Strategic Sourcing

The Office for Supply Management Services' strategic supplier sourcing initiative leverages the university's significant buying power and key supplier business relationships to maximize the university's return.

The goal of this purchasing objective is to effectively manage the university supplier base, reduce the cost for products and services, reduce order cycle time, and maximize the value and potential of key strategic supplier relations without imposing any restrictions on manufacturers or products. However, it is the responsibility of Office for Supply Management Services to identify suppliers that offer access to manufacturers and products required by the university at the "least total cost."

The Office for Supply Management Services is actively engaged in supplier sourcing initiatives that will continue to streamline the purchasing experience for university faculty and staff. These initiatives may result in changes to existing supplier business relationships as new contracts are awarded and purchasing activity is shifted to preferred contract suppliers.

Whenever possible, the Office for Supply Management Services will attempt to identify a single supplier for most commonly ordered products and services and make them available designated as  "preferred suppliers."

How are we doing? The Office for Supply Management Services uses performance metrics to monitor initiative progress and accomplishments. These metrics are also used in the planning process for future purchasing initiatives.