Procurement of Materials

Effective Date: 01/13/26
Section:  Facilities and Services 

Purpose: 

 This policy will establish the procedures for the procurement of materials, supplies and services required in the daily operation of departments within Facilities Management.

Background:  

Centralized purchasing of materials and services is intended to provide the efficient purchase of materials and equipment and to avoid the many pitfalls that may occur when mandatory state regulations are not observed, either intentionally or unintentionally.  Proper planning by all concerned should allow all purchases, except emergency and high priority requirements, to be processed expeditiously in a routine fashion.  Facilities Management Business Office’s role is to ensure efficient and effective purchasing processes within the constraints of university, state and other regulatory authorities.  This document was written to assist staff in understanding the procurement process, acceptable methods for attaining materials and supplies, and realistic expectations and limitations of the process.    

Procedures: 

The role of the FM Business Office is not to approve purchases, but to process information and documents.  The primary accountability for conformance to state purchasing laws, ASU regulations, and FM policy is with the operating department’s management who initiates the purchase.              

Each staff member is expected to act as a member within Facilities Management’s “Team Culture.”  Every individual, regardless of title or department, should adopt and display a set of cooperative beliefs and values as established by F&A Organizational Operating Strategy.  We are not individuals working independently but a group working cooperatively together as a collaborating problem solving team.  

All procurement of goods and services is to be administered in accordance with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, ASU procurement procedures, and as required by the procedures established by this policy.  No individual or staff member of Facilities Management shall commit for or procure supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services by other than established procedures.  Facilities Management will not assume responsibility for purchases made in violation of the established procedures without prior approval from an FM Business Office authorized buyer.  An individual may be held personally liable for such transactions.  All employees are required to abide by the Procurement Rules and Procedures.

All requests for materials and services should be submitted through the online FAMIS system.  Entry procedures for FAMIS requests can be found in the FAMIS 8i Purchase Requisitions Training Manual.  If the employee does not have access to FAMIS, they should request that their Team Leader, Buyer or someone else in the department enter the request on their behalf.  Once the request is entered, it is routed to the department director or supervisor for the authorization of the use of funds.  After approved at the department level the requisition will show up on the FM Buyer’s workbench and they will then review all requests and any quote documents to verify information.  A request shall never be entered into the University Accounting System in advance of the necessary supporting documents.  After documentation is verified, the Facilities Management Business Office Buyer enters information into a Banner requisition with the Facilities Management request number. The requisition in the University Account System is then approved by the Director of Business operations or designee, after verifying the accounting string, and then routed to the ASU Procurement Office.   

Purchase Request Prior to any Commitment:             

Documentation must be approved by the ASU Procurement Department and Facilities Management Business Office prior to any commitment that could result in the expenditure of Facilities Management funds.  *PLEASE NOTE:  ASU Procurement will only inform purchase requestor if the purchase is permissible per state regulations.  FM Supervisor or FM Business Office will determine if purchase is permissible per the FM Budget.

Any individual making a purchase without proper authorization is assuming a personal obligation to the vendor for whom he/she may be held personally liable. 

See Procurement Rules and Procedures.

1. 1. All requests should be submitted and approved before materials or services are ordered or delivered. The request shall be based on the following:  

a. Purchase Orders $0-$20,000-Bids are not required for procurement. The requestor should take advantage of competition for purchases in this range when appropriate.
b. Purchase Orders over $20,000-$75,000-This purchase requires an informal bid process in which 3 quotes from venders shall be attained by the requestor.
c. Purchase Orders over $75,000-This purchase requires a formal sealed bid procurement process conducted by the ASU Procurement Office.
Payment POs, which are defined as a payment request after the work is performed, are prohibited and will only be administered in extreme emergencies and will never be used to circumvent the requisition and purchase order process.  In the event of an emergency situation, the Facilities Management Business Office should be notified immediately after the situation is handled to ensure proper payment for the work performed.

1. 2. The university P-Card Program, administered by the ASU Procurement Department is available to individuals who are authorized to make small dollar purchases, after completing the required application and training program. Each cardholder is responsible for compliance with all policies and procedures of the Purchasing Card Program, which can be found online at: Procurement Card Program Manual See also FMOP P-Card Policy. 
   3. Emergency, Unique, or Sole Source orders shall be submitted as previously described and accompanied by a memorandum, with a full explanation and justification approved by the FM Director of Business Office or the FM Finance Manager prior to submission to the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Facilities Management or his/her designee for final approval.

a. An emergency purchase is defined as a purchase required to protect life and property, or to prevent economic loss or interruption of necessary service. However, whenever possible, competition will be secured and the award made to the lowest responsible/responsive bidder. 
b. A unique purchase is defined as a purchase containing specifications that restrict the acceptable products or services to that of one manufacturer or vendor. A common example would be a specification by brand name, which excludes consideration of proposed equals. Unique items are available from several distributors through competitive bidding.
c. A sole source purchase is defined as a purchase of products or services that are essentially available only from one source. Unique or sole source purchases require that a sole source justification form be completed by the requestor. The sole source form can be found online at: Sole Source Justification Form.  

1. 4. Incoming shipments are normally signed for by Central Receiving personnel and received in the warehouse. In accordance with this policy, no one else is authorized to sign a receipt for any items being delivered except in specifically designated cases. All receipts must be checked item by item and signed for by the receiving clerk before payment is authorized. For service procurement an appropriate supervisor or team leader shall verify the completeness of work performed and bring all receipts to the Facilities Management Business When orders are delivered, the requesting department will be notified to pick up the supplies in Central Receiving. 

1. 5. All official follow-up regarding invoices, payments or purchase order status with any vendor will be handed by the Facilities Management Business Office This does not rule out routine communications and coordination with vendors by the requestor and thus being forwarded to the ASU Procurement Office in written form (email or memo) for appropriate action. 

1. 6. It is essential that all employees of Facilities Management become familiar with and scrupulously avoid Conflicts of Interest. This is especially important for those who are involved in procurement activities. For purposes of this policy, involvement in procurement is considered to include any meaningful part in the process of specifying, ordering, contracting, inspecting, or accepting of goods, services, or construction by outside consultants, vendors, or contractors.  In addition, it is also important that all employees carefully avoid any actions that could give the appearance of a conflict of interest.  Any questions about Code of Ethics should be directed to ASU Procurement Services. 

1. 7. On rare occasions when items are procured for use on work orders and it is later determined that the item is not needed, the item shall be negotiated by the Assistant Director or appropriate supervisor to return the item to a vendor for a credit or for a minimal restocking fee. The work order shall be credited and a returned to vendor done in FAMIS to correct the billing.  This action needs to occur prior to closing the work order.

Responsibilities: 

Each Director, in each functional, area will ensure that any and all persons who may be involved with the initiation of purchase requests are aware of this policy and the centralized purchasing procedures.

The Facilities Management Business Office will be the primary contact point for implementation of this policy, including dealing with the ASU Procurement Department concerning processing requisitions, authorizing award of purchase orders and following upon deliveries. The Facilities Management Business Office will be open from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. each normal workday to answer questions about orders, deliveries, and/or payments to receive requests for procurement.

If you have any questions, please contact Facilities Management at 870-972-2066.