III.G. Operational Review of Centralized Goods

In accordance with the Central Level Procurement Policy (Section IV.A of the Policy Directory), the Internal Affairs Committee will carry out an annual review of all goods procured centrally by the BSC.

III.D.1 PURPOSE

a. Ensure that the centrally-procured goods we offer meet the criteria delineated in Section IV.A.2.a of the Policy Directory.

b. Ensure that the vendor selection process for these goods follows that set forth in Section IV.A.3 of the Policy Directory.

III.D.2 PROCEDURE

a. Audit last year’s procured goods

i. At the beginning of the spring semester, IACom shall obtain a list of all items purchased in the preceding year, divided by category. This list will be generated by the Purchasing Agent.

ii. IACom shall ensure that specific items within each category meet the parameters of the category and the criteria for procurement.

b. Update list of authorized goods

i. IACom shall review the categories of goods approved by IACom in the preceding year and verify that each satisfies the criteria listed in IV.A.2.a. If feasible, IACom shall use data about the frequency of purchases of specific items to inform their decision.

ii. IACom will consider additional categories of goods to be procured centrally during this review process.

a) During the review, central level departments will have the opportunity to suggest additional categories to procure centrally. This list will be prepared in conjunction with unit-level management.

b) Additional categories of goods will be added if they meet the above criteria.

c) Categories should be defined narrowly enough that each item within a category meets the same criteria for central level procurement and the items are relatively comparable in their use (e.g. “Cheeses” would be an acceptable category, but “Dairy” would be too broad”).

Categories should be defined widely enough that the review does not operate on the level of individual goods (i.e. “Staplers”, or “Peanut Butter” would be too narrow).

d) In addition to the responsible bidding guidelines in IV.A.3, IACom can approve any additional criteria to be used when selecting a vendor for a specific category if necessary.

e) IACom shall notify staff and unit-level managers of the opportunities to present proposals for procurement of additional categories of goods.

c. Review the following guidelines for adding and deactivating items to Progress and their implementation as reported by the Operations team, and make changes as necessary.

i. Adding an item to Progress

a) Does procuring this item centrally help meet the BSC’s Mission Statement?

b) Does the item fall into an already existing category?

c) Can we procure the item from a current vendor?

d) Is there an economy of scale benefit? (i.e. do we get a wholesale price?)

e) Would adding the item cause a need to change the regular flow of operations?

ii. Deactivating an item from Progress

a) Does an item impede the BSC’s ability to meet its mission?

b) Has the item been active for over one year without ever being ordered by anyone.

c) Item discontinued by vendor

i. Deactivate item until an alternative source is found

d) Economy of scale not achieved.

e) Is the vendor unreliable or are there liability issues?

f) Unnecessary redundancy of the item

g) Is the pack size such that there is high probability of loss?

iii. The Operations Manager will have final decision-making authority on any changes to the Progress database.

d. Verify processes for vendor selection

i. Once the updated list of authorized goods has been approved, IACom shall specify which of the categories will be bid by the Contracting Agent and which ones have alternative processes for vendor selection (e.g. a committee review or a board approval process).

ii. For those goods that are not bid by the Contracting Agent, IACom shall ensure that each has a clear and specific process for vendor selection that is documented in policy.

iii. IACom shall ensure that all processes used for vendor selection adhere to the guidelines in IV.A.3.

e. Extemporaneous additions to approved goods

i. In the event that an urgent need arises, the Executive Director and the Operations Manager shall have the authority to approve the central procurement of a good that is necessary to maintain essential operations or ensure the safety or habitability for the membership. Any such actions shall be placed on the consent agenda for review and approval at the next regular board meeting.

ii. If over the course of the year a significant operational change to the organization requires additional goods to be procured and it is infeasible to wait until the Spring review cycle for approval, then the Internal Affairs Committee will determine if the good should be centrally procured.

[Board approved 5/7/15.]