WSU Purchasing Processes

Sourcing is the process of identifying, evaluating, and selecting suppliers or internal sources to meet the needs of campus departments for goods and services (referred to below as “items”). 

Effective sourcing ensures compliance with university policies, maximizes institutional value, and supports research goals by leveraging contracts, competitive bidding, and strategic partnerships.

Follow the steps outlined below to identify the most appropriate source for your purchase (in order of priority):

Step 1 Internal Source: Determine whether the item is available from an internal source.

Procuring items from internal sources maximizes value for the institution as a whole. Examples include:

• Facilities Services (repair & maintenance)
• Information Technology (hardware & software) 
• Telecommunications (phone equipment and service)
• Media Resources Center (media equipment and services)
• Shocker Printing & Promo Solutions (printing services and WSU promotional items)

If you are procuring equipment, contact wsupropertycontrol@wichita.edu to determine whether similar equipment may be available as surplus from another WSU department.

Step 2 Contract Purchase: Determine if the item is available through a contract.

Contracts available to WSU include WSU contracts, State of Kansas contracts, and other consortium contracts. Wu-Buy users can browse these contracts directly, or request assistance by contacting purchasing.office@wichita.edu. The requirement for competition is satisfied when purchasing an item on contract.

Off-Contract Purchases: If a department identifies a source for an item that is otherwise available through a contract and desires to purchase the item off-contract they must submit an Off-Contract Waiver Request Form with the Wu-Buy requisition. The absolute savings and percentage of savings relative to the contract vendor, including supporting documentation, must be included on the PAF. A minimum savings of 10% or $100 (whichever is greater) is required for an off-contract purchase.

Step 3 Wu-Buy Marketplace: Browse for the desired item in Wu-Buy  Marketplace.

Tools for identifying an appropriate supplier for the item include Guided Buying and supplier catalogs.

• Punchout Suppliers: The Punch‑Out Suppliers group in the Guided Buying section is the best tool for identifying suppliers with embedded catalogs. Catalog purchases satisfy WSU’s requirements for price reasonableness, but must adhere to appropriate Competitive Procurement Methods (see below) based on the dollar value of the purchase.
• Other Guided Buying: Guided Buying tiles can be used to identify suppliers who may be able to provide the desired item. But other sourcing methods would be required to obtain price information or quotes.  Non-Catalog items are initiated with a supplier quote, require price reasonableness, and must adhere to appropriate Competitive Procurement Methods (see below) based on the dollar value of the purchase.

Step 4 Competitive Procurement: If steps 1-3 do not yield an item that satisfies the department’s requirements, identify a source through a competitive procurement process.

The requirements vary depending on the dollar value of the item, as outlined in Competitive Procurement Methods below.

Step 5 Sole Source: If competitive procurement is not practicable, document the justification for a sole source selection using the Prior Authorization Form (PAF),and include documentation of price reasonableness as described in the Price Analysis section below. Acceptable reasons for sole source procurement may include:

• Public exigency or emergency
• Written request or approval from the sponsor
• Inadequate competition
• A true sole source situation

Supplier Request: If you identify a source for an Item and the vendor is not available in Wu-Buy Marketplace, please submit a supplier request in Wu-Buy.

The threshold values outlined below include the entire cost of the item, including shipping, delivery, installation, and other charges. Selecting the lowest price is not required, but justification must be provided when a more costly alternative is selected. For example, a higher price may be justified based on quality or delivery. Based on the dollar value of the item, the methods outlined below satisfy WSU’s requirement for competitive procurement:

• Micro Purchase (< $10,000): Competition is encouraged but not required. However, units should always ensure the price for the item is fair and reasonable. Refer to the Price Analysis section below for additional information about this requirement.
• Informal Bid/ Simplified Acquisition ($10,000 - $50,000): For items between the micro purchase threshold and the formal procurement threshold, competition requirements are satisfied by obtaining at least three quotes from different suppliers. “Quotes” may include website price lists, written vendor quotes, quotes from online searches, email bids, and well documented phone or verbal quotes and should be documented on the Quote Comparison Form and attached to the Wu-Buy requisition.
• Formal Bid/ Formal Procurement (> $50,000): For items greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, a formal procurement process is required. Refer to the Formal Bids section below or contact purchasing.office@wichita.edu for assistance.

WSU offers three main payment methods:

• Wu-Buy (Purchase Order/RQ to Check): Processing a requisition in Wu-Buy creates an encumbrance in Banner, reserves budget, ensures approvals prior to commitment, and results in the issuance of a formal purchase commitment (PO) to the vendor. Retrofit orders are available when a PO should not be sent to the vendor, typically when a PO is being processed in Wu-Buy to record a commitment that has already been made.
• Emburse Enterprise/ChromeRiver (Direct Pay Invoice): Process invoices without a PO for micro-purchases, routine expenses, and other low-risk items.
• Procurement Card (P-Card): Best for small, incidental purchases where speed and convenience matter.

When a formal procurement process is required or desired, the Office of Purchasing will work with the department to solicit competitive bids.

