Explains the various functions performed by Purchasing Services and general policies concerning the purchase of all materials, supplies, equipment, and services.
Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs
Revised May 2022; Revised January 1, 2008; Revised July 1, 2006; Revised December 3, 1998; Revised May 28, 1998; Effective January 12, 1998 supersedes former Administration Policy No. PUR1.00, “Function of Purchasing Services and General Purchasing Policies”
Office of State Purchasing; UNC General Administration; North Carolina General Statutes
Purchasing Services
Policy Statement and Purpose
Purchasing Services has the sole authority to issue purchase orders for procuring goods or services on behalf of the University. Requests for purchases must be submitted through the University’s designated e- procurement platform (uShop) and will automatically be routed for required approvals. Purchases are to be made through the University e-procurement platform with the issuance of a Purchase Order or through the use of the University PCard.
The North Carolina Division of Purchase & Contract (“P&C”) and the University of North Carolina System Office have delegated to UNCW Purchasing Services the authority to make all purchase contracts on behalf of UNCW. Purchasing Services is responsible for the efficient and cost-effective procurement of goods and services, adhering to applicable State statutes, the North Carolina Administrative Code and related rules, regulations and procedures.
Scope
This policy applies to all University employees who have the need to requisition goods or services for the University.
All public funds irrespective of source, whether special, federal, local, grants, gifts, bequests, receipts, fees or State appropriated, used for the purchase of goods or services shall be processed under the procurement rules established by the North Carolina Division of Purchase and Contract.
Roles and Responsibilities
Purchasing Services has the sole authority to issue purchase orders for procuring goods or services on behalf of the University. Purchasing Services will review all requests to ensure compliance with all procurement rules established by the North Carolina Department of Administration Division of Purchase and Contract (“P&C”) and applicable law. All contracts for the purchase of goods and services must also be reviewed and negotiated by Purchasing Services to ensure compliance with North Carolina contracting law.
Once a contract has been awarded and/or a purchase order issued it is the responsibility of the department to know the details of the procurement, to monitor performance of the vendor and verify the goods or services comply with the terms of the contract. Performance concerns of the vendor should be brought to Purchasing Services for review and any corrective action required of the vendor. In addition, it is incumbent upon the department to process receiving on time, neither too early or late, and to forward invoices to Accounts Payable.
Ethics
The foundation of government procurement is fair and open competition. All procurement must be made in a manner consistent with University, North Carolina and Federal ethical standards and policies. Procurement is not permitted where an apparent or actual conflict of interest exists (including conflict due to related parties, employee interest or benefit). Personal purchases, gifts and favors, cronyism nor bias are also not permitted, subject to applicable policies such as 05.159 Purchase of Gifts for Employees and 05.158 Purchase of Personal Items for Employees for Official Business Purposes. For details including repercussions of non-ethical practices visit UNCW Ethics Policy 02.310 or the UNCW Guide to Procurement for more information.
Non-Compliance
In the event goods or services are obtained through non-compliance and payments need to be processed, the individual authorizing the purchase must write an audit memo, addressed to the Director of Purchasing Services, explaining (1) why statute, code or University policy was not followed and (2) the steps that are being taken to prevent reoccurrence. Failure to comply with this Policy carries risk that payment will be denied by the University, in which case the vendor may attempt to hold the individual authorizing the work responsible for payment.
Procedure
State Term Contracts
The State solicits competition and enters into term contracts with vendors to acquire favorable pricing for goods and services that are repetitively used by North Carolina agencies. This system is designed to make goods available at a competitive price for all State users; State Term Contracts should be the first choice for University purchases. Some contracts are mandatory and must be used, others are for convenience. In circumstances where substantially similar items are available for a lower, delivered cost, purchases from non-contract vendors may be made under the established procurement guidelines. Those guidelines are available from departmental Purchasing Agents and a listing of all State contracts is available on the P&C Term Contracts web page.
Purchases from University Service Providers
Goods or services provided by University Service Providers should be purchased directly from the associated provider using their prescribed process. University Service Providers include, but are not limited to, University Dining Services, Printing Services, UNCW Bookstore and Seahawk Mail Services. Food and catered events on campus must be acquired in compliance with Auxiliary Services dining program. Printing equipment (printing, copying and multifunction equipment) and services should be acquired in compliance with Printing and Mail services programs.
