2.25 Purchasing Policy and Procedures
The Director of the Procurement Department shall ensure that all commodities and services that are procured by Ithaca College shall be obtained through competition from a sufficient number of qualified suppliers. The Director of the Procurement Department shall be responsible for obtaining the best value in quality of goods and service for institutional dollar spent. The lowest responsible supplier shall be selected for all purchases (see definition of "lowest responsible supplier" under Contract Awards).
Quotes, pricing, and orders may be accessed and processed via the Oracle Financial Cloud for commodities and services required by Ithaca College users. Suppliers in the Oracle Financial Cloud have been vetted, negotiated with, and may have contracts in place to offer the best available pricing to Ithaca College.
2.25.1 Professional Ethics Standards
All Ithaca College staff shall adhere to the codes of conduct of the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) and the Institute for Supply Management (I.S.M.) that govern the performance of its officers, employees or agents engaged in the awarding and administration of contracts using College funds.
2.25.2 Conflict of Interest
No employee, officer or agent shall participate in the selection, award or administration of a contract in which College funds are used, where, to the employee, officer or agent’s knowledge, the employee, officer or agent or the employee, officer or agent’s immediate family, partners, or organization in which the employee, officer or agent or the employee, officer or agent’s immediate family or partner has a financial interest, or with whom the employee, officer or agent is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective employment.
The recipients' officers, employees or agents shall neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors or anything of monetary value from contractors or potential contractors. Such standards shall provide for disciplinary actions to be applied for violations of such standards by the recipients' officers, employees, or agents.
2.25.3 Quoting
All exceptions to this Quoting procedure must be approved by the Director of the Procurement Department. The Director of the Procurement Department has the authority to exempt purchases from the competitive Quoting procedure if the purchases qualify because of unique specifications or uses.
The procedures for preparing and administering quotes shall be determined by the estimated amount of the purchase requisition, as dictated by the parameters of this Quoting procedure. Competitive pricing shall be solicited by the following methods for all purchases (tangible items, services, etc.) within the specified dollar amounts:
$0 - $10,000.00
No Bidding Required
$10,001.00 - $50,000.00
Informal Bidding - Documentation Required
2.25.3.1 Preparation of Invitation For Quotes
The following paragraphs set forth the procedures to be used for soliciting competition, and the required documentation.
2.25.3.1.1 Informal Bids (Telephone Quotes, Fax Quotes, Proposals)
All purchase order requests ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 should have a minimum of two written quotes from various suppliers to show evidence of competitive pricing, clarify specifications, payment terms, delivery time, and shipping cost unless the item can be sole-source justified briefly in writing to the procurement department. All purchase order requests ranging from $20,001 to $50,000 should have a minimum of 3 written quotes from various suppliers to show evidence of competitive pricing, clarify specifications, payment terms, delivery time, and shipping cost unless the item can be sole-source justified briefly in writing to the procurement department.
When a purchase requisition is estimated to be over $50,000.00, a formal bidding process is required. The Director of the Procurement Department or authorized designees will be responsible for preparing invitations for quotes and executing the quote solicitation process for formal bidding. Quote specifications are prepared by either the user department, if the commodity is of highly technical nature (i.e., architectural or engineering plans), or by the individual departments if the commodity or service is of a more general nature.
2.25.3.2 Suppliers to be Solicited
In order to ensure objective contract performance and eliminate unfair competitive advantage, contractors that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work, invitations for bids, and/or requests for proposal should be excluded from competing for such procurements unless the contractor's participation in such specification development is acknowledged in the quote solicitation and approved by the Procurement Department.
Positive efforts will be made to utilize small business and minority-owned business sources of supplies and services.
2.25.4 Contract Awards
Contract awards will be made to the most qualified supplier. The following paragraphs describe the criteria for determining the lowest responsible supplier, as well as other pertinent factors and circumstances that enter into the quote evaluation.
2.25.4.1 Definition of the Most Qualified Supplier
The lowest responsible quote provider is defined as the supplier who submits the lowest quote in accordance with the requirements set forth in the quote specifications, with consideration given to such factors as:
Reliability and integrity – does not have a record of contract default or malfeasance in attempting to secure a contract.
Financial ability – has a sound financial condition as evidenced by financial statements.
