Purchasing Office

The Purchase Requisition is available online through SVSU’s Unimarket Online Purchasing Marketplace. It is necessary for you to give detailed information regarding your request on this form such as quantity, manufacturer, part number, description, estimated price, suggested purchasing source, eta. It is also necessary for you to list the account number that is to be charged for the purchase and to acquire the signature of the account manager, and in some cases, IT Services, the account supervisor and/or a senior administrator. Once this form is completed, it is forwarded to Purchasing for processing.

No. It is the responsibility of Purchasing to review purchase requests, obtain competitive bids, select vendor, and to place orders for goods and services on behalf of the University. If a Procurement Card (P-Card) has been issued to you by SVSU you may use it to place orders directly with a vendor as long as the purchase is within your approved limits and the purchase is compliant with both the SVSU P-Card and Purchasing Policies

Our role is not to tell you that you cannot purchase something. Instead, we are here to help you get the most out of your budget by getting the best possible price for the items you need, therefore, making your budget stretch further. We have an obligation to the Board of Control and the State of Michigan to spend our dollars wisely. It is our role to assure that this is being done. It is also our role to guide you regarding compliance with Board of Control Purchasing Policy and other known procurement related regulations.

All returns of items secured via SVSU Purchase Order should be guided by Purchasing. We will assure that the necessary paperwork is completed and that the return is handled properly on behalf of SVSU. Returns or exchanges of items procured using a P-Card are the responsibility of the P-Card Holder.

Purchases between $2,500.00 and $24,999.99 require documented solicitation of a minimum of three competitive price quotations when the competition warrants and can take anywhere from two days to two weeks. This process may be completed on your behalf by the Purchasing Staff, or an End User may solicit documented quotations within this dollar range if they are comfortable doing so. It is recommended that the End User communicates with the Purchasing Department prior to soliciting quotes as the Purchasing Department makes the final determination regarding the acceptability of the quotes submitted in support of any purchase.

For purchases of $25,000.00 or greater, competitive sealed bids must be obtained by the Purchasing Department Staff unless covered by pricing agreements, State contracts, are a single source of supply, or a sole source justification and/or waiver of sealed bid request is approved by the Director of Business Services and the Executive Vice President of Administration & Business Affairs. The sealed bid process takes a minimum of two weeks once the bid specifications are written and distributed to the vendors. Timelines can also be heavily impacted by existing project load at the time that your request is submitted to Purchasing

A sole source situation is one in which there is only one supplier for a specific product or service, and where a comparable product or service is not available. In order for a purchase to qualify as a sole source, the requesting department must submit a letter to Purchasing providing a value-focused business justification for the sole source and asking for a waiver of the sealed bid process. This memo should provide detailed information regarding why this request is unique and why it is not available from other sources. Upon approval from Purchasing, the waiver must also be approved by the Executive Vice President of Administration & Business Affairs. Sole Source/Waivers of Sealed bid justifications that received approval are also presented to the Board of Control (typically on an annual basis).

We understand that emergency situations arise. When faced with an urgent need, please contact the Purchasing Department immediately and we will make every effort to assist you.

Purchase orders are not issued for these services. To order subscriptions or pay for memberships, complete and submit a check requisition to the Office of the Controller for processing.

Generally, each department does not have their own copier. Copiers are strategically placed throughout buildings so that they may be used by several departments. Depending on the situation, some departments have their own copier. Copy machine requests may be made to Purchasing.