Irish Buyer Goes Green!

The Irish Buyer newsletter from Procurement Services is now distributed only in electronic format. This decision was made to support our mission of environmental stewardship. While many news articles and announcements are published regularly on our website (buy.nd.edu), the Irish Buyer will be distributed by email to summarize and announce new initiatives, major contracts and price agreements with our suppliers.

In addition to contract pricing, favorable terms and conditions and efficient buying methods, Procurement Services is working with our preferred suppliers to identify and promote environmentally friendly products.

Some of the major contracts include Xerox and Lenovo – providing Energy Star qualified products and Office Depot – providing The Green Book, a catalog of over 3000 qualified green products. For a more complete and growing list of suppliers tips and guidance for buying and working in a green environment, please visit buy.nd.edu/green.

We are committed to improving our level of service to the University. As part of this effort, we have created a simple forum for campus users to share ideas or suggestions with our team.

Visit https://buy.nd.edu/idea to send us your suggestions and ideas for improving procurement on campus.

All who travel or incur expenses on behalf of the University for business purposes will want to note that a revised Travel & Expense Policy will be issued effective July 1, 2008. This policy reissuance will be the first major revision to the current published T&E Policy, last updated in 2000. The new policy will incorporate all policy changes and clarifications over the past eight years in one comprehensive on-line document that can be updated easily for future changes. A major communication effort will be forthcoming to notify University travelers of this change and will be posted online at controller.nd.edu.

Here are some new contracts and price agreements that were negotiated by Procurement Services. Click on the supplier name to read more about the relationship.

• Corning glassware items - "C" contract is now available through Fisher Scientific and Dot Scientific
• Perkin Elmer for scientific products
• Vista Presentation Solutions for audio-video equipment and services
• Bob Miller's Appliance (available to Notre Dame employees also)
• Temporary Services

New Hosted Catalog for Vista Presentation Solutions

The University of Notre Dame and Vista Presentation Solutions have reached a three year preferred supplier agreement for the acquisition of audio-video equipment and services. A hosted catalog with over 150 products has been implemented in buyND for easy ordering. Click here to see more details on this new relationship.

Chemical Substructure Search - BETA

Check out the new Chemical Substructure Search (BETA) tool in buyND. Design your chemical compound and search the buyND hosted catalogs for the chemicals. Read more about this tool on the buyND website.

We are pleased to announce two new additions to our Procurement Services staff.

Kara Finch (left) joined our team in November of 2007 as a Procurement Specialist for Science and Engineering.  She came to the University of Notre Dame from the City of Elkhart where she worked as the city’s Purchasing Manager, dealing in a variety of commodities.  Kara received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Purdue University.  She later received a Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan and is a licensed attorney in Indiana.

Transitioning from her prior role at the University Library, Diane Kennedy (right) joined our team as a Procurement Systems Specialist. Diane is responsible for providing day-to-day operational support to the buyND e-Procurement and e-Sourcing systems. Along with other system responsibilities such as data analysis, system testing and troubleshooting, she also plays an important role in the training and communications efforts for the department.

Meet the rest of our staff on the Procurement website.

Approver Outbox in buyND

Did you know that as an approver you can view requisitions that you have approved. This feature was added in version 7.3 in November 2007. Click here to read more.

The world is shrinking and Notre Dame's world is growing - International Orders and Shipments

The University of Notre Dame is becoming more involved in research projects based in foreign countries.  Shipments to some third world countries present obvious challenges.  Procurement specialist, Kara Finch, is currently working with suppliers, logistics firms and government agencies to coordinate the purchase, customs and shipping of research equipment and supplies. She is quickly becoming our in-house specialist in international shipments. Please allow time for shipping and customs coordination when purchasing from and shipping to foreign countries. Contact Kara Finch at 631-0947 or email kfinch@nd.edu.