Service and delivery – capable of delivering the specified products, in the required quality and quantity, on time.
Insurability – ability to meet College Risk Management Office insurance requirements.
The lowest quote supplier is not always the lowest responsible bidder. Judgment must be exercised in evaluating the criteria to determine the lowest responsible bidder and, therefore, obtaining the best value for the College.
2.25.4.2 Exceptions to Quoting Process
Although competition should be required whenever practical, a degree of latitude should be permitted when competition may not be feasible for specific commodities, services, and circumstances. Single source items, compatible parts, and commodities and services required on an emergency basis are major categories of purchases which typically cannot be acquired through the normal competitive Quoting process.
2.25.4.2.1 Emergency Purchases
An emergency is defined as a critical situation which is an unanticipated and sudden occurrence which is life threatening, catastrophic in nature, or involves pressing necessity for immediate repairs, reconstruction, or maintenance to permit the safe continuation of a necessary use or function, or to protect the property or the life, health, or safety of any person.
The Director of the Procurement Department should be contacted to aid the department with any situation that meets these criteria.
2.25.4.2.2 State Contract Items
As a private institution, the College is eligible to purchase from New York State Contracts. Purchases from these contracts are exempt from requesting quotes at the discretion of the Director of the Procurement Department. Many times, Ithaca College can buy better than state contract pricing.
2.25.4.2.3 Procurement of Goods and Services with Federal Funds
In the event there is federal funding for a project or procurement transaction, this policy may be superseded by terms contained in section 2.26 Policies and Procedures for Procurement of Goods and Services with Federal Funds.
2.25.4.2.4 Controlling Contract Terms
There may be contracts in place that preclude purchasing from a different supplier but have been negotiated and purchased previously based on Ithaca College’s needs for a particular commodity.
Where competition may not be feasible due to the sole source nature of a commodity or a particular specification, a written justification is required. The format for written justification follows.
The sole source justification should be prepared by someone familiar enough with the requirements to provide the necessary information. This should be countersigned by someone in a supervisory position (i.e., department chair, dean, director) and forwarded to the Director of the Procurement Department.
2.25.4.2.5.1 Sole Source Purchase Justification
Adepartment may substantiate the need for "Sole Source" or "Proprietary" purchases by submitting a written justification, which much include the following:
1. PURCHASE DESCRIPTION:
- The description of the need for compatibility with an existing item, (in enough detail to demonstrate that compatibility is indeed necessary).
OR
- An explanation that a supplier holds a service contract and therefore must supply the parts to accomplish such a contract.
OR
- 3. A description of the feature or features which would make an item unique:
- A detailed explanation of how and why these "unique features" affect the function of the item
- An explanation of why these functions and/or features are necessary to the use intended by the College.
- Why an item without these functions and/or features could not be used.
- Use of statistics or dollar amounts if applicable.
- A justification incorporating the above information should also include:
- A definitive statement that no competition by manufacturers or dealers exists; with an explanation of how this information was arrived at;
- Any other data which the end-user feels would support "sole source" purchasing.
AND
2. PRICE JUSTIFICATION: a statement that would indicate why you consider the price to be reasonable. Reasonableness of price could be established by a price list, comparison of similar items, etc.
2.25.5 List OF SUPPLIERS
All suppliers who conduct business with Ithaca College must meet criteria as responsible and financially sound business organizations. To this end, campus departments may submit a request for a new supplier to be added to the supplier database to the Director of the Procurement Department for review and approval. All applications shall be reviewed in a fair and impartial manner.
A list of qualified suppliers shall be established in the Oracle Financial Cloud and systematically updated for all products that are procured by the College. The suppliers list shall be used as the basis of soliciting suppliers for all Quoting.
The suppliers list shall be reviewed periodically by the Director of the Procurement Department to determine its currency and that it is properly used.
Rejected applicants must be informed in writing of the reason(s) for rejection.
2.25.5.1 Organization of List of Suppliers
The suppliers list should be organized so that it provides an effective means of soliciting qualified suppliers. In order to ensure that the suppliers list is manageable and avoids wasteful solicitation, it should be arranged according to major commodity groups. As a general rule, the commodity groupings should extend to that classification level which produces a good return on quote solicitations. In other words, the commodity groupings should be sufficiently refined so that they bear a specific relationship to the items in the group.
