Forms Required for Travel ReimbursementUCSF-sponsored international travel requires pre-approval forms to be completed prior to the start of travel and must be submitted for travel reimbursement. Individuals should use the following appropriate forms to obtain preapproval:Faculty, staff, post-docs, residents and fellows must complete the International Travel Approval & Resources Form Student traveling internationally must complete the Student International Travel Approval Form – Low Risk or the Student International Travel Approval Form – High Risk Any required forms must be signed and attached to the MyExpense reimbursement. If required forms are not attached, the expense reimbursement may be returned to the traveler. Domestic UCSF-sponsored travel no longer requires approval forms.For more information and updates on UCSF-sponsored travel, please review the travel guidance website.Late Expense Report TaxationPer UC policy, employees are responsible for reporting reimbursable expenses within 45 calendar days of the end of trip/last purchase date. Employee expense reports submitted to an Approver in MyExpense more than 60 calendar days after the end of trip/last purchase date will be reported as taxable income for the employee being reimbursed and will be subject to applicable payroll taxes. To prevent late expense report taxation, always submit expense reports timely within 45 calendar days of the end of trip/last purchase date.Action Required for BearBuy VouchersTo prepare for the fiscal year-end, all BearBuy match exception handlers and voucher approvers should approve/reject all vouchers pending in their queues. We encourage you to act by June 30 to ensure the vouchers are processed for the 22/23 fiscal year.Encourage Suppliers to Use Transcepta With 15,000 UCSF suppliers registered, Transcepta is the University’s e-invoice partner for BearBuy invoices. Please encourage your suppliers to submit invoices through Transcepta. For additional guidance, refer your supplier to the Supply Chain Management Supplier Guide to Transcepta.Please do not email invoices to Supply Chain Management Accounts Payable as we are no longer accepting invoices via email from suppliers that are submitting invoices through Transcepta.**Some types of invoices are not submitted through Transcepta. Review Transcepta exclusions for details. Payment Request Form UsageThe Payment Request Form (PRF) can no longer be used for suppliers that will not accept Purchase orders (POs). Invoices for goods and services from these suppliers are no longer accepted and will be returned to the department. POs or Procurement Cards should be used for making these purchases.The PRF can only be used for the following types of payments:Cell Phone/Phone LinesDonations/ContributionsGovernment Fees/VisasGuest LodgingHonorariaJournal PublicationsMembershipsPostage/Small Package CourierRefundsRegistration FeesStudent Summer ProgramsSubscriptionsUtilities
Supply Chain Managements wants customers to understand that after-the-fact purchase orders (PO) are a violation of University of California (UC) policy and pose serious risks to the University and individuals involved in the transactions. The UCSF community should follow the proper purchasing process and establish their PO before obtaining goods or services.After-the-fact POs are used when goods or services are acquired without a valid PO and, subsequently, a PO is created after the services have been rendered or goods delivered. Less than one percent of UCSF transactions occur this way. Even with such a rare occurrence, we’d like to remind you about the importance of following our procurement processes. Here are a few issues involving an after-the-fact PO:Violation of Policy: UC’s Business and Finance Bulletin 43 (BFB-BUS-43) policy outlines that after-the-fact POs are unauthorized purchases. These violations are reviewed by procurement staff, internal audit and external auditors and can lead to findings for your department and/or, in the case of federally funded transactions, loss of funding.Personal Consequences: Individuals involved in after-the-fact POs may also be exposed to personal financial risks. UC policy cites unauthorized transactions may require employees to personally pay the associated invoice(s). Though this is rarely enacted, it is within UC policy.Risk to UC: There are several risk-mitigation steps in place at UCSF when you use our standard procurement processes. Typically, these include separation of duties, checks for data safety, reviews for human resources compliance with state laws and union contracts, along with several other tactics that reduce risk. If our standard processes are not followed, it places the University at risk.To avoid these negative outcomes, please make sure to follow UC's purchasing policy and establish your POs before obtaining goods or services. This ensures that all transactions are properly documented, reviewed, and approved, and that the University and individuals involved are protected.If you have any questions or concerns about the purchasing process or POs, please do not hesitate to contact the Supply Chain Management Response Team for assistance.
10/16/23 UPDATE: The focus group sessions have been completed. No volunteers are needed at this time.Supply Chain Management Strategic Sourcing Manager Dean Shehu is calling for principal investigators and lab managers to volunteer one hour of their time to participate in a focus group to assist the UCSF Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) Freezer Replacement Program. Participants will receive a $20 gift card.What is the ULT Freezer Replacement Program? UCSF operates more than 1,250 -80°C freezers, with over two-thirds of those being older, non-energy-efficient models that use three times as much energy as ENERGY-STAR Certified -80°C freezers. Completely transitioning UCSF to energy-efficient ULT freezers will help meet our annual energy-use reduction target of two percent and save UCSF more than $1.3 million dollars per year in energy costs. The Office of Research, in partnership with Office of Sustainability, Supply Chain Management and Facilities are creating a strategy to accelerate UCSF’s transition to 100 percent ENERGY-STAR units. We are seeking input from the research community regarding how to implement this program optimally. Focus groups will be held on the following days and times: May 24, noon to 1 p.m. May 26, 8 am. to 9 a.m. May 26, noon to 1 p.m. May 26, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Please respond with your availability by inputting your name in this SmartSheet: ULT Focus Group Sign-ups for all options that would work. We will send you an invite after we create the roster for each session. We aim to have no more than 12 people per session. For questions please contact Dean Shehu.
