PED Talks July 2020

Lydia Dexter Author

07/17/2020 Added

67 Plays

Description

This PED Talk is a "back to school" refresh.

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[00:00:03.770]Hi everyone.
[00:00:04.603]Thank you for joining us today for our monthly PED Talk.
[00:00:08.680]Today we are gonna be going over a back to school refresh
[00:00:11.760]as we are starting a new fiscal year.
[00:00:15.140]My name's Emily Beattie.
[00:00:16.200]I'm the project coordinator in the procurement department.
[00:00:19.690]I have quite a few different procurement personnel
[00:00:22.230]that will be going over different topics today.
[00:00:25.630]We're gonna start kind of doing an update
[00:00:27.340]on where we are in certain areas in our departments
[00:00:29.600]with contracts, eSHOP, and some other things.
[00:00:34.440]And then we will go into some refreshers
[00:00:37.450]over signature authority, border regions approval,
[00:00:40.720]and a couple other topics.
[00:00:42.690]If you have any questions, please put them in the chat
[00:00:45.120]as we go through and we will go over questions at the end.
[00:00:51.870]Otherwise, we're gonna go ahead and get started,
[00:00:55.530]and we will go ahead and start with Julie Snyder
[00:00:57.850]with our contracts update.
[00:01:18.644]Sorry, one second.
[00:01:19.680]Gotta find Julie.
[00:01:20.513]Looks like it's not letting her unmute.
[00:01:24.588]There we go, Julie.
[00:01:25.421]Should be able to go now.
[00:01:27.449]Thank you.
[00:01:29.053]Oh, it's always something.
[00:01:30.237]People always want to mute me.
[00:01:32.346](laughing)
[00:01:35.836]One of the big things that's kind of been, well, it is new.
[00:01:41.470]We have gotten the latest version of the contract templates
[00:01:46.490]in the Box folder that most of you
[00:01:49.460]that currently use the Box folder
[00:01:52.200]or have obtained that contract template
[00:01:55.470]from us in the past in the Box folder,
[00:01:59.490]those have been updated.
[00:02:02.010]I'm asking that you spread the news
[00:02:05.810]not to save contract templates to your desktop
[00:02:10.870]because the language does change
[00:02:13.370]and recently, it was May,
[00:02:16.480]that we got new language out there towards the end.
[00:02:22.920]And Valerie, you're asking are all contracts
[00:02:27.960]now going through OSP?
[00:02:30.550]No, they are not.
[00:02:31.383]We will talk about that in a minute.
[00:02:36.338]If you don't have access to a university template
[00:02:40.840]that you've received in the last 30 days or so,
[00:02:44.370]and feel like you might not have that link
[00:02:47.470]to the Box folder, please just email us at
[00:02:51.340]procurementcontracts@unl.edu
[00:02:55.358]and ask for access to the university templates.
[00:03:00.500]The ones that you will be given access to
[00:03:02.950]are the standard agreement
[00:03:05.990]and the Board of Regents addendum
[00:03:07.950]with the required language.
[00:03:13.534]We've been doing this for a while now
[00:03:15.260]and I'm sure some of you have noticed
[00:03:17.450]that we're trying to do weekly status reports
[00:03:21.100]that are also located in that same Box folder.
[00:03:24.560]So, you should see a folder in there
[00:03:26.930]that is called weekly status reports.
[00:03:29.790]We put it out on Monday,
[00:03:31.280]unless it's a holiday and then we get it out the next day.
[00:03:35.820]We're keeping it pretty high level at this point in time
[00:03:39.160]at the request of leadership.
[00:03:40.720]We're not going too far into the weeds.
[00:03:44.940]We're just basically letting you know
[00:03:48.052]where it is in the process of contacting
[00:03:52.750]within the past week.
[00:03:54.800]Sometimes statuses don't change very quickly
[00:03:58.150]and so they have the same status for a while.
[00:04:01.810]I know everybody's feeling the crunch of cuts
[00:04:07.570]and folks, your team members were not able to get
[00:04:15.210]sometimes all of the helpers that we need
[00:04:18.310]in order to keep things moving as quickly as we'd like,
[00:04:22.310]but we're doing the best that we can.
[00:04:24.000]We're trying to get bounce back messages
[00:04:25.710]out to you in email within 24 hours.
[00:04:29.250]That's the goal.
[00:04:31.680]It doesn't always happen, but it is to goal.
[00:04:35.460]We are continuing to collaborate between our buyers,
[00:04:41.170]our contracts team, and our legal folks.
[00:04:46.070]One of the things that I don't know
[00:04:48.470]if some of you know, but we are the recommended gateway
[00:04:54.990]to legal over at general council.
[00:04:58.250]So, if you have something that you feel needs legal input,
[00:05:04.260]you can let us know.
[00:05:05.700]Otherwise, as we're reviewing,
[00:05:08.360]we have guidelines that general counsel and our CFO
[00:05:13.420]have established for us
[00:05:16.520]as far as what needs to probably
[00:05:20.060]we'll review in this moment.
[00:05:23.740]We continue to try to improve our processes.
