reconciliation prior to their last day of employment.
• Credit limit: With upcoming travel, we want to remind the traveler to check their single transaction limit and monthly limit prior to their trip – to ensure it is enough to cover upcoming expenses. For a temporary increase, the cardholder should email the Card Services at cardservices@unf.edu and copy the Financial Manager for their approval. Please provide the dollar amount in the request for each temporary increase limit.
• International travel: All University P-Cards are authorized for international use. However, to ensure problem-free use while abroad, cardholders are encouraged to contact Card Services at least 48 hours prior to international travel – so that SunTrust/Truist may be notified. Please provide the traveler’s name, destination, and dates of travel when contactingCard Services.
• Training: The next P-Card Concur Classroom training is Tuesday, May 10. Please visit Osprey Ascend to register.

Upcoming Webinars

• Procurement Reports: Supplier & Spend Data | Mon, Apr 25 at 2pm via Zoom
• Supplier Series: Michaels Stores Mon, May 23 at 11am via Zoom

Q&A E-Box

Do you have any questions for Procurement Services that you would like addressed in the next issue? Submit them at http://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sW7Cdbu1Mn4DIx.

Procurement Quarterly: FY22 Q3

Warm Welcome!

We look forward to working with many of you who have recently switched roles or joined UNF! If there is someone in your organization who should be receiving this newsletter, please email Amy Lehnhoff.

For those new faces, Procurement Services offers four foundational courses throughout the year – available in Osprey Ascend (MyWings > Training & Development).

• Procurement 101
• iContracts
• P-Card Concur
• P-Card Policies & Procurements

We encourage employees making supplies and services purchases to review Osprey Acquire each New Year. Osprey Acquire is a list of preferred suppliers by category. For each supplier with which UNF has a centralized account – including Amazon, B&H, Dell, Fisher Scientific, Grainger, Home Depot, McKesson, and Staples - instructions on how to request user access are noted.

Campus Survey

Help Procurement Services serve you better this year by completing our 2022 Campus Survey! We want your feedback on the resources, training, and support we provide you and your department on a daily basis. Your response will help shape our processes and outreach goals for the upcoming fiscal year.

http://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_exv3VNj4Q9j6a0e

Commodity Assignments

Do you know who in Procurement Services to contact about scientific equipment, event services, and/or custodial supplies? If not, we’ve designed the Commodity Assignments page for you! The numerous equipment, supplies, and services needs across campus are assigned by buyer, in order to most quickly process requisitions and answer your questions.

Supplier Registration Update

Since the launch last January, the Supplier Registration Team has approved 1,400 suppliers. Another 1,200 have been invited but have yet to complete registration, so we appreciate any help reaching out to suppliers or being provided their contact information.

As a recent service enhancement, the Supplier Registration Team is now sending out an email when a UNF ID (N#) has been generated. If you have not received an email informing you that a supplier you requested is approved, please reach out to the supplier to see if they have completed registration prior to emailing the Supplier Help inbox.

In December, the Supplier Resources page was refreshed to add Bid Submission and Supplier Registration Guides. Please continue to use the New Supplier Request on the Campus Resources page to add or re-activate suppliers you intend to do business with - as this allows us to contact you directly when the supplier is active in Banner.

Bids Awarded in Q2

Improvements to facilities across campus are in the works. Projects awarded in October, November, and December include:

• RFQ 22-03 Roy Lassiter Hall 2nd Floor Remodel (Bhide & Hall Architects) - Architectural & Engineering services for the Roy Lassiter Hall, 2nd Floor remodel.
• ITB 22-05 Fine Arts Center, Bldg. 45 Roof Replacement (Old World Craftsmen) - Roof system and components replacement.
• RFQ 22-07 Construction Management Services: Herbert University Center, Bldg. 43 Kitchen Addition (Ajax Building Company) – Complete kitchen addition.
• RFQ 22-11 Coggin College of Business Phase II A&E Services (Harvard Jolly) - Design and construction oversight for new addition connecting Coggin College of Business Bldg. 42 and Bldg. 10. Design and renovation oversight of Bldg. 10 Floors 1 and 2.
• RFQ 22-13 Construction Management Services: Roy Lassiter Hall, Bldg. 8, 2nd Floor Remodel (Auld & White Constructors) - Construction Management Services to remodel UNF's Roy Lassiter Hall (Bldg. 8) 2nd Floor.
• ITB 22-15 Buildings 39 & 42 Restroom Upgrades (CC Borden Construction & Warden Construction) – Ten (10) restroom upgrades.

