The new HD Supply punch-out is live in BearBuy. The catalog has replaced the hosted catalog and the Home Depot Pro punch-out and provides streamlined access to a broad range of Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) and Janitorial & Sanitation (JanSan) products. You can find the new catalog under the Facilities and Construction section on the BearBuy landing page.Key MRO Products Shoppers Can OrderTools, hardware, and building suppliesElectrical and plumbing materialsHVAC componentsSafety equipment and facility maintenance itemsKey JanSan Products Shoppers Can OrderCleaning chemicals and disinfectantsPaper goods and dispensersWaste collection suppliesFloor care equipment and accessoriesThese additions expand UCSF’s ability to efficiently source essential facilities and maintenance supplies, improving product access, pricing consistency, and order visibility within BearBuy.
UCSF will showcase its commitment to small business partnerships and operational excellence at its second annual Continuous Improvement Fair, December 16, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (with 10 a.m. Early Bird Access) at the Mission Bay Conference Center’s Robertson Auditorium in San Francisco. A key highlight of this year’s fair will be the feature from the Small and Local Business Office’s Small Business Database Synchronization project, which will be showcased during the poster sessions. This innovative initiative represents a significant step forward in streamlining the identification and engagement processes for small businesses across the UCSF enterprise. The poster session will provide opportunities for departments to learn about process improvements and initiatives that can help drive progress toward the small business spending target. Attendees can demonstrate their support for these efforts and explore opportunities to collaborate on meaningful improvements across the UCSF enterprise. The event comes as the University continues working toward its goal of directing 25 percent of procurement spending to small businesses.UCSF closed fiscal year 2025 with 15.8-percent small business spend—significant progress that demonstrates the University’s dedication to supporting small and local suppliers while building a more inclusive supply chain.Register now for the Continuous Improvement Fair and join us to be part of UCSF’s continuous improvement journey and small business partnership expansion.
Justin Check-In | December Wrap Up | Onsite Week Recap | Leadership Lunchroom | SCM Job Posting | Yucateco Panaderia | Zoox | Employee Discounts | Recognition | Kudos to Keana
Supply Chain Management (SCM) has integrated the Supplemental Form questions and approvals for Facility Rental and Meeting & Entertainment expenses into BearBuy forms.What’s Changing The following BearBuy forms now have new built in sections such as standardized event type selections, per-person meal estimates, etc., to collect the information previously captured on the Supplemental PDF Form: Facility Rental FormMeeting and Entertainment Payment Request FormRequisitions created with these forms and America To Go orders will automatically be routed to the exceptional approver based on information entered on the order. The Facility Rental Form requisitions will now automatically be routed to the Meeting & Entertainment approver for approval.*For invoices on Facility Rental purchase orders, suppliers will be asked to submit their invoices through Transcepta. Please have your facility rental suppliers submit invoices through Transcepta**. What This Means for You No more filling out or including the Supplemental Form with your invoice for Facility Rental POs and Meeting & Entertainment Payment Request Form transactions**. All required M&E details are now captured directly in the BearBuy form you’re already using.Keep track of your working attendee list right in BearBuy. Just enter information on the form or attach the working list on the form.No more chasing approval signatures on a PDF! Requisitions requiring approvals from the M&E Approver or Exceptional Approver will route to the appropriate person automatically within BearBuy**. Updated Guidance and Resources SCM has updated our materials on the website to reflect the new process, including updated instructions for Facility Rental and Meeting & Entertainment Payment Request Form. If you have questions about how these changes affect your transactions, please submit a ticket to the SCM Response Team. These updates will reduce paperwork and facilitate transactions more efficiently. Thank you for your partnership on these improvements. *For America To Go transactions, only exceptional event types trigger automatic approval routing. Please continue using existing processes, such as the Supplemental Form to obtain approval for all other types of exceptions, including when the meal exceeds per person limits.Facility Rental requisitions will no longer be routed to the Requisition Approver as they will be routed to the Meeting & Entertainment Approver instead. **Requisitions submitted before December 5, and any purchase orders already created from those requisitions, will continue to follow the old process. This means departments will need to complete the Supplemental PDF form for those in-progress transactions and email them to SCM with the invoice. Only requisitions submitted on or after December 5 will use the new built-in BearBuy fields and no longer require the Supplemental Form.