[00:05:27.020]We know that things don't work as smoothly
[00:05:31.430]as they have in the past,
[00:05:33.650]but we're hopeful that in the future
[00:05:35.870]as we work on our processes we'll streamline it even more.
[00:05:42.530]Valerie, your question about all contacts going to OSP.
[00:05:51.230]No, I don't even know where that's coming from.
[00:05:55.880]I guess I can have an offline conversation
[00:05:58.810]with you if you'd like.
[00:05:59.800]That'd be great.
[00:06:01.530]One other thing that I would like to call out is
[00:06:05.570]all of our team, our contracts team,
[00:06:08.480]as well as the rest of the procurement team
[00:06:11.250]have forwarded our phones so that you can reach us
[00:06:17.110]on our cells at home.
[00:06:20.300]Some of you have my cell phone number
[00:06:22.400]and so if you need to reach out either way will work.
[00:06:26.559]Let's see Valerie said fee for service.
[00:06:34.180]Are all contracts now going through OSP,
[00:06:38.220]fee for service contracts,
[00:06:39.510]where we are providing the service?
[00:06:44.660]That was my understanding from a memo that came out.
[00:06:51.310]Well Cheryl, I would argue that not all
[00:06:55.090]revenue generating contracts go to OSP,
[00:06:58.890]and there's a very fine line.
[00:07:02.610]Maybe in your business center that might be true.
[00:07:06.520]We have some things on other parts of the campus
[00:07:10.380]that currently are revenue generating and would not,
[00:07:16.540]they're kind of a one-off
[00:07:18.250]and they might not necessitate sponsored programs review.
[00:07:27.070]I am more than happy to take this conversation offline
[00:07:31.190]and discuss it.
[00:07:32.770]We were given a memo in May of 2019
[00:07:37.460]about equal service contracts
[00:07:39.410]and setting up a service center in order to ensure
[00:07:43.120]that FNA rates were being appropriately collected
[00:07:47.520]or charged for, and that we were being in compliance
[00:07:51.630]with the federal guidelines.
[00:07:57.900]I know that we've seen a significant drop
[00:08:00.450]in fee for service contracts
[00:08:04.010]coming through procurement contracts.
[00:08:09.350]But Valerie, I would suggest that
[00:08:11.610]if you are in communication with Kimberly Builder,
[00:08:16.650]she's the one who's kind of fielding them as they come in.
[00:08:19.890]And we do communicate with her and her team,
[00:08:23.170]Erin Thunk and some of the other attorneys over there.
[00:08:26.500]And so, there is some back and forth.
[00:08:29.080]If something they feel does not belong over there,
[00:08:31.820]they're usually pretty quick to toss it over to us.
[00:08:36.400]But yeah, reach out.
[00:08:37.630]We can certainly have a conversation about it.
[00:08:41.030]All right, thank you.
[00:08:43.620]Thank you, Julie.
[00:08:45.610]Next, we're gonna move on to eSHOP updates
[00:08:47.900]with Mary Mitilier.
[00:08:50.380]Hi all.
[00:08:52.160]I think we may have referenced it last time,
[00:08:54.660]but just a reminder that the credit reference
[00:08:57.950]and tax form requests that previously
[00:09:01.210]you may have emailed to the eSHOP helped desk,
[00:09:04.260]we're asking that you now use the eSHOP form
[00:09:07.400]found in the special form section of eSHOP
[00:09:11.240]to request any of the tax forms
[00:09:14.350]or to have a supplier's credit application completed.
[00:09:20.150]There are user guides, of course, in FireFly for every form.
[00:09:27.200]And this is what the form looks like.
[00:09:30.128]Any form that we have in eSHOP,
[00:09:31.970]just the bold fields are required,
[00:09:33.810]so whenever you're filling it out,
[00:09:35.760]it submits through your cart just like any other form.
[00:09:38.780]Within a day or so of getting the forms you will, of course,
[00:09:44.500]eSHOP will notify you when it's been completed,
[00:09:46.600]but Martha will get your forms completed and to you.
[00:09:51.700]This turnaround time is more than 24 hours,
[00:09:54.710]so it takes a little bit of time to get those forms together
[00:09:59.080]and get them back to you,
[00:09:59.930]especially when a supplier is requiring their own form.
[00:10:03.120]You're basically opening a credit account
[00:10:05.320]on behalf of the university,
[00:10:06.510]so we do kind of look at those little harder.
[00:10:14.120]In my next topic, I'll just jump right into it,
[00:10:16.810]is the Amazon Business.
[00:10:18.900]Back in June, we opened the Amazon Business account
[00:10:23.240]to a group of P-card holders
[00:10:25.910]just to see kind of what the feedback would be.
[00:10:29.320]Next Tuesday, the rest of the 1,300 or so
[00:10:32.480]P-card holders will be receiving
[00:10:34.130]their invitation to join the business account.
[00:10:38.260]Once that invitation goes out,
[00:10:39.470]we really can't help with any problems or questions.