2.25.5.2 Use of the Suppliers List
The suppliers list shall be used as the primary source for issuing invitations for quotes. When issuing invitations under the formal quoting process, the buyer shall reference the appropriate suppliers list and send quote requests to all suppliers listed. This same requirement also shall apply to the informal quoting process, except that, if the list is excessively long, the buyer may choose to solicit a smaller number of suppliers from the list.
2.25.5.3 Prequalification for Suppliers List
Suppliers who are interested in doing business with the College must complete a New Supplier Registration for inclusion in the suppliers list. The purpose of this registration is to obtain documents such as a W9 and supporting information such as the supplier Federal ID number, contact person, and address.
The Manager of the Accounts Payable Department will review all registrations.
In addition, prospective suppliers should be requested to provide brochures and any other descriptive materials that would be helpful in assessing the supplier’s capabilities.
Suppliers who are not accepted for inclusion on the suppliers list are informed, in writing by the Director of the Procurement Department, of the reasons for the rejection. Suppliers who are accepted onto the suppliers list are informed of the policies and procedures of the College.
2.25.5.4 Maintenance of Suppliers List
Prequalification is only one aspect of managing an effective suppliers list. Of equal importance are maintaining the currency of the list and ensuring that suppliers contained on the list continue to meet the original application standards.
2.25.5.4.1 Additions to the Suppliers List
The suppliers list is a key ingredient in the Quoting process. The type and extent of competition depends on the adequacy of the list.
There are several techniques that should be used to identify new suppliers. The Ithaca College Procurement webpage and its accompanying section entitled "Doing Business with Ithaca College" should be used as one means of informing the business community that Ithaca College encourages suppliers to qualify for the suppliers list. Buyers should refer any known companies who are not on the listto the Ithaca College Procurement webpage.
The suppliers list shall be reviewed periodically by the Director of the Procurement Department to ensure that qualified and acceptable suppliers are being added to the suppliers list.
2.25.5.4.2 Suspension from the Bidders' List
Under certain conditions, the suppliers may be suspended from the suppliers ' list. Events warranting suspension are as follows:
- Failure to deliver commodities according to the schedule indicated on the purchase order.
- Delivery of commodities that are not specified on the purchase order.
- Failure to respond to three consecutive invitations for quotes.
- Substitution of commodity ordered without prior approval.
- Failure to comply with the quoted price.
- Failure to continue to meet the initial prequalification criteria.
- Evidence of unsatisfactory performance, as determined by the Director of the Procurement Department.
Any supplier suspended from the suppliers list will not be reinstated unless the supplier submits evidence substantiating that the conditions which initiated the suspension from the suppliers list are no longer present, nor are they likely to occur in the future. Reinstatement to the suppliers list shall be approved by the Director of the Procurement Department.
2.25.5.4.3 Removal from the Suppliers List
Under certain conditions, the Director of the Procurement Department may remove suppliers from the suppliers list. Events warranting removal are as follows:
- Bankruptcy or insolvency of the supplier.
- Pending bankruptcy.
- Collusion with other suppliers to restrain competitive bidding.
- At the supplier's own request.
- Removal from the bidders' list for the above reasons is absolute, with no provision for reinstatement.
Suppliers who have been suspended or removed from the suppliers list will be notified in writing, by the Director of the Procurement Department, of the reasons for such action.
2.25.6 Monitoring Supplier Performance
An important aspect of maintaining a list of qualified suppliers is monitoring supplier performance. It is essential that user departments are satisfied with the quality and timeliness of services received from suppliers. The Director of the Procurement Department has the primary responsibility for tracking supplier performance and dealing with suppliers who fail to provide adequate service. To fulfill this responsibility, the Director of the Procurement Department must be informed of any problems user departments may encounter with suppliers. To accomplish this, user departments experiencing dissatisfaction with suppliers must report complaints to the Director of the Procurement Department indicating the specific details and reasons for dissatisfaction.
The Director of the Procurement Department is responsible for handling supplier complaints and will review the facts through discussions with the user department and the supplier. Based on this review, the Director of the Procurement Department will take appropriate action to ensure that the user department needs are adequately met.
Last Updated: September 1, 2022