Inbound Freight Program

UCSF partnered with Vantage Point Logistics (VPL) to automatically process FedEx and UPS invoices for your BearBuy orders.

Note: Inbound freight is defined as shipping charges for delivering products to your department.

Benefits to your department


The objective of the Inbound Freight Program is to reduce the costs of inbound freight by up to 40 percent by directing suppliers to use our very competitive UC freight contracts for “freight added” orders. This initiative is a partnership between UCSF, couriers, and VPL and was inspired by the program implemented at the UCSF Medical Center which is delivering over $500,000 in annual freight cost savings. There are no operational changes in the ordering process in BearBuy or interactions with the supplier with this program.

How does the program work?


Note: No action is required on the part of your department to handle the FedEx/UPS account or VPL payments. The process is automated.

  1. Your department places an order in BearBuy.
  2. The supplier receives the Purchase Order (PO), which includes the VPL Freight Program clause by default. The clause gives the supplier the option to ship your order using the UCSF master FedEx or UPS account.
  3. The supplier ships your order and references the UCSF master FedEx/UPS Account Number and your PO Number on the shipping label.
  4. FedEx/UPS delivers the package to campus.
  5. VPL uploads an invoice for the shipping charges directly to PeopleSoft.
  6. The invoice is paid to VPL automatically with the chartstring(s) from your PO.
  7. Finally, VPL pays FedEx/UPS for the shipping charges.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Last Updated: June 2023