[00:10:41.810]You have to contact Amazon Business to resolve any issues
[00:10:45.590]you might have, but for 99% of the people,
[00:10:49.210]you won't even notice any difference.
[00:10:51.210]You'll just click through,
[00:10:52.500]and I did it today with Jordan Malone.
[00:10:55.900]She just clicked through and it said start shopping.
[00:10:58.990]It was just that easy.
[00:11:01.220]That will happen on Tuesday of next week.
[00:11:03.400]You'll get two emails, one from procurement,
[00:11:05.250]and then followed by one from Amazon.
[00:11:12.150]Questions about that anyone?
[00:11:15.000]No, good.
[00:11:17.410]Thank you, Mary.
[00:11:25.430]All right, next up we have our kind of PPE update
[00:11:29.510]for the campus.
[00:11:31.080]Margaret is gonna give a brief update on this
[00:11:33.320]and there'll be more information to come.
[00:11:39.570]Maggie or Sydney on that wants to take this, please.
[00:11:43.540]I think that's me.
[00:11:44.373]Sorry, I was just doing some PPE emails right now.
[00:11:49.268]I'm Sydney Zach, for those of you who don't know.
[00:11:51.840]I'm a pretty familiar face on these PED Talks
[00:11:54.750]but I am the scientific and research sourcing specialist
[00:12:00.430]for the campus.
[00:12:02.220]We all have been working pretty hard to try to get
[00:12:05.820]the campus up and going with PPE
[00:12:07.480]for the upcoming fall semester.
[00:12:09.950]So, what's in the works right now,
[00:12:12.480]and all this is very preliminary information
[00:12:15.060]and we'll continue to provide updates
[00:12:17.250]as we get more information,
[00:12:18.850]but we're currently working on a supply center,
[00:12:23.930]supply catalog for the campus.
[00:12:27.730]It will be available in eSHOP.
[00:12:30.500]Some of the items to potentially to be available
[00:12:33.450]will be disposable masks, gloves, gowns, goggles,
[00:12:40.380]any other pretty common PPE in the meantime.
[00:12:46.430]A select list of items will be added
[00:12:51.360]to these catalogs that will be found in eSHOP,
[00:12:54.290]and other recommended items that departments
[00:12:59.000]or specialized items that other institutes,
[00:13:02.090]other people on campus need to purchase will be recommended.
[00:13:05.710]We will also add those to a favorites list
[00:13:07.800]so we can order those
[00:13:09.050]direct from supplier as well for our users.
[00:13:12.660]Mary, is there anything that you want to add
[00:13:14.830]to the catalog that will be available in eSHOP?
[00:13:19.130]Well, just this catalog will be available on eSHOP,
[00:13:22.560]but we are bringing in, because of the supply and demand,
[00:13:26.730]people are kind of shopping all over the place
[00:13:29.250]and finding that once they placed orders,
[00:13:30.910]they're not really getting their merchandise.
[00:13:32.750]So, the university is buying in bulk
[00:13:35.310]and shipping and receiving
[00:13:37.120]is going to be warehousing these items.
[00:13:41.530]And then when you place that order
[00:13:43.500]through the eSHOP catalog,
[00:13:46.840]we'll be pulling them out of stock and delivering them.
[00:13:52.150]It's not that much different from the marketplace.
[00:13:55.080]It is going to be moved over into eSHOP.
[00:13:58.450]There may be a slight charge,
[00:14:00.096]but the products themselves are going to be very low cost.
[00:14:07.183]The university's paying for the product,
[00:14:08.500]but we do still have to do some other finagling.
[00:14:12.530]It should be available in eSHOP as soon as we can
[00:14:14.770]get the products on campus
[00:14:16.310]and have them ready to be delivered.
[00:14:18.970]Hey Mary, this is Maggie.
[00:14:20.650]Thank you, both you and Sydney.
[00:14:22.470]I would like to add on behalf of the university
[00:14:25.300]and we're working very closely with the EOC,
[00:14:28.320]the procurement services team is.
[00:14:30.440]Some products are not going to be funded by the university.
[00:14:34.240]A lot of them are.
[00:14:35.350]We're hoping that most everything will.
[00:14:38.740]I think it would be wise to watch for updates.
[00:14:44.450]And we are very close to having a better understanding
[00:14:47.400]as far as, you know,
[00:14:49.440]what is going be covered by the university.
[00:14:55.070]We do want to make available for you on eSHOP as well
[00:14:59.890]the ability to ask for an item,
[00:15:01.460]if you don't see it there.
[00:15:03.340]And Mary, I don't know
[00:15:05.150]when we might be able to talk about that,
[00:15:07.660]but I think that would be something
[00:15:09.140]to update the campus on later.
[00:15:14.270]And it probably will be something
[00:15:15.480]that we continue to build
[00:15:17.150]as we get different types of products.
[00:15:19.830]And so, currently we're having
[00:15:22.860]disposable masks and gloves on hand.
[00:15:26.010]Those need to be readily available,
[00:15:27.580]so we'll continue to build that catalog
[00:15:29.510]as we source more items.
[00:15:31.320]And there was a question about disinfectant wipes.
