Policy Group: Purchasing

APPC Business Office staff hold the University MasterCard. There are strict limitations on what this card can be used for and the documentation that must be obtained. This is, however, the best way to pay for certain purchases. Please discuss with Business Office staff any purchase you think might be made using the “ProCard.”

APPC purchases at the Penn Bookstore and Computer Connection must be made using the University Procard or the Penn requisition form. The form is available from the APPC Business Office. When using this form, there is a 10% discount and taxes are not charged. Since Penn is tax exempt, it will not reimburse taxes when staff make purchases that incur them.

All purchases at APPC are made through the Business Office. This includes office supplies, books, independent contractor services, the services of a company, or any other purchase that involves APPC operating, grant or endowment funds.

Do not commit the spending of APPC funds without prior approval of the Director and/or the APPC Business Office. Any staff member committing APPC resources without proper approval, risks being personally responsible for payment.

Office Depot is the University’s preferred contract supplier for office supplies. The APPC Business Office has catalogues and access to an online database showing Penn’s reduction in price for each item. All orders are made through the Business Office. No office supply will be purchased through any other vendor except in emergency cases or when Office Depot does not carry the required item.

Any request for bids must be approved in advance by the APPC Budget Director. If a supplier is a University “Preferred Contract Supplier,” there is no requirement for competitive bids. The APPC Business Office can tell you if this is the case. Otherwise, the University requires competitive bids for all purchases with an aggregate value of $5,000 or more. Normally, a minimum of three bids from competent sources of supply are required to satisfy the University’s competitive bidding requirement. There are times when the Director or the Business Office requires receiving multiple bids when the value is less than $5,000.

The competitive bidding requirement can be waived when the product or service is available from only one non-preferred contract supplier or there is another compelling reason. This is done under exceptional and limited circumstances. Even though there may not be an opportunity to competitively bid the requirement, a formal request for quotation should still be sent to the supplier. This request acts in the same way as a formal competitive bidding process is used, to obtain a formal price quotation including terms and conditions for the desired product or service. The faculty or staff member requesting an exemption must provide the APPC Business Office with a detailed written explanation for Purchasing Services as to why competitively bidding the product or service would be impracticable and that the cost charged by the supplier is reasonable and customary.