Quarterly Cost Savings

Procurement Services reports savings from procurement actions and preferred supplier contracts to the State University System (SUS) Board of Trustees (BOT) quarterly. The University’s savings figure for the first quarter (Jul-Sept), excluding payments made by Foundation, was $ 2,518,902. Savings totals from former fiscal years are listed on the Procurement Homepage.

Furniture

January is a great time to begin polling your department for fiscal year-end furniture needs. Instructions on how to initiate a furniture order are listed on the Furniture section of Osprey Acquire. Buyer Carolyn Carley-Richart and Senior Procurement Associate Stephanie Grant are our furniture experts and your go-to contacts for questions. Please place orders as early as possible, as furniture is a product category impacted by supply chain delays.

Deliveries in 2021

The Central Receiving team had a productive 2021. They delivered a total of 12,807 packages last year – that’s over 50 per business day. UPS deliveries made up the majority (52%) of packages, followed closely by FedEx (41%). In the last three months, their median delivery time was 48 minutes.

Snapshot of deliveries by month:

iContracts

An additional field has been added to the Contract Intake Form to assist General Counsel in reviewing contracts that may contain COVID related language. When reviewing the business terms of a contract and any supporting documentation, please note references to COVID, COVID requirements, vaccinations, releases or waivers, etc. which relate to COVID.

General Counsel will be attending next week’s Focus Group meeting to provide additional context on UNF’s compliance efforts within the contracting process regarding Florida Statues that reference COVID. If you would like Zoom details and/or to be added to the Focus Group distribution list, please contact Leanne Thomas.

P-Card

• P-Card Policies & Procedures Manual: A revised P-Card Policies & Procedures Manual was issued in November 2021. It is available on the P-Card webpage.
• Concur Expense Reports: The date established for the submission of Concur Expense Reports/P-Card Reconciliations has been added to the P-Card tile.
• P-Card Record Retention Policy: The length of time a financial transaction record should be kept on-hand (hint: 5 fiscal years) is now listed alongside other P-Card Frequently Asked Questions.

Plexiglas Cleaner

Procurement Services has a limited quantity of Plexiglas cleaner available for those Departments using Plexiglas dividers in their business operations. To request a bottle of cleaner for your Department’s use, please email the Banner Purchase inbox and include the following information:

• Department Name
• Physical Location (Building & Room No.)
• Contact Name & Email

Orders will be filled over the next few weeks on a first-come, first-served basis.

Note from a Recent A&F Staff Meeting

To assist with clearing/approving Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) documents more quickly, the Office of Planning and Budget has requested that Departments who submit transactions for which there is an insufficient budget balance to cover the transaction provide additional information regarding budget/fund status. That additional information might include, but is not limited to: identifying the specific transaction line that has gone NSF, your strategy for covering the insufficient funds status, forthcoming deposits, etc. Clearing NSF status is not automatic, but rather, each NSF is thoroughly reviewed before being approved by Budget personnel. Please note that NSF review can delay the issuance of purchase orders and payments.

Upcoming Webinars

Q&A E-Box

Do you have any questions for Procurement Services that you would like addressed in the next issue? Submit them at http://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sW7Cdbu1Mn4DIx.

Procurement Quarterly: FY22 Q2

Supply Chain Disruption

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues are expected to be a challenge for the foreseeable future. Material shortages, delivery delays, increased freight costs, and decreased labor forces are some factors that are expected to continue to create supply chain inconsistencies.

The following are some categories which have been impacted the most:

• Furniture
• Computers, Computer Chips & Monitors
• Imported Goods
• Vehicles
• Staffing Services

The best mitigation to the ongoing supply chain issues is to plan further ahead and place orders as far in advance of the need as is practical.

Annual Standard Agreements

The list of Annual Standard Agreements – for services ranging from photography to plumbing – has grown to over 80 suppliers and is posted to Osprey Acquire. Before setting up an iContract for a supplier coming to campus, please check this list. If the supplier is already listed, you may simply reach out to the supplier to obtain a quote and schedule service. Payment for suppliers on the Annual Standard Agreements list may be made by P-Card or Direct Pay. 

iContracts & Supplier Registration

A reminder that, as with the issuance of purchase orders and payments, agreements routed through iContracts cannot be executed (sent for signature) until the supplier has completed the online registration process. Procurement Services will reach out to the Owner of the iContract with updates on the status of a supplier’s registration as time permits and may ask for assistance in engaging the appropriate individuals to complete the registration. Contract Owners should check registration status in Banner (FTMVEND -> Address tab -> “JAGR” in Source field) before submitting a contract/agreement in iContracts. If the JAGR indicator is not present, the contract Owner should complete a New Supplier Request from the Campus Resources page.