[00:15:34.530]Yes, that is in the works as well.
[00:15:37.530]And I believe there is a strategy going on in facilities
[00:15:43.050]that a lot of places around campus,
[00:15:44.960]classrooms and other areas will be outfitted
[00:15:47.270]with refillable wipe units
[00:15:49.320]that will be hung to walls for use as well.
[00:15:54.910]If you have any specific questions on products
[00:15:57.450]that you cannot find in the catalog
[00:16:00.080]as we continue to build,
[00:16:01.290]feel free to reach out to myself or anybody on the team
[00:16:04.320]and we will help you get those sourced.
[00:16:06.690]Otherwise we will keep you posted with updates
[00:16:09.890]as we get more information.
[00:16:16.110]Thank you ladies.
[00:16:19.770]All right, so now we're gonna move to some refreshers
[00:16:23.320]for different procurement information,
[00:16:25.410]and we'll start off with signature authority with Maggie.
[00:16:29.800]Thanks, Emily.
[00:16:31.310]I don't think I've ever seen the word refreshing
[00:16:34.740]and signature authority used in kind of the same context,
[00:16:38.150]but let's just approach that as if it's a refresh.
[00:16:43.620]I know it's pretty dry,
[00:16:44.720]but let's do our best to make it interesting.
[00:16:47.800]I don't think there's,
[00:16:49.590]there's probably no one on the call
[00:16:51.530]who's never heard the phrase signature authority.
[00:16:55.240]We just want to make sure that, you know,
[00:16:57.870]when we get an opportunity to refresh on some things,
[00:17:02.400]signature authority was changed,
[00:17:04.980]Julie, correct me if I'm wrong.
[00:17:06.220]Was it January of last year, 2019 calendar year?
[00:17:10.660]Did that go into effect?
[00:17:12.530]Okay, thanks for the head nod.
[00:17:15.910]Right, and it is a process.
[00:17:21.030]I know you can all read, but I'm gonna just reinforce this,
[00:17:25.300]that designates a representative on behalf of the board,
[00:17:29.340]who then has the power to commit authorization to campuses.
[00:17:36.340]And the authority is delegated downward.
[00:17:39.770]It is not upward.
[00:17:41.610]The reason that's distinct is, and in my career,
[00:17:46.260]it is a little bit distinct compared to private industry
[00:17:49.710]but my five years here at the university,
[00:17:52.830]I'm getting very accustomed to it.
[00:17:54.920]It has to be delegated to people from the board
[00:17:58.310]to the president, down through the chancellor,
[00:18:00.840]vice chancellors and such and so forth.
[00:18:04.649]A reminder of board policy.
[00:18:07.080]We just wanna make sure that everyone understands,
[00:18:10.150]and I know the business offices do.
[00:18:12.720]It's often when we have new employees
[00:18:14.850]or people that don't do this very often
[00:18:16.830]that they aren't sure
[00:18:18.300]whether or not they have the authority.
[00:18:19.590]They often don't even think about it,
[00:18:22.993]'cause they might be accustomed
[00:18:24.060]to where they were previous to coming to the university
[00:18:26.670]or just don't do it frequently enough to understand
[00:18:29.670]that proper signature is absolutely critical
[00:18:34.048]to make the contract binding on the university.
[00:18:38.290]And in case it wasn't enough,
[00:18:41.710]all of our contracts are uploaded to the state.
[00:18:45.390]So, there's really nowhere to hide on these things
[00:18:48.330]unless you just haven't followed protocol
[00:18:53.210]in the first place.
[00:18:54.160]I think our campus has done very well
[00:18:56.930]under the leadership of this team here in procurement.
[00:19:01.790]I think last year we were error free on our audit,
[00:19:07.670]generally speaking, on contracts uploaded to the state,
[00:19:10.360]but that is a law.
[00:19:13.170]And we wanna make sure that everyone understands,
[00:19:16.060]so we just wanna reinforce these guidelines
[00:19:18.000]as we go through.
[00:19:19.140]I'm gonna talk a little bit more.
[00:19:21.210]As if this wasn't an eye chart, let's turn on the eye chart.
[00:19:24.700]Next slide, please.
[00:19:26.910]If you haven't seen this, there's a red beam link
[00:19:31.910]from the business and finance policies homepage.
[00:19:34.740]There's also a link from the procurement.unl.edu
[00:19:40.220]in our policies.
[00:19:42.260]Basically, this is a screenshot of the actual
[00:19:45.210]signature authority delegated
[00:19:47.340]by the president to the Lincoln campus.
[00:19:52.000]The way to read this, aside from a magnifying glass,
[00:19:56.090]is left to right understand that it's three tiered.
[00:20:01.650]In the first column is a board policy reference.
[00:20:05.010]Chapter six's board policy has very specific statements
[00:20:10.990]as to, depending on the type of purchase
[00:20:14.940]who would have authority to sign and to what extent.
[00:20:19.900]The next section adjacent to that is NU-wide,
[00:20:24.340]system-wide authority that typically will have
[00:20:28.212]the highest level of authority granted
[00:20:30.110]immediately by the president
[00:20:32.000]to the vice vice president of finance,
[00:20:34.660]which of course would be Chris Kabourek.
