Navigating the UCLA Procurement Portal: A Comprehensive Guide

The UCLA Procurement Portal serves as a critical gateway for managing a wide array of purchases and reimbursements within the university. This guide aims to demystify its functionalities, outline key processes, and highlight important considerations for faculty, staff, and even external individuals engaging with UCLA for goods and services. Understanding the portal's requirements and procedures is essential for ensuring smooth transactions, timely payments, and compliance with university policies.

Initiating Purchase Requests: The Foundation of Procurement

At the heart of the UCLA procurement process is the creation of a Purchase Request (PR) within the Procurement Portal. This initial step is paramount, as a BruinBuy Purchase Order (PO) must be established before any services are rendered or goods are delivered. Failing to do so constitutes a violation of policy and renders the transaction an unauthorized purchase. This strict adherence is in place to maintain financial integrity and accountability across the university.

For those seeking to acquire goods or services that have already been obtained, or for requests submitted with insufficient lead time, an "after-the-fact" (ATF) form will be required. This form necessitates completion and approval from the Dean's Office CAO, Controller Team, and CFO, a process that inevitably introduces delays and does not guarantee approval from UCLA Business Financial Solutions. To proactively avoid such complications, it is strongly advised to familiarize yourself with the procedures for preventing unauthorized purchases and to consult the provided resources for detailed information on the ATF process.

Essential Information for Purchase Requests

When submitting a purchase request through the portal, several pieces of information are crucial for its successful processing. For non-food and entertainment orders exceeding $5,000, a vendor quote must be submitted to the Procurement Portal before the services are rendered. This ensures transparency and allows for a thorough evaluation of costs.

In instances where a Sole Source is required, meaning a product or service can only be obtained from a single vendor, the Sole Source Request Form must be appended to the initial purchase request. Similarly, if an IT Risk Assessment is deemed necessary for a particular purchase, the Risk Assessment Questionnaire must accompany the request. Furthermore, for transactions exceeding $10,000 but falling below $250,000, and where the vendor is not designated as a Small Business, a Small Business Waiver must be included with the initial submission.

Navigating Reimbursement Processes

The Procurement Portal also facilitates the reimbursement process for expenditures made on behalf of the university. To request reimbursement, individuals are instructed to place the order through their personal account and subsequently submit a reimbursement request via the Procurement Portal. A critical component of any reimbursement request is the inclusion of a clear business justification. This explanation outlines the necessity and benefit of the purchase to the university's operations or objectives.

For food orders involving third-party vendors, such as Café Med/Aramark, Fresh Corn Grill, or TLT, the completion of the Entertainment Meals Worksheet is mandatory when submitting these orders into the Procurement Portal. This worksheet helps to categorize and account for entertainment-related expenses accurately.

Special Considerations for Specific Purchases

Hardware and Software Acquisition

The process for requesting hardware and software purchases involves a slightly different pathway. To initiate such a request, you must first contact the Dean's Office IT Business Relationship Manager (BRM) to obtain a price quote. This ensures that the necessary technical specifications and compatibility are considered before a formal purchase request is made.

Student Stipends

Requests for student stipends have specific requirements to ensure timely disbursement. These requests must include the student's W-9 forms and be submitted to the Purchasing team a minimum of six weeks prior to the desired check disbursement date. This lead time is essential for processing and verification.

Gift Cards

The procedure for purchasing gift cards varies depending on the recipient's affiliation with UCLA. For UCLA employees, the Employee Recognition Request Form must be downloaded, completed, and uploaded into the Procurement Portal. Additionally, an Excel file containing the recipient's names, UIDs, and the amount received must accompany the submission. For non-UCLA employees, a separate Gift Card Request Form is available for download and completion, which should then be uploaded into the Procurement Portal.

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Vendor Management and Compliance

UCLA places a significant emphasis on strategic vendor management to ensure efficiency, accountability, and adherence to policies.

Vaya Workforce Solutions

Vaya Workforce Solutions functions as UCLA Health’s centralized vendor management system. Its primary objectives are to strategically source vendors, provide comprehensive reporting and utilization analytics, and develop streamlined processes for vendor management. This system is integral to maintaining a robust and compliant vendor ecosystem within UCLA Health.