Change Order Requests

When should I process a Change Order Request Form?

Situations that require a Change Order:

• Encumber Additional Funds: If the project is on-going and you need to encumber additional funds to keep the PO open.
• Vendor Needs Updated Copy: If there is a change in project scope and the vendor needs an updated copy of the PO.
• FOAP Change: If you need to change the FOAP the items are being charged to.

Situations that do not require a Change Order:

• Increased Final Invoice: If the final invoice is slightly higher than the PO, AP can process overages up to 10% or $100 dollars, whichever is less, without a the processing of a Change Order.
• Decreased Final Invoice: If the final invoice is lower than the PO, AP will pay the total on the invoice and then release the remaining funds. Please remind AP that the payment is a Final Payment.

Procurement Method

What is the difference between a “sole source” and an “exemption”?

A Sole Source purchase means that only one supplier (source), to the best of the requester's knowledge and belief, based upon thorough research, (i.e. conducting a market survey), is capable of delivering the required product or service. Similar types of goods and services may exist, but only one supplier, for reasons of expertise, and/or standardization, quality, compatibility with existing equipment, specifications, or availability, is of meeting a specific need. A Sole Source requires a formal public posting similar to the public posting of a bid solicitation.

Exemptions from the Competitive Bid Process are provisioned for in Procurement Regulation 13.0010R. Exemptions include a list of frequently purchased commodities/services that may be distinctive due to their creative, instructional, compliance, or other profession-based qualities. Good/services that are exempt from the competitive bid process do not require public posting.

Home Delivery

On July 1, 2021, the temporary provision that allowed for home delivery during COVID remote work was discontinued. The shipment of all items acquired for UNF consumption or use must be addressed to and delivered to a UNF campus address. Items cannot be delivered to a cardholder’s personal address.

New Workspaces

With the help of the Staples Design Team, buyer Carolyn Carley-Richart is shaping the look of spaces across campus! Take a look at these refreshed rooms.

P-Card & Faculty Lead Study Abroad

• Credit limit: With upcoming travel, we want to remind the traveler to check their single transaction limit and monthly limit prior to their trip – to ensure it is enough to cover upcoming expenses. For a temporary increase, the cardholder should email the Card Services and copy the Financial Manager for their approval. Please provide the dollar amount in the request for each temporary increase limit.
• International travel: All University P-Cards are authorized for International use. However, to ensure problem-free use while abroad, cardholders are encouraged to contact Card Services at least 48 hours prior to International travel – so that SunTrust Bank may be notified. Please provide the traveler’s name, destination, and dates of travel when contacting Card Services.

Recent Awards

Upcoming Webinars & Training

Q&A E-Box

Do you have any questions for Procurement Services that you would like addressed in the next issue? Submit them at http://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sW7Cdbu1Mn4DIx.

Procurement Quarterly: FY22 Q1

Dianna White

With a heavy heart and great sadness we share the news that our beloved Dianna White passed away on July 31st. Dianna devoted the last 13 ½ years of her professional career to UNF as a Senior Buyer in charge of capital projects, MRO and much of the University’s facility related acquisitions. She worked closely with Campus Planning and Physical Facilities to help make our campus the beautiful and safe learning environment that it is today. She left an indelible mark on both this campus and the many people she worked with, for which for which we will be forever grateful. More importantly, she devoted her personal life to her son, a well-rounded, successful rising senior at a sister State University. It is in him that her legacy will be the most profound and lasting.

Please keep Dianna’s son and her extended family in your thoughts during this time of immeasurable grief and sorrow.

Expenditure Matrix

The latest version of the Expenditure Matrix was released in June. A column indicating required approvals was added along with some revised notes. You may view and download a copy from the Campus Resources page.

Annual Standard Agreements

The Annual Standard Agreements list for FY22 has been posted to Osprey Acquire. UNF already has an agreement and insurance on file for the more than 60 suppliers on this list. The iContract ID is included for reference on orders/payments/PCard expense reports.