[00:20:37.210]The blue is authority that has been delegated to our campus,
[00:20:41.690]which comes from our chancellor, Ronnie Green.
[00:20:44.690]And this has been gone over extensively.
[00:20:48.940]I'm just gonna verify, can people hear me?
[00:20:51.697]I got a message on my screen that says
[00:20:53.100]my speaker isn't working.
[00:20:54.960]Can I be heard Emily?
[00:20:59.960]I can hear you.
[00:21:00.793]It's just a little choppy.
[00:21:02.080]It's kind of cutting in and out.
[00:21:04.840]Okay.
[00:21:05.981]Let me try this one more time.
[00:21:09.560]How's that now?
[00:21:11.400]Better? Better, yep.
[00:21:14.470]Okay, I'll try to keep going.
[00:21:17.180]And if I fail, I might have to throw the ball over to Sarah,
[00:21:22.370]but I'll keep going.
[00:21:24.410]The campus-specific authority is in the blue on the right.
[00:21:28.010]Every column that you see there
[00:21:31.390]designates pretty much hierarchically
[00:21:34.594]as to how Ronnie and Bill have decided and determined
[00:21:39.800]to designate authority across the campuses.
[00:21:43.140]If it says yes, it means yes to the level of authority
[00:21:47.250]granted in the column appropriately.
[00:21:52.520]If you go to the next slide,
[00:21:53.620]I think we've got some verbiage around this.
[00:21:57.500]It says it's cutting out again.
[00:22:00.710]I don't know if I'm just having one of those bad days
[00:22:04.050]or if it's the one o'clock to two o'clock
[00:22:07.330]high-speed traffic on the internet.
[00:22:09.440]Sarah, you want to help out?
[00:22:10.820]Do you mind?
[00:22:14.180]I know this isn't your presentation,
[00:22:15.980]but I bet you can make it through it.
[00:22:20.256]Sure.
[00:22:24.260]This better outlines what Maggie was talking about
[00:22:27.000]with the section one, the section two,
[00:22:28.740]the section three for this page that was previously.
[00:22:36.440]Let's see here.
[00:22:37.660]I haven't looked at these slides for a while.
[00:22:38.990]I apologize.
[00:22:40.800]There we go.
[00:22:41.750]Additionally, with border regions approval,
[00:22:47.840]there are different levels based off of
[00:22:50.710]the type of item that you are purchasing.
[00:22:53.230]So, here you'll see outlined
[00:22:54.630]that construction services has their value
[00:22:58.090]that is within their professional services,
[00:23:01.060]as it is at a lower volume
[00:23:03.170]or a lower dollar amount at two million.
[00:23:06.250]The lighter section underneath that
[00:23:07.740]where it says over 1 million,
[00:23:08.980]that's when it's reportable to the board.
[00:23:11.540]So it doesn't have to be approved,
[00:23:12.640]but we do need to notify the board of that purchase.
[00:23:19.070]Other expenditures that are not specifically called out
[00:23:22.610]within signature authority,
[00:23:25.280]qualified at that $5 million threshold
[00:23:27.920]with 1 million for reportable.
[00:23:31.050]And then there's also information in here about leases
[00:23:34.790]or licenses and the real property,
[00:23:41.480]which is something that
[00:23:43.240]not necessarily procurement is involved with.
[00:23:46.350]A lot of times that's more from a facility standpoint,
[00:23:51.580]but that is something good to have listed on here.
[00:23:53.930]Now, determine the value of it.
[00:23:57.320]When we're figuring out that dollar amount.
[00:23:59.710]So for example, the 2 million for professional services,
[00:24:03.130]that is the dollar amount that is for
[00:24:05.290]the full potential term of the contract.
[00:24:08.100]So, say you have a contract
[00:24:11.440]that is over three years and each year of it is $500,000.
[00:24:18.470]Well, the total amount for that contract,
[00:24:23.480]say the five-year contract,
[00:24:24.730]would end up being over that $2 million mark.
[00:24:27.680]At that point it would qualify to be
[00:24:29.970]a board-approved contract.
[00:24:35.470]Maggie, do you have anything to add on that one?
[00:24:39.220]I changed to my phone audio too,
[00:24:41.230]but Julie, go ahead, if there's anything you want to add.
[00:24:46.530]No, I think everything got covered.
[00:24:50.110]Maggie, if you wanna continue, that would be great.
[00:24:53.170]Is it better now?
[00:24:54.400]Is the audio better?
[00:24:55.780]Thumbs up or thumbs down?
[00:24:58.530]Alright, thanks everyone.
[00:25:01.070]So sorry about that.
[00:25:03.990]This little chart here is just to give you an idea of
[00:25:08.220]how to kind of reverse engineer
[00:25:09.850]the idea of when somebody runs into your office and says,
[00:25:12.750]quick, I need to get a bid on this
[00:25:15.100]and buy it by the end of the week.
[00:25:16.820]And just laugh.