When Chancellor Sam Hawgood announced that UCSF will gain institution-wide access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it marked a major step forward in supporting safe, secure, and ethical use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in research, education, and operations. Behind the scenes, Supply Chain Management (SCM) played a pivotal role in making it happen. One week before the State of the University, UCSF was asked to finalize the agreement to ensure the announcement could move forward. Although a systemwide University of California (UC) agreement with Open AI was already in place, significant work needed to be done locally to validate terms, establish supplier onboarding, and ensure compliance with UC policies. Over the course of a few days, teams across UCSF collaborated. SCM Supplier Registration’s Ruvic De La Rosa and Roscelle Arceo expedited the supplier registration process, ensuring OpenAI was onboarded promptly. At the same time, SCM Strategic Sourcing’ Susan Riddle reviewed the UCOP contract, compared the terms against OpenAI’s proposal, and guided IT and internal partners through what should—and shouldn’t—appear in the final documents. As the requisition came together, SCM Buyer Leonard Casanares prioritized the deal, tracked down missing paperwork, resolved risk issues, and verified compliance with UC policy. In close partnership with SCM, IT’s Hannah Chin and Mary Williamson assembled and completed an accurate requisition that enabled all subsequent SCM steps to move efficiently. Through this tight collaboration and shared urgency, SCM issued the purchase order two days before the deadline. SCM’s work on this agreement highlights the expertise, coordination, and precision required to deliver complex, high-impact procurements on short notice. It is an example of how SCM helps to turn UCSF’s vision into operational reality. “This project shows what Strategic Procurement does best; we turn ideas into actionable results. Our team’s rapid collaboration opened the door for UCSF to shape the future of secure, responsible AI, and I can’t say enough about the professionalism and skill demonstrated by all involved.” Andrew Clark, Executive Director, Strategic Procurement
Justin's Connection Check-In | December Calendar, Celebrations, and Commemorations | SCM Employee Spotlight | Toy Drive | Word on the Street | Recogntion
Coming soon: Enhancements to BearBuy Meeting & Entertainment Transactions.
UCSF Supply Chain Management (SCM) recently hosted colleagues from University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) for a visit to UCSF’s Logistics facility at Oyster Point on Wednesday, October 29. Josh Martin, Doug Lang, and Gregg Edgar from UCSC Financial Affairs spent the morning receiving a tour of the warehouse and some in-depth briefings on UCSF’s “last mile” package delivery program and fleet electrification efforts, along with other logistics areas of interest. SCMers who participated in the visit included Justin Sullivan, Mel Maxwell, Andrew Clark, Charles Sabia, Mark Choi, David Grubbe, Andrew Alcazar, and Trevor Green.The visit focused on the UCSF’s package delivery program, where SCM-Logistics provides “last mile” delivery for packages ordered by campus customers from UCSF’s preferred vendors. During the visit, the team discussed the history of the program, vendor agreements, systems, and the process that enables the SCM-Logistics team to successfully deliver of over 11,000 packages a month to roughly 2,500 unique delivery stops across the UCSF campus. The visit was a great information exchange among UC colleagues as UCSC explores the possibility of implementing a similar program on their campus. "We were so impressed with the efforts that the UCSF SCM team has taken to improve their campus logistics operation," said Gregg Edgar, Director of Enterprise Solutions at UCSC. "Such a great opportunity for us to learn as we work to improve logistics for UCSC." SCM invites everyone to learn more about the package delivery program at Package Delivery Program | Supply Chain Management.
UCSF Anchor Institution Mission (AIM) Procurement was invited to participate in a virtual 1:1 as a BizMatch Buyer at Latina BizCon 2025 October 30, at the Ontario Convention Center. We connected with many certified small businesses, including some that already work with our Southern California campuses. As we continue to engage small businesses for our procurement opportunities, we want to encourage these connections to remain visible in our supplier network.Below are the next steps to help suppliers plug into our systemwide and UCSF network: Register in the Supplier Database This free, systemwide database allows UCSF and other University of California (UC) campuses to identify new sources for goods and services. Register here.Explore Public Bid Opportunities UCSF and other UC campuses post competitive solicitations through this platform. View and register here.Learn More About UCSF Supplier Processes and Forms For more information on how to do business with UCSF, please visit UCSF Supply Chain—Supplier Resources.We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of this engagement and excited to see potential collaborations grow from these connections. Reach out to Marliz Copado for the list of businesses that participated in this event if you are interested.