BearBuy production downtime will take place between Friday, July 14 at 6 p.m. through Sunday, July 16 at 9 a.m. to upgrade from release version 23.1 to 23.2. To avoid delays, please complete all BearBuy requests prior to the system maintenance. BearBuy will be available on Monday, July 17.
On July 17, BearBuy will be updated with minor visual improvements. Here are highlights of the changes:Improved ease of use with revised hide sidebar functionalityImproved readability with new Approve button to replace checkmark on Approvals pageA PowerPoint presentation with details about the release will be available by Friday, July 14 on the BearBuy Features Update page of the Supply Chain Management website.
The Central Travel Office is hosting the annual Travel Supplier Town Hall webinar series. These sessions provide a space to engage with major travel suppliers, and to learn more about their operations. There will be several giveaways (presence required when winner is announced). See the current schedule:July 19 – Southwest AirlinesAugust 2 – United AirlinesAugust 23 – Alaska AirlinesAugust 30 – CQ HotelsSeptember 13 – JetBlue AirwaysSeptember 20 – Marriott HotelsSeptember 27 – AmtrakOctober 25 – Hertz Car RentalsNovember 1 – Enterprise/National Car RentalsFind updates and register for individual sessions on the Travel Webinar page.
The new Waters Technologies Corporation punchout catalog is available in BearBuy, and can be found on the landing page under Lab Supplier/Research section. The punchout catalog offers UCSF contracted discounts.Waters Technologies offers Chromatography Consumables and Supplies including:Chromatography ColumnsSample Prep and Filtration SuppliesVials, Containers and Collection PlatesStandards and ReagentsSoftwareApplication KitsService Parts and KitsLiquid Handling
Starting July, Supply Chain Management (SCM) will begin using new software called Concur Intelligent Audit in conjunction with MyExpense. The software analyzes expense report information using artificial intelligence paired with Concur audit staff. The system helps to improve controls and reduce financial risk.If no issues are identified by Concur Intelligent Audit, the expense report will route through the appropriate approver(s) as usual. If it identifies issues, the expense report may be sent back to the submitter for review and action. All audit results will be visible within the audit trail and comment history on the expense report and notified within the Expense Report Status Change email notification.There are no changes to the way users submit expense reports. Be sure to include all documentation and enter accurate information in your expense report. The process should be seamless and there should be minimal impact to the expense report approval process.
BearBuy forms have been updated to provide guidance on answering the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) question. The forms now feature a link on how to select HIPAA or No HIPAA. The following forms have been updated:After The Fact Software and Cloud ComputingAmount-Based POAmount-Based PO Contract Required Capital Equipment Mini AuthorizationNon-Catalog Professional/Personal/Consulting ServiceStanding Order AmountRead the guidance on selecting HIPAA on the form here.
There is a strong potential of a strike by United Parcel Service (UPS) represented staff upon their contract expiration on July 31, 2023. Negotiations are ongoing but, if unfruitful, UPS workers are likely to strike as of August 1, 2023. This potentially disruptive situation will likely affect most campus departments and purchasers, and Supply Chain Management (SCM) has proactive strategies to ensure continuous operations during this challenge.SCM and University of California Procurement are working closely to avoid the delay or loss of critical goods by maintaining clear and timely communications. Outlined below are recommendations for specific actions.Delivery RecommendationsAs of July 17, to avoid potential delivery problems with critical inbound goods, any orders/purchases you make should be routed through alternate delivery services, such as FedEx, USPS, DHL, etc. Systemwide Procurement is in the process of identifying suppliers without UPS exposure or with adequate mitigation plans in place to greenlight them for continued use in case a strike does occur. See the list of frequently used UCSF suppliers below or check the Supplier Greenlight Status folder.Generally, suppliers determine shipping options but if there is a choice, please avoid UPS. If UPS is the only option, we advise you to find a different supplier or delay the purchase.Managing ExpectationsUPS owns approximately 40 percent of the market share of global delivery services so be aware that all suppliers and purchasing outlets will be transitioning to alternate carriers if there is a strike. We expect that delays will occur with all shipping sources due to capacity challenges. During this time, please limit your purchases to critical items to avoid overtaxing these alternate services.Working together and following these recommendations, we hope to maintain close-to-optimal operations during this uncertain time. We will update our website and notify you as the situation evolves. Thank you for your cooperation.UCSF Greenlight SuppliersThe following is a list of suppliers vetted by UC Procurement that will not be impacted by the strike. For all others, customers should validate with their supplier that UPS will not be used.ABCAM INC.BiocareBio-Rad LaboratoriesCDW-GCell Signaling TechnologyCorningDellePlusFastenalFisher Scientific Company LLCGenesee ScientificGetingeGold Shield DistributorsGraingerGraybarHCL HD SupplyHenry ScheinHome Depot Pro (Janitorial)IDTLeicaLenovoLife TechMedlineMettler-Toledo Rainin, LLCNeta ScientificNew England Biolabs, Inc.Office DepotOlympus EvidentPromegaSigma-AldrichTakaraBioThomas ScientificThorLabs, IncVWR InternationalVector LabsWaxie