[00:25:17.830]That's what you can do,
[00:25:19.720]because if it's over those thresholds
[00:25:21.853]that you saw on the previous page
[00:25:23.650]or even touches near them,
[00:25:25.690]I'm afraid they're in for a moment of truth.
[00:25:29.900]And by the way, this is not meant to scare people,
[00:25:33.790]but the sooner we train and prepare our employees,
[00:25:38.310]your stakeholders, our stakeholders, the board,
[00:25:41.410]of these thresholds, it helps them think in advance
[00:25:45.170]when they bring these opportunities to the table
[00:25:47.710]so we can all sleep at night, right?
[00:25:52.318]We really have to think about the fact that,
[00:25:55.240]and there is a, we do have a calendar in this presentation,
[00:25:58.760]so you'll be able to I'm sure access it at a later date
[00:26:01.950]if you want to reference it, if you don't have it already,
[00:26:05.490]but basically what the buyer needs to begin planning
[00:26:08.900]and preparing for a board deadline usually way in advance.
[00:26:13.340]The sooner we're engaged in a project,
[00:26:16.460]the sooner we're able to help make sure
[00:26:19.780]that that deadline of getting to the board is met.
[00:26:22.760]And we also will make sure that all relevant parties
[00:26:26.880]are aware of that timeline
[00:26:28.340]in order to prep for the board meetings,
[00:26:30.270]including general counsel.
[00:26:32.230]So, the sourcing managers are responsible for, you know,
[00:26:36.520]when you first talk to them about a project
[00:26:38.850]and if it's going to exceed a certain amount,
[00:26:41.320]or if you don't even know what it's gonna be worth,
[00:26:43.680]we can help you speculate what that project will be worth
[00:26:48.050]so that we can get in front of it instead of be behind it.
[00:26:51.180]And everybody who's ever been through this process
[00:26:54.390]knows it's ripe with enough challenges
[00:26:57.900]just making sure that the documents are pulled together
[00:27:00.310]in a timely fashion when you're not in a rush.
[00:27:03.520]So, also the accuracy and the preparation of white papers.
[00:27:07.980]It starts with a compilation of everything
[00:27:10.070]at the bid quote stage.
[00:27:12.010]Yes, we even do think about the contract at that stage.
[00:27:16.240]In fact, I would say 95% of our bids
[00:27:21.120]go out with a contract template attached to them
[00:27:24.210]so that suppliers understand what to anticipate.
[00:27:28.570]I think historically we do have,
[00:27:30.690]I don't know what the odds are.
[00:27:32.530]Sometimes suppliers push back
[00:27:34.310]and want to use their own paper,
[00:27:36.930]which, you know, does tend to take longer even,
[00:27:40.650]and getting something to the board.
[00:27:43.800]But our next step is after.
[00:27:46.240]And before that deadline, the buyer does make sure
[00:27:48.510]once a decision's been made that we're prepping,
[00:27:52.710]if it's a campus purchase, to go through Bill Nunez,
[00:27:55.980]the vice chancellor's office, with a briefing paper,
[00:27:59.620]a draft agenda memo for the board.
[00:28:02.150]And if that's an agenda item,
[00:28:05.820]if it's below the threshold on the previous page,
[00:28:09.000]meaning it's reportable.
[00:28:10.410]So that means if it's over, okay,
[00:28:13.360]and my memory is not gonna serve me well.
[00:28:15.260]If it's over a million, is that correct?
[00:28:19.090]Nods head, nod for reportable.
[00:28:21.400]Thank you very much, Sarah.
[00:28:23.810]Then it's reportable and those get put into a spreadsheet,
[00:28:28.050]but either way they have to be to Bill's office
[00:28:32.770]before his deadline.
[00:28:34.420]And by the way, that's usually about a month-and-a-half
[00:28:36.990]to two before the board meeting date.
[00:28:39.900]Yet another two weeks away.
[00:28:41.770]If it is going to be a system-wide purchase,
[00:28:44.090]we have to do the same thing
[00:28:45.430]with the vice president of finance.
[00:28:47.020]That would be central admin and Chris Kabourek's office
[00:28:50.560]because he's prepping for the business affairs meeting,
[00:28:53.810]which is typically three to four weeks ahead
[00:28:56.030]of the board meeting dates.
[00:28:57.970]So, if you jump to the next slide there for me, Emily,
[00:29:02.500]these are the remaining board and document deadlines
[00:29:05.830]for this particular calendar year.
[00:29:09.290]We can take them.
[00:29:10.123]I don't think we have them yet
[00:29:11.210]for this past February 12th, 2021.
[00:29:14.930]We will get them for next year,
[00:29:17.520]probably as the calendar year comes to a close
[00:29:21.220]and we typically have those available in our offices.
[00:29:25.020]And I'm not sure if this is posted anywhere else,
[00:29:28.820]but if you are looking for this information,
[00:29:32.610]be happy to provide it to you.
[00:29:34.940]If you work with a lot of significant purchases
[00:29:37.770]or stakeholders that have high-dollar purchases
[00:29:40.710]that you think may run that potential
[00:29:44.960]of becoming a board agenda or reportable item,
[00:29:47.950]just let us know.
