UCLA Campus Purchasing, the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) and other UC campuses enter into a variety of agreements that are intended to provide goods and services at the best overall value, and to protect the University by applying appropriate terms and conditions of purchase.
Bidding Process
The University solicits vendors, in writing, in a fair and open manner to competitively bid to offer goods and services. UCLA is required by state law and UC policy to open expenditures exceeding $50,000 to competitive bidding each year, with some exceptions. To provide opportunities to those who would like to do business with the University, many bids may draw responses from a large number of potential suppliers. Three bids from qualified suppliers are the typically the minimum requirement.
Agreements are generated through:
- Competitive bids for individual purchases.
- Competitive bids leveraging the purchase volume of a campus or the entire UC system.
- Price schedules, which are agreements not competitively bid but established to meet a need consistent with UC policy.
Purchase Orders
Many agreements between the University and its suppliers take the form of a purchase order (PO), which uses standard University terms and conditions or, for federally funded purchases, the terms and conditions of purchase required by the U.S. government.
The following rules apply to purchase orders:
- A purchase order must be in place in order to pay a vendor's invoice, or Accounts Payable will not be able to process the invoice.
- UC policy requires that a purchase order must be established prior to receipt of goods or delivery of services in order to confirm the scope of work or exchange of value, and record the obligation on the University's financial books.
The University is at risk without an agreement in place, which is most important in case something goes wrong. If there is a problem:
- Will the vendor hold the University harmless?
- Does the vendor carry insurance?
- Will California law govern any legal issues?
- Can we terminate the contract?