Small Dollar Purchases ($25,000 or less)
Purchases that total $25,000 or less may generally be made without seeking formal competition. All users are encouraged to use the uShop electronic catalogs for best prices with fastest delivery. Mandatory State contract items must be purchased from the awarded State Contract supplier. Purchases that exceed $25,000 may not be split into multiple, smaller purchases to avoid the competitive bidding process. Purchasing Services may direct purchases to other sources if a State contract or a better overall value is available.
Federal Uniform Guidance policies require competition for all purchases over $10,000 and provide that the most stringent requirements in place at a jurisdiction or agency are to be applied. Since the threshold for competition in North Carolina is at $25,000, purchases over $10,000 that are funded by a federal grant will be subject to competition.
Informal Solicitation Purchases ($25,000.01 to $500,000)
Purchases that total between $25,000.01 and $500,000.00 are subject to the informal competition requirements of the State. For such purchases, a solicitation document shall be issued, and multiple quotes must be sought, and the purchase will be made from the vendor offering the lowest price meeting specifications for the requested items. A purchase that would exceed $25,000 may not be split into multiple, smaller purchases to avoid the competitive bidding process.
Formal Solicitation Purchases (Above $500,000)
Purchases that total more than $500,000 are subject to the formal competition requirements and require Purchasing Services to issue a written Invitation for Bid (IFB) or Request for Proposals (RFP). IFBs and RFPs are generated using the State-provided templates and include the specifications/scope of work provided to Purchasing Services by the requesting unit. The entire process will be coordinated by Purchasing Services in a fair, open and transparent manner that is in accordance with State procurement rules. Prior to issuing the formal solicitation, the document must have prior review and approval of the Division of Purchase and Contract, and the Division of Purchase and Contract must review and approve the recommendation for award.
Purchases Exceeding Delegated Authority
Purchases that total above $500,000 exceed the University’s assigned delegated authority. Such purchases must be submitted to the North Carolina Division of Purchase & Contract (P&C) for review and approval before the solicitation process can be performed and a contract can be finalized, and the order placed. The Purchasing Office will coordinate applicable solicitation processes and prepare documentation in the same manner as other procurements before sending all information to P&C for review. Once State approval is secured, the University will be allowed to proceed with the purchase.
Information Technology Purchases
The University e-procurement system (uShop) shall be used for the procurement of all technology and software related purchases. All IT-related purchases must have approval through the uShop requisition process prior to any purchases. This includes but is not limited to hardware, software, apps, subscriptions, and access to databases. There are two approved methods of purchase for IT-related items, uShop requisition/purchase order or the UNCW Pcard. In either case, prior approval of Purchasing and ITS is required.
UShop allows for the required ITS and Purchasing reviews for data security purposes, system integration or compliance, and to establish adequate terms and conditions with the vendor. If the University cannot agree to the vendor’s terms and/or from NC purchasing perspective, the requisition will not be approved.
P-Card Purchases
The University has a purchasing card (PCard) program that allows designated employees to make small dollar purchases or when it is not possible to issue a purchase order. See UNCW Policy 05.160 for details.
Direct Pay Purchases
UNCW’s Chrome River Direct Pay Invoice and Travel system allows the processing of some payments directly to vendors without a purchase order, such as utilities and travel. For goods and/or services, direct payments are not an appropriate method and are to be placed through a University issued Purchase Order or use of the University PCard.
Waiver of Competition (“Sole or Single Source”) Requirements
Specific circumstances may dictate that there is only one satisfactory source of supply for a good or service. A wavier of competition applies to expenditures exceeding the small purchase threshold for goods and services. To request a waiver of competition, the requesting department or unit must complete, sign, and submit a Waiver of Single Source Sole Source Request for review and approval by Purchasing Services. The Request must clearly state how the good or service is unique and other comparable products are not enough, why it is only available from a single vendor, and why the good or service is needed by the University. The Request must be approved by the Department Business Officer and Department Head prior to submitting to Purchasing Services.
Conditions permitting a waiver are established by the North Carolina Administrative Code and can be found in the UNCW Guide to Procurement or by contacting the Purchasing Office.