[00:29:51.160]Any questions on that before we move on
[00:29:53.100]to general procurement thresholds,
[00:29:54.950]which is another exciting topic?
[00:30:02.140]Okay. Doesn't look like it
[00:30:04.090]We'll move on. Nope.
[00:30:05.860]Thank you. Yep.
[00:30:07.716]All right, Sarah.
[00:30:09.510]Thank you.
[00:30:10.970]Most of what we do within procurement
[00:30:12.930]is based on policies and procedures
[00:30:15.260]set by federal government, state government
[00:30:17.840]and the university's Board of Regents.
[00:30:20.440]The Board of Regents has developed policies
[00:30:22.380]reflecting the requirements
[00:30:23.940]by the various government levels,
[00:30:25.970]including federal uniform guidance,
[00:30:28.070]which went into effect in July of 2018.
[00:30:33.630]All purchases by the university,
[00:30:35.620]regardless of the funding source
[00:30:37.130]need to follow these federal guidelines.
[00:30:39.290]And these have been incorporated
[00:30:40.760]into our Board of Regents policies and are reflected here
[00:30:44.310]within our purchasing thresholds as well.
[00:30:47.330]So, to run through this chart here,
[00:30:48.940]for purchases under $5,000,
[00:30:51.810]departments are not required to gather competitive quotes.
[00:30:55.920]Procurement services has established
[00:30:57.860]a number of negotiated contracts
[00:30:59.770]with suppliers for everyday needs
[00:31:02.060]such as supplies for facilities,
[00:31:04.360]maintenance and repair, scientific research,
[00:31:07.904]IT hardware and software, office supplies and furniture.
[00:31:13.490]These contracted suppliers are available
[00:31:15.660]in eSHOP with catalogs reflecting this pricing.
[00:31:20.770]Purchases at this dollar threshold
[00:31:22.840]can be made via eSHOP through a catalog supplier
[00:31:25.640]or a non-catalog PO with quotes.
[00:31:29.120]You can also make these lower dollar purchases
[00:31:31.370]on a P-card, if available to you
[00:31:33.540]and if they are allowable.
[00:31:36.200]For purchases between 5,000
[00:31:38.090]and 10,000 next dollar threshold,
[00:31:41.180]we encourage departments to obtain
[00:31:44.020]multiple competitive quotes.
[00:31:46.000]These comparable quotes should be attached
[00:31:47.850]to the requisition in eSHOP for audit purposes,
[00:31:51.080]creating an electronic record of the purchase.
[00:31:54.610]Again, purchases at this dollar threshold
[00:31:56.680]can be made via eSHOP through catalog suppliers
[00:31:59.620]or a non-catalog form with the quote, creating a PO,
[00:32:03.730]and sending it to the supplier.
[00:32:06.730]The next threshold for purchases at 10,000 and above,
[00:32:10.990]multiple comparative quotes are required
[00:32:13.310]per federal uniform guidance.
[00:32:15.560]We encourage departments to contact procurement services
[00:32:18.370]if you need help when making these larger dollar purchases
[00:32:21.270]so we can assist with collecting comparable quotes,
[00:32:24.030]if you need assistance, or to identify contracted suppliers,
[00:32:27.870]you can purchase from
[00:32:29.430]who have already been competitively bid.
[00:32:32.320]When you use a contracted supplier,
[00:32:34.780]only one quote is required up to the $150,000 threshold.
[00:32:40.480]The designation of a contracted supplier
[00:32:42.690]is determined by procurement services.
[00:32:45.530]The final threshold is at $150,000.
[00:32:49.470]At this threshold a formal bid issued
[00:32:52.950]by procurement services is required,
[00:32:55.410]and this is per Board of Regents policy.
[00:32:58.230]Should you have a purchase over the $150,000
[00:33:01.840]requiring a formal bid, the earlier in the process
[00:33:05.410]you contact procurement services, the better.
[00:33:08.340]Depending on the complexity of the good or service
[00:33:10.760]you are needing to purchase,
[00:33:12.040]the process can take a minimum of two months.
[00:33:15.470]It could be longer for more complex projects.
[00:33:18.030]And like Maggie was saying with Board of Regents' approval,
[00:33:21.760]there's additional time
[00:33:22.850]that needs to be factored in as well.
[00:33:25.940]Once you have identified the need or acquired the funding
[00:33:29.550]for what you're wanting to purchase,
[00:33:31.470]this would be the best time to contact procurement
[00:33:33.750]and start having conversations with us
[00:33:36.089]to determine what the next best steps are.
[00:33:40.700]Lastly, in the case when there is no competition
[00:33:44.070]for the items or services you're wanting to purchase,
[00:33:47.400]we are required to document and review for approval
[00:33:51.550]those purchases where only one source is available.
[00:33:54.740]These types of purchases should not be commonplace
[00:33:58.190]and do require additional levels of review
[00:34:01.130]to ensure its validity.