Supplier Registration

To date, 1,000 suppliers and individuals have registered within the UNF Supplier Portal. If you plan to do business or make payments to an entity not currently available or active in Banner, please complete a New Supplier Request by visiting the Campus Resources page. To determine if a Supplier has registered via the UNF Supplier Portal, go to: Banner Admin -> FTMVEND -> Address….then look at “Source” for the designation “JAGR”. Note that Inactive addresses will normally not display the JAGR designation. Therefore if the first address displayed is marked “Inactivate Address” (* in the example below), you should tab through all addresses on file using the numbered arrows on the lower left hand corner of the page to see if an ensuing address bears the JAGR designation.

Recent Awards

The UNF Bid Portal launched in February 2021. Since the rollout, eight bid processes have been conducted through the portal and awarded. Of these, two multi-department, term contracts have been signed: Event Production Services (awarded to AVL Productions, Sight & Sound Productions and SportsMEDIA Technology) and Elevator Maintenance (awarded to Elcon Enterprises). Contract details are available within Osprey Acquire Events & Production and Maintenance Contracts pages, respectively.

Signature Authority

As a reminder only those University officials designated by The Board of Trustees of the University of North Florida are authorized to sign legally binding contracts on behalf of the University. To review the list of individuals with signature authority please see the General Counsel’s webpage for Delegations of Authority.

Procurement Services Reports

Procurement Services has been working with Enterprise Systems to build out its Reports page (within reports.unf.edu). Early next year, we hope to roll out a set of reports (and related training) that all campus employees will have access to. Reports include those for Requisitions, Purchase Orders, Invoices, and Supplier Information.

Entering Requisitions

When entering Requisitions, please tab through the Commodity Code field – leaving it blank. A guide titled ‘Creating a Requisition’ is available on the Procurement Training page. Item 9 on Page 6 highlights this step.

Home Delivery

Effective July 1, 2021, the temporary provision that allowed for home delivery during COVID remote work is discontinued. The shipment of all items acquired for UNF consumption or use must be addressed to and delivered to a UNF campus address.

PPE Supplies & Plexiglass

At this time, the University does not plan on purchasing PPE supplies for campus in bulk. However, if individual departments or colleges have available funding and would like to purchase PPE supplies, they may. Please refer campus to our PPE Equipment & Supplies page on Osprey Acquire for approved suppliers and remember to use Account Code 740033 for reporting purposes.

P-Card Reminders 

• Gift Cards are only allowable in some situations and require prior approval from the Controller.
• Opportunities to get scammed when using credit cards seem to be multiplying. Don’t allow yourself to get scammed when using your UNF PCard! Confirm that e-mail instructing you to make purchases have been sent to you from a valid UNF employee/e-mail address and that the company from which an acquisition being made is legitimate.
• Employees should stop using their PCards two weeks prior to their leaving UNF, or transferring employment within UNF, when their new position does not require use of a PCard. This will ensure that all purchases have posted to SunTrust and uploaded into Concur for reporting/reconciliation. Now that the cardholder must submit their expense reports, those who are leaving UNF must have submitted their final expense report/reconciliation prior to their last day of employment.
• Ricoh Copiers – Ink cartridges are included in our lease contract. There is no need to purchase cartridges for the leased copiers from other suppliers.

Upcoming Webinars & Training 

• Procurement 101 | Tues, Aug 10 at 10am via Zoom
• P-Card Concur Training | Wed, Aug 18 at 1:30pm
• Supplier Series: ECHO Transportation | Wed, Aug 18 at 10am
• iContracts | Tues, Sept 21 at 10am via Zoom
• Procurement Services: Anatomy of a Purchase Order | Tues, Sept 28 at 10am

To view former recordings, visit Webinars.

Q&A E-Box

1. What is the number of days in which a PCard should be reimbursed for Foundation Accounting? Ten days from the approval of the Expense Report it was expensed on.
2. Does Foundation Accounting need the backup from iContracts when submitting for reimbursement? A copy of the iContract is required to be submitted with the Foundation Check Requisition.

Do you have any questions for Procurement Services that you would like addressed in the next issue? Submit them at http://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sW7Cdbu1Mn4DIx. 

Procurement Quarterly: FY21 Q4

If I had to sum up my thoughts about this past 14 months in one word it would be Gratitude. Selfish gratitude that my family, friends, UNF co-workers and professional colleagues have made it this far in the pandemic in relatively good shape. Gratitude that we had forward thinking people in UNF's IT department that already had our campus well positioned with Zoom technology so that we could continue to operate the University through the pandemic remotely as well, or even better than, as we do when on campus. Gratitude that employees like Mike, Kevin and Anthony in Central Receiving and many other employees on campus embraced their role as "essential" to continue operations and kept certain aspects of the University running on-site/on-campus while the rest of us ran other aspects of it from home. And finally, gratitude that great medical and scientific minds were able to quickly develop Covid tests and vaccines - thus giving us a chance to move past the pandemic and perhaps return to normal.