At UCSF, Strategic Sourcing continues to work toward building a more efficient, connected, and innovative sourcing framework to support the University’s diverse needs. Over the last six months, our team has been developing category strategies designed to streamline processes, optimize resources, reduce costs, and align procurement with UCSF’s overarching mission.These strategies involve collaboration across the University of California (UC) system, to ensure UCSF’s operations are supported by the best possible solutions. Below, we highlight the exciting work underway in five key procurement categories. Research Tail Spend Strategy The Research category, which supports UCSF’s world-renowned research activities, involves a wide variety of unique suppliers. In fiscal year 2025 alone, UCSF engaged with over 1,400 suppliers. However, many of these suppliers are not covered by UC contracts, which can result in increased processing time and non-compliance with UC policy. By identifying, analyzing, and optimizing smaller, low-value purchases that are often overlooked, we can reduce costs and improve efficiencies in the procurement process.Ngoc Ngo, Category Manager for Research, is leading efforts to expand purchasing options with contracted suppliers. This includes collaborating with existing distributors to broaden their selection of brands, establishing new contracts and catalogs, and leveraging resources from the UC Office of the President. By streamlining purchasing processes, this strategy aims to reduce administrative workloads for Strategic Procurement while ensuring efficient and compliant sourcing practices. Oxidized Gases Strategy UCSF’s current system for ordering oxidized gases is fragmented, with labs ordering through UCSF-Logistics’ storehouse or directly from multiple suppliers. This has led to challenges, such as higher retail pricing for labs, failed third-party deliveries due to access issues, and increased truck traffic on campus.In response, Charles Sabia, Logistics Operations Manager, and Dean Shehu, Senior Research Category Manager, are collaborating to create a centralized pathway for ordering oxidized gases through the UCSF storehouse. This streamlined approach will deliver significant cost savings for research labs, improve delivery reliability, and reduce congestion and UCSF’s carbon footprint. UCSF-Logistics staff, with their badge access and familiarity with lab locations, will ensure timely and secure deliveries, safeguarding research operations and samples. Mobile Phone StrategyUCSF’s Mobile Phones Strategic Sourcing Strategy is aimed at simplifying how employees obtain and manage mobile devices essential for their work. With over 9,000 mobile phone lines currently in use across UCSF, there is an opportunity to create a more efficient and consistent framework for managing mobile communications.Jose Padilla and the IT team are drafting a business proposal to streamline the procurement and management of mobile phones. The goal is to reduce the administrative burden on departments while enhancing user experience. This strategy also explores opportunities to optimize service plans, improve visibility, and align resources where they are needed most—supporting UCSF’s commitment to innovation, collaboration, and operational excellence. Value Added Resellers (VAR) StrategyWith UCSF spending $100-200 million annually on IT software, hardware, and support services across more than 600 suppliers, IT procurement has become increasingly complex and time-consuming. To address this, Susan Riddle, Senior Category Manager, is leading the Value Added Reseller (VAR) strategy to simplify procurement processes and deliver greater value for UCSF.This strategy focuses on consolidating tail spend, improving asset management and spend visibility, streamlining requisition processing, strengthening risk protections, and enhancing Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) with key partners. Susan’s initial efforts include conducting spend analysis, defining partner requirements, engaging contracted VARs to achieve strategic goals, and participating in a systemwide software reseller request for proposal (RFP) to secure future contracts. IT Hardware StrategyTo ensure UCSF is receiving the best possible pricing for IT hardware purchases, Joanne Petersen, Senior Category Manager, is actively investigating spend under contract and catalog agreements. By increasing spend in these categories, UCSF can better support its IT needs while reducing costs.Joanne is applying the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) methodology to regularly review supplier pricing and compare Value Added Resellers (VARs) to ensure optimal product selection and pricing. This iterative process ensures that IT has access to the products they need, at the best prices, with consistent supplier collaboration and management. Looking AheadAs these strategies develop, Strategic Sourcing remains committed to fostering collaboration across the entire Supply Chain Management team at UCSF to improve communication, drive efficiencies, and deliver impactful results.These efforts reflect UCSF’s dedication to operational excellence and innovation, ensuring that resources are aligned to support the University’s mission of advancing health worldwide. Stay tuned for updates as we continue to refine and implement these strategies to better serve the UCSF community.