[00:34:03.060]Should you have this type of purchase, again,
[00:34:05.540]reach out to the appropriate category buyer to discuss.
[00:34:09.720]You will also need to complete a noncompetitive form.
[00:34:13.590]You can visit the form section of our website
[00:34:16.200]for the current form, as it has been recently updated,
[00:34:20.250]and we are no longer accepting
[00:34:21.810]the older versions of this form.
[00:34:24.560]So, if you have any questions about the process
[00:34:27.040]at a certain dollar threshold,
[00:34:28.980]please reach out to a category buyer if applicable
[00:34:32.950]or else you can reach out to myself
[00:34:34.660]and I am happy to help discuss this with you.
[00:34:38.780]Emily.
[00:34:40.170]Great, thanks Sarah.
[00:34:43.400]All right, so that kind of concludes our talk today.
[00:34:46.320]I'm just showing on the screen right now
[00:34:48.320]ways that we can be contacted.
[00:34:50.100]If you need to contact eSHOP, there's email,
[00:34:52.780]contracts, IT procurement,
[00:34:54.640]and then the general UNL procurement email.
[00:34:57.390]And then we also have our team directory down here.
[00:34:59.630]If you're not sure who you need to contact,
[00:35:02.050]all of our faces and names and what we do are on that page.
[00:35:06.520]And then you also can find our commodities listings
[00:35:09.380]for if there is someone who you are needing to contact
[00:35:11.830]on a certain product and category,
[00:35:14.660]you can find our information there.
[00:35:19.510]Our upcoming discussions on August 20th,
[00:35:22.340]we'll be doing another COVID-19 update.
[00:35:24.900]We did our first update on COVID-19 in April,
[00:35:28.120]and we'll be doing a part two update
[00:35:30.330]as we are starting school
[00:35:32.290]and have students coming back on campus.
[00:35:34.480]And then we'll also be doing a meet the team,
[00:35:36.270]so you can put faces to some names that you know.
[00:35:40.950]And then in September we will be doing an update
[00:35:43.670]on our survey results that we received
[00:35:45.760]from the many people that we had take our survey.
[00:35:48.570]And we really just want to show everyone
[00:35:50.480]the changes that we are making
[00:35:52.100]to help serve the campus better.
[00:35:57.020]That concludes us today.
[00:36:00.270]I would encourage you to ask any questions if you need them.
[00:36:03.490]If you don't have them right now,
[00:36:04.560]please reach out to the person who you need to ask to,
[00:36:07.370]or you can reach out to unlprocurement@unl.edu.
[00:36:12.850]Otherwise, I do not see any questions in the box right now,
[00:36:17.590]so we'll go ahead and end this.
[00:36:19.130]Thank you everyone for attending today.
[00:36:22.060]Hey Emily, it's Maggie.
[00:36:24.570]Not to leave the last word unspoken.
[00:36:28.580]I threw a challenge question out there to everyone,
[00:36:31.220]half joking, half serious,
[00:36:32.900]but sometimes these topics can be,
[00:36:39.070]we repeat them, we refresh them
[00:36:42.300]because we want to make sure everyone understands.
[00:36:46.280]It's just a quick reminder that competitive bidding
[00:36:49.480]is definitely a strong drum beat
[00:36:52.480]within our leadership at the university
[00:36:55.010]and they do scrutinize very closely.
[00:36:58.690]I put a challenge question out there to ask anyone
[00:37:01.260]in the audience if they knew.
[00:37:02.680]How many times does the word competitive
[00:37:04.640]appear in chapter six Board of Regents' policy?
[00:37:07.550]It's one of the most frequently utilized words
[00:37:10.340]within that document.
[00:37:13.730]If you don't have time to check,
[00:37:15.730]maybe we'll check back the next time we talk about this,
[00:37:18.400]but it's a very important thing
[00:37:21.620]that we ensure these are properly documented.
[00:37:25.040]And sometimes I can tell you,
[00:37:28.040]and we don't exist to try to force a bid.
[00:37:32.860]There are bids that don't take a long time,
[00:37:36.630]but the idea of sole sourcing or noncompetitive procurement
[00:37:41.690]is very challenging to our leadership.
[00:37:44.950]And I just want to make sure that we help our stakeholders
[00:37:48.930]across the campuses understand that,
[00:37:51.041]that's very well-documented.
[00:37:52.870]I've seen documenting a noncompetitive purchase
[00:37:55.710]take as long as a big,
[00:37:57.730]trying to get the proper documentation to support it.
[00:38:01.160]So, we just want to make sure that we're not trying
[00:38:03.810]to scare people away from bidding.
[00:38:05.560]If they start with us soon in the process,
[00:38:08.140]we can usually help cut that timeframe down considerably.
[00:38:12.850]And I'm really grateful everybody could join us today.
[00:38:15.840]Thanks for being such great,
[00:38:17.750]great team members and stakeholders.
[00:38:23.110]Great, thank you Maggie.
[00:38:25.560]Thanks Emily.
[00:38:26.600]I hope everyone has a great day and stay safe.
[00:38:29.250]Thank you everyone.

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PED Talks July 2020

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