Symplr (Vendor Credentialing)

For all vendor representatives entering UCLA Health facilities, proper credentialing is a non-negotiable requirement. The Symplr system is utilized to manage vendor credentialing, which is crucial for ensuring a safe patient and work environment. Vendors and their representatives must register with Symplr, fulfill all credentialing requirements, and adhere to the standards set forth by the Office of Compliance Services. Failure to maintain up-to-date credentials in Symplr can result in the revocation of access to UCLA Health facilities. During any visit, vendor representatives are required to wear their Symplr-issued badge prominently. Furthermore, UCLA Health mandates that all vendors involved in direct patient care support roles provide proof of all necessary vaccinations, including COVID-19 and influenza.

Timelines and Lead Times: Planning for Success

Adhering to specified timelines is crucial for the successful processing of procurement requests. With the ongoing transition to BruinBuy Plus and the current high volume of orders at UCLA Business & Financial Solutions, it is now recommended to submit procurement portal requests at least 30 days in advance of when the goods or services are needed.

For requests that involve additional complexities, such as Vendor Onboarding, Sole Source requirements, IT Risk Assessments, or Small Business First Waivers, a significantly longer lead time of up to 3-5 months should be factored in. Vendor Onboarding, for instance, involves a third-party invitation process within BruinBuy Plus. While the Dean's Office Finance team initiates this process upon submission of your request, the successful onboarding is contingent upon the vendor's accuracy and responsiveness.

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Catering and Food Orders

Recognizing the need for additional exception approvals for policy deviations, units are now required to submit catering and food order requests at least three weeks in advance of the event. This extended lead time is necessary for the proper processing of BruinBuy orders. Catering requests that do not meet this lead time will not be processed, and the unit will be directed to use AYS Catering as an alternative.

Cost-Saving Measures and Discretionary Spending

In response to current financial challenges and anticipated reductions in government funding, UCLA is implementing cost-saving measures across all departments, including the Dean's Office. A key aspect of these measures involves a significant reduction in discretionary spending, particularly in the areas of travel, entertainment, and employee meals. This directive underscores the importance of mindful procurement and a focus on essential expenditures.

Sponsorships and Contributions

The Dean, Vice Deans, or faculty possessing discretionary funding have the option to contribute sponsorship to support an event, organization, or program. The process for requesting such sponsorship involves completing a Transmittal Letter and the UCLA Sponsorship Form. In some cases, obtaining logo authorization and an attendees list may also be required.

Honorarium Payments

The requirements for requesting honorarium payments differ based on whether the recipient is a UCLA employee or a non-employee. It is important to note that honorariums are intended for individuals, not companies, and cannot represent a negotiated agreement for professional services that would typically require contract review.

For UCLA employees, payment requests should be directed to their department's Human Resources office. The request must include the recipient's name, UID, purpose of payment, criteria for selection, the amount to be paid (gross or net of taxes), and the appropriate funding account (FAU).

For non-UCLA employees, a specific how-to guide on requesting honorarium payments is available to initiate the process.

Parking

The UCLA campus offers three distinct types of parking, each with its own regulations and procedures, which are managed and accessible through information provided within or linked from the Procurement Portal.

Olive View-UCLA Medical Center Purchasing

While most purchasing policies and procedures at Olive View units align with the Dean’s Office guidelines, there are site-specific submission and approval requirements. All supply and service requests for Olive View must be submitted using the Olive View Supply & Service Request (SSR) form and routed through Olive View Medical Administration.

IT Risk Assessment and TPRM Approval

For purchases that may involve IT-related risks, an IT Risk Assessment is often a prerequisite. Similarly, for certain types of procurements, approval from the TPRM (Third-Party Risk Management) team is necessary. To prevent delays, it is imperative to ensure that the TPRM Triage Form is submitted and approved by TPRM before submitting the purchase request into the Procurement Portal. Requests lacking this prior approval will be returned for completion, and not all requests are guaranteed TPRM approval.

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