Procurement ordering, delivery of supplies, and contract commitments - Updates as of March 18, 2020

March 18, 2020

Starting March 16 through March 31, 2020, Yale Procurement will be working remotely to support all buying activity. Procurement has been getting many inquiries about ordering supplies, timely delivery of items, and contracts. This page will be updated as needed, please check back here peroidically.

Procurement is fully operational and is receiving, reviewing and approving requisitions as normal. We continue to monitor the situation and are keeping in close contact with our suppliers. However, given that the current situation is fluid due to COVID-19 with changes happening almost hourly, we are experiencing ever changing and increasing demand in some commodities where availability and supply disruptions are likely. Connect with your procurement leader if you have any immediate needs.

Supply orders and delivery of products

What is being done at the University level to ensure timely delivery of cleaning, safety and health supplies?

Procurement continues to be been in contact with key suppliers that provide cleaning, health, and safety supplies to discuss the availability of products. With respect to PPE (personal protective equipment), medical facilities, hospitals, and blood laboratories are currently taking priority.

Will delivery of products and supplies still be permitted on the Yale campus?

Yes. Deliveries of products and key supplies that are required will continue to be delivered in order to support critical campus operations.

How long will it take to get orders delivered?

Our suppliers (other than those statuses noted) have not indicated any delay or interruptions in deliveries. For deliveries intended for those departments where staff members are working remotely and supplies are not needed, Procurement would recommend the department contact the Supplier with instruction to cease delivery or discuss alternative delivery plans to address any delivery/shipping concerns.

Who determines if a supply order is critical and will it be delivered? 

Once orders and/or requests arrive in Procurement, they are all addressed in the order they are received. Please note in the requisition if your order is critical or if you need expedited shipping and Procurement will do its best to prioritize. 

Will Workday order approvals be delayed due to the absence of “noncritical personal?”

There are multiple approvals needed prior to a purchase order being generated and sent to a supplier. The requisition workflow in Workday first needs to be approved by your department or school business office. If you are waiting for financial approval, please contact your business office. Upon approval from the business office, the requisition workflow will then be sent to Procurement for approval.  Procurement is fully operational – receiving, reviewing and approving requisitions as normal.

Can I use my pCard for small purchases such as office supplies and books through Amazon for home delivery?

Yes. You may use your pCard to purchase essential supplies and books on Amazon or other similar websites as long as you prepare an expense report, you have a business justification for the purchase, and you get your manager’s approval. 

Can I purchase lab supplies and have them shipped to my home address?

No. Lab supplies should only be purchased for use directly in the lab or research space on campus. Please continue to order lab supplies through the standard buying process using SciQuest/Workday punchout and purchase orders. Please contact your sourcing leader for any exceptions.

Will Airgas continue to deliver to labs on campus?

Yes. Airgas will continue to deliver gas and dry ice orders as normal.  If a department does not want a delivery, please let Airgas know in advance.

What should I do if I have reoccurring automatic delivers from WB Mason that I need to suspend?

Please consider whether your re-occurring automatic deliveries from WB Mason are still needed. To temporarily suspend or redirect to an alternate delivery location, please contact WB Mason at Carl.mirando@WBMASON.COM or 888-926-2766 ext 1884. In the event there is no one at your location to receive the delivery, WB Mason will plan to return the item to their warehouse.

Who do I contact if I need delivery of Water?

Regular deliveries of water service from Nestle has been temporarily suspended while students are off campus and most staff members are working from home. If you need supplies or services, please contact ReadyRefresh/Poland Spring Customer Service Support at 1-800-950-9907 or RREnterpriseSupport@waters.nestle.com

Who do I contact if I need Document Shredding or Document Storage?

Regular service of document shredding from IronShred and storage from Iron Mountain have been temporarily suspended while students are off campus and most staff members are working from home. If you have any service needs, please contact the appropriate customer service team.

IT Equipment

If we need to purchase IT equipment?

IT and Purchasing are experiencing a significant uptick in requests for IT equipment. With appropriate departmental approval, iPads, Wacom tablets, or other peripherals may now be purchased directly on P-cards, as a short-term exception to normal restrictions. Please be advised that tablets do not require Yale-specific configuration. 

Alternatively, desktops and laptops cannot be purchased directly. However, Yale is working with multiple vendors to secure inventory that may not otherwise be available and has a process in place to assure that these come with the necessary software pre-loaded and that they meet compliance requirements and University security standards. Please contact the ITS Help Desk if you have desktop or laptop needs, so that we can help source equipment from existing inventory or place expedited orders. Equipment will be delivered to one of three shipping docks: 

  • 135 College Street for Medical Campus,
  • 55 Whitney Avenue for Central Campus, and
  • 100 West Campus Drive, building #750 for West Campus.

 

Can I purchase a desktop or laptops using my pCard and have it shipped directly to my home?

No. Desktop and laptops cannot be purchased directly. ITS has a process in place to assure that desktops and laptops are loaded with the necessary software first in order to meet compliance and University security standards prior to being delivered to a requestor.

Can I purchase a tablets or iPads using my pCard and have them shipped directly to my home?

Yes. You may use your pCard to purchase tablets or iPads as long as you prepare an expense report, you have a business justification for the purchase, and you get your manager’s approval. 

Contracts

What if I need to cancel an event or an external service is no longer needed?

Please work directly with your sourcing leader in the event that you need to terminate a contract related to a change of plans due to the COVID-19 impact. If you have lost deposits that are not refundable, there is a high likelihood that nothing that can be done. However, Procurement will work with our suppliers to negotiate credits or other options in order to minimize impact. In the event a contract was signed prior to our knowledge of COVID-19, there are certain contractual language we can leverage to alleviate commitments.

How will I get my contracts signed?

Contracts will be reviewed and signed by the contract manager. Please send them as you normally would through a Workday requisition (Purchasing Assistance is needed).

Account Sales Representatives

Should supplier sales reps visit Yale?

No. Yale has determined that as of March 16 only personnel considered “critical” are to be on campus.  Please discourage any supplier sales representatives from coming on campus.

Please note we have notified Suppliers as follows:

Due to the COVID-19 situation for the foreseeable future Yale University has taken steps to reduce the number of people on campus and shifting certain work off-site in a measure to practice social distancing.  

We ask our valued Suppliers to observe the following guidelines: 

  1. Continue to make deliveries of critical supplies needed to support operations that are open such as patient care, research, network and data centers; public safety; student care; and select academic, administrative, and operational functions;
  2. Do not make any sales calls on Yale’s campus; and 
  3. Do not make re-occurring automatic deliveries without first confirming the recipient is actively in the office to receive delivery. 

Please note, there are critical operations that remain open on campus. Therefore, deliveries for those departments should be maintained.  Please alert us if you experience any delivery challenges by contacting  purchasing.helpdesk@yale.edu or (203) 432-9955.  Please have the PO number and delivery location available.

Any questions please email or call Yale Procurement, purchasing.helpdesk@yale.edu or call 203 432 9955.

Thank you,
Yale Procurement Team