Requirements for Services
A written contract and/or purchase order is required any time a department wants to engage with an individual or company to provide a service to the University, regardless of the cost of the service. Purchasing Services will review and negotiate any contract provided by a vendor to ensure compliance with North Carolina law. University-developed templates are available to departments so that contracts can be created internally and presented to the service provider. All requests for contracted services are subject to both the State’s procurement rules and competition requirements in the same manner as any other request for goods or services regardless of fund source.
Authority to Sign Contracts
The authority to sign contracts is limited to specific positions within the University and the individuals filling those positions are said to have “signature delegations”. Further, the scope of a given signature delegation is limited to a specific type of contract. The authority to sign any contract for goods and/or services is limited to the individuals referenced here.
Services performed by Independent Contractors
An individual, sole proprietor or limited liability company (LLC) (“independent contractor”) may be contracted to perform an occasional service, provided the independent contractor meets Human Resource and Tax Office requirements for eligibility and that the services are fund appropriate and meet state, federal and university procurement requirements. Work should not start until all approvals are made and the purchase order is transmitted to the contractor. For full details on engaging independent contractors visit the Independent Contractor webpage and the UNCW Guide to Procurement.
Consulting Agreements
Consulting services are those provided by an outside entity for expert, objective insight about how to complete a task or perform it more efficiently. A contract is required every time a department or unit wants to hire an individual or a company for consulting services.
Additionally, any request to contract with a consultant must be accompanied by a justification that describes the project and the reasons why an outside consultant is necessary; the justification is required regardless of the cost. The required components of the justification are contained in the UNCW Guide to Procurement.
Support of Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs)
Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs) consist of minority, women and disabled business firms that are at least fifty-one percent owned and operated by an individual(s) of the categories. Also included in this category are disabled business enterprises and non-profit work centers for the blind and severely disabled. Governor’s Executive Order 150 provides that “it is North Carolina’s collective expectation that all citizens of the State will be given equal opportunities to participate in providing State government with the goods and services it requires without regard to race, gender or disabling condition.” Governor’s Executive Order 25 provides that “the utilization of historically underutilized businesses (‘HUBs’) is critical to creating a vibrant, sustainable and diverse business community” in North Carolina. Accordingly, the University is committed to retaining vendors from diverse backgrounds and it invites and encourages participation in the procurement process by businesses owned by minorities, women, disabled, disabled business enterprises and non-profit work centers for the blind and severely disabled. In particular, the University encourages participation by vendors certified by the State Office of Historically Underutilized Businesses, as well as the use of HUB-certified vendors as subcontractors on State contracts.
Affirmative Action and Non-Discrimination
The University abides by all Federal and State requirements regarding affirmative action and non- discrimination practices in all its purchasing and contracting processes. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action with individuals to employ and advance in employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status, Vietnam era Veteran status, or disability.
Solicitation Protest Procedures
As a custodian of public funds, the University adheres to fair and open competition practices that are governed by State law, University policy and good administrative practice. If a respondent to an Invitation for Bid or Request for Proposal feels that the award was not made in accordance with State procurement guidelines, a formal letter must be sent to the University within thirty (30) calendar days of the date the award was made. The letter shall be sent to the University Purchasing Officer at 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403-5615 and must contain specific grounds and reasons for the protest, how the protesting party was harmed by the award that was made and documentation providing support for the protesting party’s claims. A response from the University Purchasing Officer will be provided to the protesting party within fifteen (15) calendar days.
Emergency and Pressing Need Procurements
The NC Division of Purchase and Contract define “Pressing Need” and “Emergency” as follows:
Pressing Need - A need that arises from unforeseen causes, including but not limited to, delay by contractors, delay in transportation, breakdown in machinery or unanticipated volume of work.
Emergency - A situation which endangers lives, property, or the continuation of a vital program and which can be rectified only by an immediate on-the-spot purchase or rental of commodities, printing or services.
In either case, the department should contact Purchasing Services prior to any purchase for guidance and proper handling of the order whenever possible. If an emergency occurs during non-business hours, contact Purchasing Services on the next business day so the incident can be documented, and a purchase order issued to the vendor.
Purchase of Surplus and Used Equipment
Please refer to the UNCW Guide to Procurement for procedures on buying equipment from other agencies as well as used equipment.