UC Davis information forums maximize purchase power

UC Davis Procurement and Contracting Services has been developing and conducting outreach and training for its customers; empowering them with information and data to maximize their purchasing power. Our Procurement Technology and Operations Team has collaborated with various UC Davis colleagues/teams to develop engaging forums, utilizing feedback from customers in surveys and Help Desk calls, while emphasizing best practices. These sessions have been well-attended, and participants have said that they find them helpful and informative, and that they will apply what they have learned in their future procurement decisions.

Forums have included:

• From Sourcing to Catalog: Co-presented with our Strategic Sourcing Team, providing an overview of how agreements are set up at UC and the importance and benefits of using those agreements, including the steps of implementing new catalogs in our e-procurement system, AggieBuy 

• How Do I Buy: Co-presented with Procurement Buyers, along with our UC Davis Card Program Team,  providing an overview of the preferred ways to purchase at UC Davis, with a discussion of AggieBuy, Procurement Card Program, and the UC Davis ERP, Kuali Financial System (KFS) 

• Equipment Procurement and Management at UC Davis: Co-presented with Capital Asset Accounting/Equipment Management Team, providing an overview of how capital assets are purchased, with an emphasis on using AggieBuy for capital asset procurement, and best practices for tracking capital assets/completing physical inventories

• The Value of A Purchase Order: Co-presented with Procurement Buyers, providing an overview of the acceptable types of Purchase Orders, including those from AggieBuy and the Kuali Financial System; ways to avoid using inappropriate purchasing methods 

Our Procurement Technology and Operations Team is continuously working with our many UC Davis partners to ensure that our customers are equipped with the knowledge and data they need to make the best purchasing decisions for their department, the university, and for our larger global environment.