How Purchases are Made at UC Davis

UC Davis Procurement & Contracting Services provides centralized purchasing services to the campus with limited delegation of purchasing authority extended to campus departments.

Purchase Orders

Suppliers shall not make sales to the university without a purchase order. UC Davis Procurement & Contracting Services is the only office with legal authority to execute purchases that exceed delegation transaction thresholds. Purchase orders are issued for officially authorized purchases under compliance with the State of California Public Contract Code and The Regents of the University of California Business and Finance Bulletin 43, which governs procurement for the University of California.

In addition to Procurement & Contracting Services, several other UC Davis offices regularly handle contracts depending on the subject matter:

• Office of Research-Sponsored Programs
• Office of Research-Innovation Access
• Real Estate Services
• Health System Contracts
• Design & Construction Management
• Facilities Management

UC Davis is generally not exempt from California state sales or use tax.

UC Davis purchase orders include a delivery address and a billing address to which invoices should be submitted. Invoices should be submitted at or after the time goods or services are delivered.

Purchases of an estimated value of $50,000 or more - (or those below $50,000 which are conducive to competition) Formal solicitations are prepared and issued by UC Davis Procurement & Contracting Services. The solicitations are provided to potential bidders and are posted on the CalUSource website, along with other UC bidding opportunities.  Suppliers are required to register in that system if they wish to submit a proposal on any open RFx.  Awards are made to the responsive, responsible bidder with the lowest overall cost to the university.

Procurement Card

For purchases up to a grand total of $9,999.99 (this includes tax, freight, etc.), campus departments may use an official campus Procurement Card.  NOTE: Capital assets (standalone items $5K and above) are not to be purchased on the Procurement Card.

E-Procurement

Our financial system also features an e-procurement catalog with a number of supplier catalogs that provide office, computer, laboratory, health, janitorial and maintenance/repair products.