So now it's almost time to "move on"...whatever that means to each of us. My hope is that it means returning to a normal work day surrounded by co-workers all working towards a set of shared goals and then going home at nights/weekends to spend time with family and friends...you know, the old fashioned way....together! One sign of normalcy is the time honored ritual of Fiscal Year-End...what could be more "normal" than that right?! Like it or not, it will be upon us before you know it, so information about FYE is included in this newsletter.

As you return to your "normal", here's to an uneventful FYE, an easy transition back to full on-campus life and most especially to continued good health!.

Take care and stay well!

Shawn Corrigan Asmuth

Welcome, John!

We are thrilled to introduce you to John Burdine, Procurement Services new Manager, Construction & Facilities Procurement. John comes to UNF from Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), where he handled contracts, procurement and inventory. His experience prior to JTA included materials management and other aspects of business management. We're excited to have John's knowledge and experience on board and look forward to his sage and professional leadership in UNF's construction and facilities procurement-related matters. Please join us in welcoming John to the Nest!

Congratulations!

In addition to all they do for UNF, UNF's Eric Dickey and Amy Lehnhoff were recently recognized for their service to the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP). NAEP is the professional association for higher education procurement.

NAEP announced that Eric was named a 2021 Volunteer of the Year Award winner. That award recognizes the voluntary achievements of a member who has contributed time and resources to benefit the overall goals of the Association.

Amy has been named a 2021 Young Professional in Procurement Award winner. That award recognizes the efforts and contributions to procurement from an outstanding young professional who has fewer than 10 years of experience in the profession or is under 40 years old.

Eric and Amy have made substantial contributions to both the Florida NAEP Region and the National Association. Their work, in addition to Shawn Corrigan Asmuth's service as Treasurer of the National NAEP Board, have brought both national and regional/state-wide visibility and recognition to UNF.

Congrats Eric and Amy!

Preferred Suppliers

Want to identify a Preferred Supplier for an upcoming need? Many of the contracts available for campus-wide use are listed within Osprey Acquire. Suppliers with active agreements as of May 2021 are listed below.

• Advertising & Promotional – Staples, Greg Allens
• Apparel & Fitness – Baker’s Sporting Goods, Core Health & Fitness, UniFirst
• Computing & Technology – Dell, Apple, B&H, CDW-G
• Events & Production – Sight & Sound Productions, Swank Motion Pictures
• Food & Catering – UNF Dining Services, Mayes Food Service, Canteen, Pepsi
• Furniture – Staples
• Maintenance Contracts – BrightView, St. Johns Turf Care, Advanced Disposal, Florida Pest Control, Georgia Air & Refrigeration Services, CJ’s Power Systems, Arsenault Certified Pool Consultants
• MRO Projects – Interface, Krystal Klean, L&S Lighting & Electrical, Mannington, Mohawk, Shaw Floors, Sherwin Williams, Sunbelt Rentals, Tarkett, United Rentals
• MRO Supplies – Fastenal, Ferguson, Grainger, Graybar, Home Depot Pro, Johnstone Supply, Lowe’s
• Medical – McKesson, Medline
• Campus Moving & Relocation – Ocean Movers, Suddath
• Photography – Bob Mack, Dede Smith, Laura Evans, Nancy Flynn
• PPE – Home Depot Pro, Staples, UniFirst
• Safety Products & Services – Safeware, Shred-it
• Scientific – VWR, Fisher Scientific, Airgas, Beckman Coulter, Bio-Rad, Carolina Biological
• Shipping & Freight – UPS
• Supplies & Print – Staples, Amazon Business, Blick Art Materials, Ricoh, Wells & Drew, Holmes Custom
• Transportation – AVIS, Echo Transportation
• Vehicles & Carts – Club Car, Cushman

Upcoming Webinars

• Fiscal Year End Q&A | Tues, May 18 at 10am
• Procurement Refresher & FYE | Tues, May 25 at 11am
• Fiscal Year End Q&A | Wed, Jun 2 at 4pm

Procurement Refresher & FYE: Ready to refresh your knowledge of Procurement? If so, you should attend the Procurement 101 & FYE webinar on May 25, 2021 at 11AM. In one hour we will take glimpse into Procurement at UNF. From a short refresher on current rules and regulations to a journey through year-end information. We will also provide insight into the changes that will take effect in the new fiscal year. From Expenditure Matrix to Service Agreements, we plan on providing you will all the details in store for the new year. Reserve your spot today!