• The department  provides written purchasing specificiations for the item based on their requirement. 
• There are several different mechanisms for obtaining formal bids. Purchasing will assist the department in determining the best solicitation type based on the circumstances of the procurement, including the anticipated cost. Depending on the type of solicitation, bids may be open or seated.The most commonly used bid types for WSU include the following:
  • RFI (Request for Information): Gather market insights and vendor capabilities when requirements are unclear.
  • RFP (Request for Proposal): Solicit detailed proposals for complex projects where multiple factors (not just price) matter.
  • RFQ (Request for Quotation): Obtain pricing for well-defined goods or services with clear specifications.
• Purchasing will review and finalize specifications and solicit competitive bids from vendors, collaborating with the Office of General Counsel to ensure the solicitation includes the appropriate terms and conditions.
• Purchasing will coordinate with the department to evaluate vendor responses, make a final vendor selection for the bid, and proceed with the procurement, as appropriate. 

While safeguarding WSU’s resources and obtaining the best value is always a priority, extra compliance steps apply when spending federal funds. These funds may be governed by Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) for federal financial assistance or the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for federal procurements. In addition, additional requirements may be imposed through award terms and conditions or governing regulations.

Principal Investigators (PIs) should work closely with the Office of Research and/or the IDP Office of Procurement to understand and comply with applicable compliance obligations. Key requirements for procurements include:

• Price Analysis: Confirms that prices are fair and reasonable and demonstrates WSU’s stewardship of federal funds. Methods for determining price reasonableness include, but are not limited to, price competition, historical pricing, and market research. See the Price Analysis section below for additional information.
• Certified Cost or Pricing Data: For procurements subject to the Truth in Negotiations Act (ACT, Public Law 87-653), certified cost or pricing data must be obtained from the contractor and attached to the Wu-Buy requisition. This requirement applies to subcontracts greater than $2.5 million unless an exception applies. Key exceptions include subcontracts made under prime awards for commercial items and prime awards with adequate price competition.
• Commercial Item Determination (CID): A commercial item is a product or service that is commonly used by the general public for non-government purposes. For awards subject to FAR, making an appropriate CID ensures the correct terms and conditions are flowed down to contractors and helps reduce administrative burden for purchases of commercial items. Refer to Commercial Item Determinations for additional information.
• Flowdowns and Special Instructions: The Office of Research and/or IDP Procurement reviews procurements to ensure all required terms and conditions are transmitted to vendors. This may include WSU’s standard terms and any sponsor-specific flowdowns from the prime award.

Price analysis is the process of examining the proposed or quoted price of an item to verify whether the price is fair and reasonable.

Formal documentation of price analysis is required for all federally funded procurements and subcontracts, including purchases under Uniform Guidance and procurement contracts under the FAR.  This documentation should be submitted with the Wu-Buy requisition and will be subject to review and approval by the Office of Research and Purchasing.

Examples of appropriate methods for price analysis include the following:

• Comparing proposed prices obtained through formal or informal competition
• Comparison to historical prices paid for the same or similar item
• Parametric estimating methods using measurable features of an item (e.g., dollars per pound, hour, or other unit)
• Comparison to published catalog or list prices
• Comparison to government contract pricing (e.g., GSA)
• Comparison to independent cost estimates
• Market research

The following tables summarizes documentation requirements for price analysis, depending on the sourcing strategy and/or procurement method. For sole source procurements, supporting documentation must accompany the price analysis. For all other sourcing methods, the documentation requirement is simply to select the price analysis method used.

Source/Method	Documentation Requirement
Contract Purchases	Select Contract Purchase as the price analysis method in the Wu-Buy requisition. Competition ensured fair and reasonable prices at the time the contract was awarded.
Catalog Item	Select Catalog Item as the price analysis method in the Wu-Buy requisition.
Micro Purchase	Select the appropriate value for the price analysis method in the Wu-Buy requisition.
Informal Bid	Price competition generally establishes a fair and reasonable price. Select Competitive as the price analysis method in the Wu-Buy requisition. The Informal Bid Form and quote comparisons attached to the Wu-Buy requisition provide documentation of price competition.
Formal Bid	Price competition generally establishes a fair and reasonable price. Select Competitive as the price analysis method in the Wu-Buy requisition. Record of the formal procurement is retained in the Wu-Buy sourcing module, providing documentation of price competition.
Sole Source	For sole source procurement, price analysis is of particular importance. Depending on the nature and complexity of the item, it may be necessary to utilize more than one method to establish a fair and reasonable price. Select one or more pricing method as the price analysis method in the Wu-Buy requisition and attach appropriate supporting documentation to the requisition.

Wu-Buy is WSU's eProcurement Solution.  Training videos and job aids can be found on the SharePoint Site: Procurement and Payment Services.

• Wu-Buy Job Aids
• Wu-Buy PROD

 

To streamline the university’s purchases made through Amazon, the university has entered into a partnership with Amazon allowing staff access to an enterprise-wide Amazon Business Prime account.  Benefits of the enterprise account include:

• Free 2-Day shipping on Prime-eligible items
• Automatic tax-exempt purchasing
• Access to millions of additional products available only to Amazon Business customers
• Business-specific pricing, including quantity discounts on eligible items

Training Material

• Amazon Buyer Training PowerPoint 
• Shopping Quick Reference Guide PowerPoint
• Amazon User Registration Guide PDF 

Contract Coversheet

Procurement Code of Ethics

Purchasing Forms

Specifications Guidelines for Bids