Finance provides answers to purchasing and PCard questions
At the August 7 Business Forum participants asked questions about PCard use and the Affordability and Efficiency mandate requirements. Following are answers to those questions for the reference of anyone involved in purchasing activity on behalf of Ohio University.
Q: Do we follow Affordability and Efficiency guidelines when making PCard purchases? If we use a non-preferred supplier, do we make a comment about that in the Concur report?
A: If the supplier is non-preferred competitor of a preferred supplier, you should seek an exception and include it with the substantiation of your expense in Concur. If a preferred supplier can meet your need, you must purchase from the preferred supplier unless it meets one of the approved Affordability and Efficiency (A&E) Exceptions.
Q: Will there be an update to Concur to include an A&E exception request/justification as there has been in BobcatBUY?
A: Concur is a standard software and does not have the flexibility to change workflow to function like BobcatBUY. As a result, no update will be made to Concur for the A&E Exception process. If an A&E Exception is involved in a Concur transaction, the A&E process must be followed and the A&E form must be attached to the transaction as substantiation/documentation in Concur.
Q: What happens if the purchaser is not aware of the exception form and the transaction has already occurred when it hits Concur?
A: Planning units are responsible for making sure that buyers in BobcatBUY and PCard holders are made aware of the A&E Exception process. As discussed at the August Business Forum, planning units and departments have the month of August to ensure that people within their planning unit, or department, are aware of the A&E requirements. Finance has communicated about the A&E process via mass emails, Business Matters, and the Finance website over the last year. Purchases must include the exception with the substantiation. If no exception is given then the purchase would be out of compliance with the mandate and reported as such beginning September 1, 2018.
Q: When must the A&E Exception Form be used?
A: Use the A&E Exception Form only if there is a required preferred supplier available for the item purchased, but the preferred supplier is not used.
Q: Do preferred suppliers and A&E requirements apply only to PCard charges, or do the requirements also apply to reimbursements? i.e. If a faculty member buys something on personal card and seeks reimbursement for that item.
A: Purchasing policies, including the A&E mandate, apply to all purchases using University funds regardless of payment method.
Q: Are we required to buy all items from a preferred provider, if they offer it? For example, Fisher Scientific offers Invitrogen, BioLab, ATCC products at a much higher price than buying directly from the manufacturer. Are we required to buy Fisher products only from Fisher?
A: Ohio University committed our participation to the Scientific Supplies RFP negotiated by the IUC. The pricing is aggressive and we need to honor the spirit of the award. Our relationships with our preferred suppliers are built as a partnership. Fixed contract pricing with a known discount structure is usually how the pricing is established. Additionally, the contract is built with many other “non-price” related benefits to the University. Usually they are free shipping, free returns, product warranty, product support, rebates, electronic purchase orders, and electronic invoicing. All of these things save the University money, time and efficiencies, though they might not be apparent to the individual purchaser. Not every product will cost less, but overall, the savings are real. The more commitment we get to purchasing from our preferred suppliers, the stronger our buying power becomes, and the more opportunity the University has to negotiate even lower prices. If you see something priced lower, contact our sales representatives about lowering the price. You may not always be successful, but they have committed to deliver the University value and work within our budgets.
Q: What is the timeline for the new travel provider?
A: Ohio University, in conjunction with the Inter-University Council (IUC), is entering into the negotiation stage of the Request For Proposal (RFP) process. We will continue to work with the Travel Work Group for the implementation at OHIO, as we have throughout this process. We hope to have the new solution implemented early in calendar year 2019.
Please refer to the Affordability and Efficiency web page for additional information. Questions? Contact Finance Customer Care at financecustmomercare@ohio.edu or 740-597-6446.