Fiscal Year End

In addition to the FYE Webinars noted above, a few Fiscal Year-End (FYE) notes for your reference:

• Please keep an eye on Incomplete Documents and close those as they occur. Remember that if there any dollars associated with Incomplete Documents, they may be tying up budget balance available funds. To have a clear picture regarding how much budget you truly have left available, you need to get the Incomplete Documents closed/cleared.
• Take time now to review any open Purchase Orders (PO's) you have on file and submit Purchase Change Orders to close any you no longer need. Open PO's have encumbered funds tied to them that reduce your budget balance available.
• Note that all PCard charges incurred through June 30 must be reconciled (with associated documentation) and approved through Concur by July 2 to hit your FY '21 budget.

Bid Portal

As mentioned in our last newsletter, Procurement Services continues to put technology to work as we seek ways to improve process efficiencies and effectiveness! Following close on the heels of implementing our new UNF Supplier Portal, February saw the successful launch of our new UNF Bid Portal another Jaggaer/SciQuest product which is integrated with the Supplier Portal.

Suppliers can access the Bid Portal through the Supplier Resources tab on the Procurement Services website, and once there, can monitor bids that are open, closed and/or awarded. Perhaps best of all, Suppliers will no longer have to incur the cost of preparing and submitting huge paper bid packets as all bids are now submitted electronically. Campus users involved in bid processes also benefit by being able to access bid documents electronically during the evaluation process.

With all bid related meetings now being conducted virtually, the UNF bid process has become more accessible to a wider pool of Suppliers and the cost for them to participate has been virtually (no pun intended) eliminated!

New Supplier Requests

Q: Should departments complete a New Supplier Request or direct suppliers to the Supplier Portal?

A: If the department plans to do business with the supplier, they should complete a New Supplier Request. This will kick off the registration the process that will conclude with generation of a Banner N#. If the supplier reaches out with an interest in doing business with UNF, but there is no concrete need at the time, they may visit the Supplier Portal to register. This may not necessarily result in generation of a N# at that time.

Furniture

Staples has updated their internal regulations to allow orders to be charged at the time the order is placed – rather than when it ships. Therefore, you should expect to see a charge on your PCard soon after placing a furniture order.

Dell Orders

Due to a shortage in chipsets and screens, most Dell orders now have a 6 to 8-week lead time. Therefore it is unlikely that orders placed now by PCard will be shipped and billed in time for the associated PCard charge to hit FY ’21 budgets. While Requisitions/PO’s are not budget management tools, if a specific funding source requires the expenditure of funds specifically for Dell products in FY ’21 and Dell indicates that those products will be shipped and billed by August 31, a Requisition can be entered for that acquisition through the year-end deadline of Friday, June 11.

iContracts

iContracts released a new ‘Terms’ feature that gives the contract container a new look. As shared by Gaea Holt in an April 11 E-mail entitled “iContracts/New Look of the Contract Container (Please Review)”, the feature assists users in the review of the effective dates of an agreement and the written action the University may need to pursue to enact renewal or extension options. See the iContracts webpage for more information.

PCard Reconciliation

• PCard charges must be reconciled on a timely basis but in no case submitted and approved through Concur at least once a month by the 7th of the following month. We reserve the right to terminate card usage for any Cardholder who fails to submit their reconciliation and associated documentation by the 7th of the month. Departmental Admins are expected to monitor submission of recons within their Department and ensure that all are submitted on a timely basis.
• Please note that budget balances aren't impacted until PCard charges have been reconciled and approved through Concur and fed to Banner. Therefore any outstanding PCard charges should be cleared up now so that you have an accurate assessment of your budget balance available. A list of outstanding charges is provided periodically to divisional budget managers but should you need additional information, contact PCardadministrator@unf.edu.
• A reminder that while Delegates (Departmental Admins) may prepare reconciliations for Cardholders, the Cardholder themselves must actually submit the report through Concur. For more information please refer to Leanne Thomas’ April 14 e-mail notice entitled “Delegate Changes in Concur-VERY IMPORTANT- Please Read”.
• Don’t forget to notify the PCard Administrator (PCardadministrator@unf.edu) if you change Departments. Your PCard will automatically move with you to your new Department but the SunTrust system has to be manually updated to reflect your new location.

