Procurement
Procurement at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) is the process of sourcing, purchasing, and receiving goods and services for the university. UCR's procurement system includes the Procurement Card (PCard), Oracle Financials, and guidelines for compliance.
There are three types of procurement:
- Procurement commodity (examples include ordering supplies).
- Procurement service (examples include ordering a service such as catering).
- IT Procurement (examples include)
This page outlines the process for the first two: procurement commodity and procurement service, when Business Operations is used to assist with the transaction. For assistance with IT procurement requests, refer to this page.
Procurement Process
All purchase requests should be routed through Business Operations via Oracle or the ticket system. In addition, all purchases require a business purpose and the requestor must ensure that the expense has been approved, is in the budget, and is allowable against the available funding.
As a reminder, when submitting a purchase request, please attach quotes, approvals, and all applicable documents related to the order. Please ensure the supplier is an active supplier with UCR.
If the supplier is not listed, reference the “Adding a new supplier” workflow listed below.
If you are hiring an independent contractor, please see the independent contractor workflow on our Human Resources appointments page.
For additional questions about purchasing policies and processes, please contact Business Operations via the ticketing system.
Adding a New Supplier
- Requester - Determine if the supplier is US-based. If so, request W9 and Business information forms from supplier. If not, request a W8BEN form from supplier and send forms to Business Ops.
- Business Ops - enter info into eBuy, fax forms to Accounting.
- Business Ops - Upon receiving notification from accounting, proceed with purchasing process.
Unauthorized Purchases
Engaging in a procurement transaction without a purchase order will be considered an unauthorized purchase.
Unauthorized purchases are purchase transactions that are either entered into by an individual that is not authorized to contract on behalf of the university, or entered into by an individual normally authorized to contract, but who uses an unauthorized procurement method, or exceeds their delegated authority. That authority is limited to procurement organization buyers and contract administrators to assure compliance with federal and state law, university policy, and prudent business and financial practices.
All university purchases must be authorized in advance, via a written University of California Riverside purchase order, department authorized purchase order (DAPO), or university procurement card.
Purchases made by unauthorized individuals or via non-approved methods may not be honored for payment at the discretion of the materiel manager.