Overview

The Five Principles

Summary

Contact Information
  

IS&T Financial Services

IS&T Purchasing Policy

Issued by John Curry (October 2003)

Overview

Various subsets of the senior management group have worked on budget issues with a dual focus: first, to make the reductions required to meet the budget goals for FY04 and FY05 and correspondingly, to continue to improve our overall operating efficiency. The procurement of goods and services is one area targeted for both substantial savings and greater efficiency.

The Procurement Department is charged with providing the best quality products and services at the most reasonable prices while also providing efficient processes for the entire MIT community. The community's obligation to the Institute is to make an educated and concerted effort to purchase goods and services that will provide the best use of funds available and take advantage of business contracts and agreements that have been negotiated. Procurement is a dynamic activity, influenced appropriately by both market forces and client needs and characterized by periodic changes in vendors and the goods and services offered. Nonetheless, most organizations have a purchasing strategy that complements and advances related business goals and objectives.

All departments reporting to John Curry are to comply with the following set of five purchasing principles and practices unless clearly exempted by the Director of Procurement, after review by the Department Head and the Controller. All personnel who purchase goods and services are to comply with this policy.

The Five Principles

The five purchasing principles and practices are:

• Buy Internal
• Buy from Vendor Partners
• Buy Recycled
• Buy with the MIT VIP Purchasing Card
• Buy Cambridge

Buy from MIT's Internal Providers
If you can, and the price is right, keep the money in-house. The following is a list of many of the internal providers who offer products and services to the community. Buying from these internal providers is possible using SAPweb.

• Academic Media Production Services (AMPS)
• Audio Visual Services
• Campus Activities Complex
• Copy Technology Centers
• Cryogenic Lab Operation
• Department Computer Services
• Endicott House
• Facilities Services
• I/S Training Services
• LNS Engineering Facility
• Mail Services
• MIT Catering and Faculty Club
• MIT Central Machine Shop
• MIT Press Bookstore

Buy from MIT's Partner Vendors
Vendor partnerships have been established to create long-term working relationships with vendors for the high transactional types of commodities. These vendors offer negotiated contract pricing and many offer electronic ordering (ECAT) for ease and speed.

When reviewing these partnerships you need to look at the entire process and savings, not only the price of the products but also the value-added services that they provide. These include desktop delivery, electronic commerce, on-site personnel, etc.

Here is a list of vendors who are e-commerce enabled. For a complete list of all our vendor partners go to the Procurement.

• BOC Gases
• Dell Marketing
• DHL
• GovConnection
• Minuteman Press
• Office Depot
• VWR International
• WW Grainger

Note that some vendors, e.g., Office Depot, offer specially discounted prices for frequently-purchased products. (For example, for Scotch Tape™ refills, there is a 3M brand, part #172395 for $1.54 and there is an exact cross reference under contract called the Highland brand for $.72 ea.) In all cases choose the most deeply discounted brand. Note that the suite of contract items changes periodically and the list is updated on the web.

Buy Recycled Products
To continue MIT's concerted efforts toward a sustainable future, and to save dollars in both purchasing and handling goods, purchase recycled products whenever possible. For example, the per unit savings on remanufactured (vs. new) toner cartridges is nearly 30%, or $40.

The Environmental Programs Task Force, in conjunction with Office Depot, have targeted the best quality, highest percentage recycled content products at the best negotiated price available. This list is updated quarterly to provide the community with the most current product information. Note, also, that high-volume users, such as Copy Technology Centers, attest to the reliability of recycled paper and recycled toner cartridges. The items are marked on ECAT with the familiar recycling logo.

Buy with the MIT VIP Purchasing Card
This is the preferred method for purchasing many non-partner, small dollar ($3,000 or less) goods and services. While there are some restrictions on the use of the Card, they are few. Optimize the technology; our internal transaction costs will decrease proportionately. For more information see the VIP Card Program.

Buy Cambridge
The Institute has a commitment to the City of Cambridge to be supportive of its business community.

Summary

To summarize, all areas reporting to John Curry are expected to procure goods and services in accordance with the hierarchy of principles.

If following these principles is not the most cost-effective approach to procuring goods and services, provide a notice at the time of purchase to the Director of Procurement, stating what your preferred vendor is and the difference in price and total costs. This data will be used to continue to negotiate the most competitive pricing from vendor partners and internal providers. To help measure progress toward these goals, the Procurement Department will be producing monthly reports about purchasing volume and practices.

Contact Information

Direct questions about this policy to Diane Shea, Director of Procurement, dshea@mit.edu, 617.253.8370.

Progress and success will be measured on a monthly basis and learnings will be shared during upcoming senior management meetings.

[Back to top]