Procurement 101

The Office of Procurement and Contracting welcomes new faculty and staff to the University. The following provides you a brief overview of the procurement and contracting process here at East Stroudsburg University.

As a public entity and a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education certain bidding requirements are either mandated or have been adopted by East Stroudsburg University as good business practice. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Procurement Code known as Act 57 requires that bids be solicited for all purchases exceeding the competitive bid threshold with a few specific exceptions. Any exception to the competitive bidding requirement must be approved in advance by the PASSHE Regional Procurement Office (RPO).

Any tangible object is considered to be a commodity/good and procured through a Purchase Order (PO). Services are considered to be an intangible product and are procured through a Service Purchase Contract (SPC). Services include but are not limited to services provided by speakers, conference/workshop site providers, repairs to equipment, etc.

Once the need for a commodity/good or service is known, a requisition is to be entered into the SourcePoint/ARIBA financial system. Procurements less than $5,000, may qualify to be processed as a Direct Charge.

A Purchase Order, Service Purchase Contract and/or any other contract must be fully executed before the good is received or a service commences. Signature requirements also known as Contracting Authority for a Purchase Order, Service Purchase Contract and/or any other contract are dictated by University policy. The primary person delegated with the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the University is Donna Bulzoni, Chief Financial Officer. No other person on campus has the authority to enter into contracts unless that authority is delegated in advance and in writing by the University President. See more information regarding University signature authority.

Training opportunities are distributed in a monthly newsletter to the campus community on how ESU purchases goods and services through SourcePoint; supplier catalog purchase/receipt, requisitioning, multi-year contracts, approvals, tips & tricks, and more! To request the latest copy, please contact xxxx.

For more information please contact the ESU RPO Liaison, Jesus Serrano x3565 or jserrano@passhe.edu