Q&A E-Box

Do you have any questions for Procurement Services that you would like addressed in the next issue? Submit them at http://unf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sW7Cdbu1Mn4DIx.

Procurement Quarterly: FY21 Q3

Happy New Year! We hope this newsletter finds you happy and healthy after the holidays and that your semester is going well.

2021 is off to a fast start for Procurement Services…lots of change and excitement about service improvements/enhancements being rolled out to campus/vendors but some sadness too. Read on for more info on all.

As always, we thank you for all that you do for your Department and UNF as a whole. Take care and stay healthy!

Shawn

Shawn Corrigan Asmuth, Director

Congrats, Dianna!

After 13 ½ years of service to UNF, Dianna White, UNF's Senior Buyer in charge of capital projects, MRO and much of the University's facility-related acquisitions, retired effective January 8, 2021. Her efforts are visible throughout UNF's campus as she leaves behind a legacy of beautiful buildings, forward thinking furnishings and campus friendly walkways/roadways. A quiet champion for the end user, she approached every University project/acquisition with an eye towards acquiring products that maximized departmental financial resources while lasting for generations to come. She worked herself to the bone trying to make UNF a better place for its students and employees…and it shows. Her dedication, knowledge, experience, humor, wisdom, caring nature, loyalty, and work ethic made her truly unique and will be sorely missed. On behalf of the University, Procurement Services would like to thank Dianna for her service to UNF and wish her well in her retirement!

New Systems

We're thrilled to announce implementation of the UNF Supplier Portal. The system, a Jaggaer/SciQuest product, offers vendors an online portal for the electronic registration of new vendors/suppliers and the updating of vendor records for existing vendors/suppliers as needed. Say "goodbye" to chasing down vendor paper applications and W-9s, as these will now be completed online by the vendor/supplier. This will free up UNF Administrators' time so they can focus on more important work!

New vendors should be directed to the UNF Supplier Portal on UNF's Supplier Resources webpage to register. Most existing vendors will not have to re-register but may be asked to go to the Supplier Portal to update their vendor record.

Wait…could there be more? Coming soon….information about implementation of UNF's new electronic bid system!

Change Orders

When submitting Purchase Order Change Orders please be specific as to the actual change needed and the reason for the change. For example:

• Add two days to substantial completion date (at $xxx increased cost) due to rain delays caused by Hurricane Wilma.
• Add $500 in delivery costs as negotiated with Department Head; originally quoted delivery costs did not include having to carry products up 3 flights of stairs.

iContracts

Just a gentle reminder that document/contract signature authority is limited by University Regulation and Policy such that only certain people have the authority to sign financial agreements on behalf of UNF. As a general rule, all UNF Standard Agreements (as reflected on the General Counsel's web page) are signed in Procurement Services by either Shawn or Eric and all Non-Standard Agreements (those provided by vendors) are signed by Scott Bennett or one of his designees (Vince Smyth or John Hale).

https://www.unf.edu/general-counsel/delegations-of-authority.html

At this time, no one else on campus has the authority to bind the University to terms and conditions and/or financial obligations. Signing documents/agreements without the express written permission to do so may make the University employee personally liable for any financial or legal obligations arising from those documents/agreements.

Furniture

The UNF/Staples SAMPLE office chairs have arrived! To try out models before purchase, please email Stephanie Grant at s.grant@unf.edu. Appointments available on Wednesdays from 2-4pm. For your convenience, every chair on the list may be ordered directly on StaplesAdvantage.com and paid via P-Card without Procurement Svcs involvement. Please visit https://www.unf.edu/procurement/chairs.html to view chairs and be directed to the applicable SKU.

PPE

As indicated last Fall, COVID related PPE supplies and equipment needs are now being acquired by Departments on an as needed basis. Information about the sources that UNF has identified for those products can be located on the Osprey Acquire webpage.

Journal entries to charge expenses associated with PPE supplies distributed from central inventory back to Departments were processed in December using FOAP information provided at the time the order was placed. The offsetting (credit) FOAP will be 210606-200100-740033 and the entry description indicates that the charge is to "allocate cost of PPE to Dept".

