Overview
Understanding supply chain service timelines and expectations.
Procurement Timelines
Average Order Time For Orders over $10,000 and orders routed to Central Procurement | Average days to complete for suppliers with agreements | Average days to complete for suppliers without agreements |
| Amount-Based Purchase Order (Blanket) | 10 days | 10 days |
| DEA-Controlled Substances | 5 days | 10 days |
| Equipment Purchase | 5 days | 10 days |
| Facility Rental Form | 15 days | 20 days |
| Professional, Personal, and Consulting Services | 5 days | 20 days |
| Non-Catalog Purchase Order | 5 days | 5 days |
| Relocation/Household Moves | 10 days | 10 days |
| Software as a Service/Cloud Computing | 10 days | 30+ days |
Other less frequent transaction types: | Average days to complete |
| Leases/Loans | 30+ days |
| Purchases from International Suppliers | 60+ days |
| Procurement of Covered Services | 60 days, subject to HR approval and alignment with wage benefit parity policy |
| Zero-dollar agreements/non-purchases of goods or services | 90+ days and may require input from Office of Tech Management, Industry Contracts, and/or Legal Affairs. |
| Request for Proposal | 60 days from completed Scope of Work document through award; not counting negotiation and contracting with supplier. |
| After-the-Fact PO | 10 days |
| Payment Request | 5 days |
* Order times are based on FY24 observed average cycle-times for the year.
Common Delays in Procurement
The average order processing times for Central Procurement are based on typical scenarios. However, several factors can extend these durations. Below are common issues that will impact procurement timelines:
- Supplier Negotiations: Processing times can increase if suppliers are reluctant to accept UC’s mandatory terms and conditions.
- Software Purchases: Additional contracts and analysis for data security may be required by UCSF IT and may lead to longer negotiations to protect UCSF from risk.
- Material Transfers and Data Use: Transactions involving material transfers or data use need extra time for review by the Office of Sponsored Research or the Office of Technology Management before purchase orders can be issued.
- Intellectual Property Claims: Supplier claims to UC intellectual property rights require consultation with legal and other UCSF stakeholders, which may lengthen the processing time.
- Insurance and Indemnity Compliance: Suppliers who do not provide proof of compliance with UC’s insurance and indemnity requirements will require additional review by Risk Management, which will increase processing time.
- Leases: Leases must adhere to the UCOP process, which includes competitive bidding and using a select pool of lessors, taking additional time.
- International Contracts: Contracts with international suppliers usually require review by UCSF Legal, which can extend the processing time.