All staff who are involved in the ordering of goods or services now have online access to a list of University-approved suppliers and contractors.
Mike Harmer, Head of Procurement, is urging staff to use the list as much as possible. A University-wide purchase order system is due to go live in the near future and the use of it and the approved list will then become mandatory.
"The use of approved suppliers is an integral part of financial management and control," explains Mike. "To put in perspective our ordering activity, the University places approximately 25,000 orders each year for goods, services and works. These are valued at over £30 million (excluding capital and research-funded equipment).
"Using the list of approved suppliers will reduce both process costs and staff time spent sourcing the vast range of requirements," he adds. "There can be considerable savings in costs and efficiency."
The list is available through Sussex Direct, in Information for Staff. Log in as usual, click on 'Admin' and navigate to 'Procurement'.
There will be circumstances when a unit wishes to place an order with a supplier that is not currently on the approved list. This may be because the product or service required is very specialist or because a supplier can offer better terms. If you need to use a non-approved supplier, you must contact the Procurement Office so that consideration can be given to placing the supplier on the approved list.
You can pass on any positive suggestions to improve or access the list to Iain Monro, who manages the list of approved suppliers and provides helpline facilities; email procurement@sussex.ac.uk .