P-Card

Foreign Currency Charges: When purchasing outside of the United States, you may see a Foreign Currency charge on your SunTrust/Truist bank statement. The Foreign Currency charge is a bank fee for currency conversion and is usually .01 percent of the original charge. Since the bank will not provide a receipt, UNF's process is to use the same receipt for both charges, just upload it twice into Concur once for each transaction using the same code as the original item. The P-Card Auditor team is familiar with this fee and process.

P-Card Monthly/Single Limits: Your P-Card has monthly and single limits. The monthly limit is clear; however, single limits are often confused with daily limits. Your P-Card's single limit is a per transaction limit, there is no daily limit. For example, if your single limit is $1,500, you can spend up to that amount per transaction as many times as needed in a day keeping in mind not to exceed your monthly limit.

SunTrust Forgotten Password: Reset Process has been updated. When a user selects the "Forgotten your password?" link in the login screen, the user will receive an email containing the password reset link which is time sensitive and expires within one hour of the email being sent. Each password reset link is unique per reset request.

Home Delivery

Home delivery of items is allowed on an as-needed basis, if required by the department, during COVID-19. This includes orders from Staples, Dell, CDW-G, etc. Please ensure computer items have been approved by your C-Tech.

Q&A E-Box

Do you have any questions for Procurement Services that you would like addressed for 4Q? Submit them via survey.

Procurement Quarterly: FY21 Q1

Greetings and welcome to Fall! When I think of the past six months, I'm reminded of both the song lyric which went something like "I've seen fire and I've seen rain" and the old commercial jingle that said, "takes a licking and keeps on ticking." Hopefully you haven't seen fire, but we've seen COVID and a hurricane…and we're still ticking, aren't we?! We sincerely hope that you and your family remain safe and healthy.

Procurement 1Q&A is our first attempt to provide additional information in a newsletter type format to campus departmental Financial Liaisons/Leaders. We'll issue it when there's information to share. It probably won't be monthly, might be quarterly - and you're invited to give us ideas for future newsletter content via the survey link below.

Thank you for all you've done during the COVID remote work and campus re-opening periods. We know that it hasn't been easy and we want you to know how much we appreciate your patience and diligence as we navigated these difficult times together.

Take care and stay well!

Shawn Corrigan Asmuth

Requisitions & Purchase Orders

Early next month, you'll notice a few small changes in the entry of Requisitions in Banner:

• No longer enter a Commodity Code
• Can assign a single Accounting Sequence to the entire list of items, if only one is needed

An updated Creating a Requisition will soon be available on the Training page. Also, a 30-minute session to demo the functionality change will be held on Monday, October 5 at 11am via Zoom (Meeting No. 951 9680 2893).

P-Card

With the elimination of Attractive Items and related changes to PCard thresholds back in March/April, if you're finding that you're having to routinely request per transaction and/or monthly limits increases, please request a permanent increase in both that will accommodate the $5,000 per transaction limits. While cardholder limits shouldn't be any higher than necessary for the cardholder to reasonably conduct their University business, repeated limit increase/decreases are also not advisable. To request permanent limit increases, use the Procurement Card (Request Name and Credit Limit Change) form available at Banner Online Form within MyWings.

Additionally, multiple Dell orders have recently been declined due to incorrect Expiration Date. Please double-check this field before completing the transaction.

iContracts

General Counsel's Office has asked that Departments remind vendors/contractors who are preparing contracts/agreements for UNF signature that the correct legal name of the University is "University of North Florida Board of Trustees”. If the vendor has not used UNF's correct legal name on contract/agreements, please remove the incorrect name prior to loading the contract/agreement to iContracts. In addition, GC's office has asked that the spaces for the Name, Title, and Date (of signature) where UNF is to sign contract/agreements be left blank.

To cancel agreements that are in 'Owner Review' that have not been and will not be executed, please email Banner-purchase@unf.edu with the Contract ID number and request cancellation.

PPE

A brief update on COVID related personal protective equipment (PPE):

• Phys Fac will no longer stock PPE supplies/equipment for distribution to Campus. Much thanks to Jeff Ross and his staff for assisting Procurement Svcs as we readied Campus Depts for the Fall Semester re-opening!
• Departments may order their own PPE supplies/equipment as appropriate. A list of vendors who can provide PPE resources has been placed on the PPE section of Osprey Acquire.
• To assist with COVID related expense tracking, please continue to use Account Code 740033 for PPE supply/equipment purchases.

Q&A E-Box

Do you have any questions for Procurement Services that you would like addressed for 2Q? Submit them via survey.