How to Purchase
How to Purchase
Before any purchase commitment is made or any goods or services are confirmed by a vendor, a request must be submitted through the Purchasing Portal so that the EBSC purchasing team can review and process the order. EBSC uses the Purchasing Portal which offers an intuitive design to streamline purchasing processes, provides a convenient way to track orders and check on status & delivery, and facilitates approval requirements via an electronic workflow management tool.
Please submit a separate purchase request for each vendor you need to purchase from. Having only one vendor per order helps ensure that our system accurately reflects the current status and appropriate records of each order.
When possible, some orders can be placed by the EBSC purchasing team online through a vendor’s website using a P-card. However, sometimes some restrictions or prohibitions prevent an immediate purchase through a vendor and will require a requisition to be submitted through the University’s iBuy procurement system for a purchase order to be issued to the vendor. Purchases in iBuy generally take 1-2 days but can take up to 2+ weeks depending upon the circumstances of the purchase request.
The EBSC purchasing team will review your purchase request and determine the best purchase method based on best practices established by the University's Office of Business and Financial Services and the Illinois Procurement Code.
Sourcing Vendors
The University has contracts in place with select preferred vendors and these should be used over other vendor options. Pricing through our iBuy punchout catalogs for these contracted vendors will likely be lower than those shown on their websites. We've included links to these vendors at the bottom of this page.
The Supplier Diversity Program provides access to procurement opportunities by creating an equitable and competitive business environment by encouraging campus departments to proactively consider qualified certified businesses owned by minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans for their contracting needs. The Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act, “BEP ACT”, (30 ILCS 575/) establishes that “not less than 30% of the total dollar amount of State contracts, as defined by the Secretary of the Council and approved by the Council, shall be established as a goal to be awarded to businesses owned by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.” To meet statutory diversity goals, the Purchasing Office encourages all departments to seek quotes from Illinois BEP-certified vendors when available.
Search the Certified Vendor Directory
The bolded options below are also certified diverse suppliers, which should be used above all others when possible.
Office SuppliesODP (Office Depot), American Education Supply |
Scientific SuppliesFisher Scientific, Millipore Sigma, Neta Scientific, Thomas Scientific, VWR |
IT SuppliesCDW-G, Dell, Pace Systems, Pier Group, HP |
Tools and MRO SuppliesGrainger, Industrial Electric Supply, McMaster-Carr |
Audio-Visual SuppliesB&H Photo, CV Lloyde |
Customized Promotional Products & ApparelBienali Promotions |
Amazon, Walmart, and eBay should be utilized as last-resort vendors for items that are not available on current vendor contracts. These vendors are not intended to be our main purchasing mechanism. If utilizing Walmart, you must include a non-university building address to ship the items to if pick-up is not an option. If sourcing items from Amazon that are available from our contracted vendors listed above and/or not Prime or fulfilled by Amazon the requests are likely to be rejected by the UI Amazon Business Team.
Sam’s Club and Costco Wholesale are unallowable since they require membership per Business and Finance Policy 8.1.3. Warehouse Discount Clubs are unallowable on all fund types.
Policy 8.1.3 Determine the Allowability of Specific Expenditures
Additional Purchase Request Information
Purchases for charter buses, service calls, any on-site services, or agreements, quotes, or contracts that require a signature, will require extra time for UIUC Purchasing and Contract Management to review and it will likely take up to 2+ weeks. If possible, please make sure you allow enough time for these to be processed. If you have an emergency purchase, please enter it into the portal and email an available member of the EBSC department to advise.
Quote Necessities
The following are all items you should request that vendors include in their quotes:
- Vendor Name and Billing Address
- Payment Terms of Net 30 (University standard payment terms)
- Shipping Terms (Prepay and Add Shipping is preferred)
- Itemized List of Items with any discounts available (be sure to ask your vendor if they offer an Edu discount!)
- No Tax (the University is sales tax exempt in IL and 26 states, if the vendor needs our tax-exempt certificate, please reach out to your dept purchasing team member)
- If the quote is for furniture, a room layout is required to accompany the quote for review by UIUC PCM.
Purchases over $10,000
For purchases of $10,000 or more without at least three competitive quotes, please include in your purchasing portal request one of the following reasons why competitive quotes were not obtained, as well as a brief justification for your selection:
- Supply/service is not available from multiple vendors,
- Purchase is being made from an awarded contract,
- Urgent need for the supply/service that does not allow time to obtain multiple quotes,
- Purchase from a certified small/diverse vendor, <$20,000, and not federally funded, or
- Other (must provide justification).
This is a required question that must be answered on the requisition the EBSC purchasing team will submit. The $10K threshold applies to the entire order, not individual line items.
This requirement is waived for competitive quotes or additional justification for purchases between $10,000 – $20,000 that are not federally funded and made from a diverse vendor (see notes above regarding BEP vendors).
If you do have three competitive quotes, this information will not be needed as long as the order is from the lowest-cost vendor. If you have three competitive quotes and are not choosing the lowest-cost vendor, please include further justification supporting that decision.
University iBuy Punchout Vendors
Scientific Supplies
Office Supplies
IT Supplies
Tools and MRO Supplies
Audio-Visual Supplies
Customized Promotional Products & Apparel