Announcing the
Scientific Laboratory Supplies Contract 

Why the Change?
The University spends over 4 million per year on scientific laboratory supplies and consumables.  Until now, a focused effort has not been made to consolidate that spend.  Instead, small dollar purchases have been made on an individual basis, with all of the major distributors and manufacturers, using either the Requisition / PO process or a Procurement Card (ProCard).

What’s changed?
Procurement and Strategic Sourcing (PASS) engaged in a negotiation effort to  acquire the best possible combination of service, delivery and pricing for the University Research community. We are pleased to announce that a 5 year contract agreement with Fisher Scientific has been finalized and signed.  The contract  improves overall service and pricing, and  will eliminate fuel surcharges, dry ice charges and hazardous material fees, which will save approximately $2.5 million research dollars over a 5 year period.

Benefits

• Improved pricing on your most common supplies
• Showcased Vendor in WayneBuy
• Simple to use
• Able to place orders as large as $2,000 without requiring Procurement’s secondary approval
• 2-3 day delivery for the majority of supply items
• No more fuel surcharges, dry ice charges or hazardous material fees

Projected Savings
Annual savings through lower costs to the University community is estimated to be approximately $500,000.00, achieved through better pricing and the other benefits listed above.  As a side benefit, the University will gain much greater knowledge of its actual spend.  This information will be helpful for future negotiations with Fisher and/or our next strategic sourcing effort for scientific and laboratory supplies.

Ordering Process
Fisher Scientific is a Showcased Supplier in WayneBuy.  This means, that the order process is as simple as logging into WayneBuy, clicking on the Fisher Scientific punch-out catalog, filling a shopping cart, and checking out in WayneBuy.  In addition, those persons on campus with shopping cart capability (essentially the entire campus community) can now make paperless requests for scientific supplies to their business office by using the Assign a cart function.

The unique WayneBuy profile for  ProCard holders allows the shopper to place Fisher Scientific orders up to $2,000 without requiring Procurement’s secondary approval.  Most orders will go directly from the Procard Holder’s requisition to Fisher’s order entry system in one step. 

Please remember, all purchases must be consistent with the University Expenditure Policies stated in the APPM:

• Section 1.3.1, Expense Guidelines
• Section 2.0, Procurement Process
• Section 2.7, Procurement Card

Targeted Spend
Fisher Scientific is able to process orders for many of the supplies and small equipment we purchase through other well-known sources, at the same or lower costs with the advantage of the other savings listed above.  A separate mailing will highlight the suppliers where we will be encouraging the campus research faulty to try Fisher first.

University Contacts
If you have questions or require assistance, please contact
Kimberly Tomaszewski at (313) 577-3757 or Paula Reyes at (313) 577-3649