The Procurement Department is available to serve the needs of faculty and staff requiring procurement of goods in order to operate their department/school.
The Procurement Department is located in the Bayou Building, Room 2123, with business hours from 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday - Friday. Contact them at phone number 281-283-2150 or fax number 281-283-2156. The Purchasing Department is charged with the sole responsibility of performing the purchasing function. It must do so in compliance with all written standard procedures for the implementation of:
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Texas Government Code, Title 10, Subtitle D, Chapters 2151-2176
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Texas Procurement and Support Services Rulebook 1 TAC 111 through 126
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The rules and regulations of University of Houston-Clear Lake, University of Houston System, and outside agencies which fund specific programs.
The departmental goal is to achieve the best value in quality, delivery and cost for the purchase.
Plan For Procurement Needs
We cannot emphasize enough the need for departments to plan their supply and equipment needs well in advance. The time required to issue a purchase order and secure delivery of the goods or services requested varies greatly. Some purchases require solicitation of bids, which requires additional time. Also, any purchases over $25,000 must be placed on the Electronic State Business Daily for a minimum of 14 days. The workload at any given time within the Procurement Department is also a factor.
You are encouraged to review the current Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) directory available on the Internet (click here) and contact vendors to request product and service information, current prices, availability and delivery terms. After pulling up the Webpage type in the vendor's name in the appropriate box and click on Submit Search. At the next screen click on Go, and then a list of vendors with the name you provided will appear on your screen. Click on the name of the vendor that you are inquiring about and then all the information about the vendor will appear. If you speak with more than one vendor, be sure to give identical information to all vendors, so that each has an equal opportunity to compete. Do not try to actually place an order with a vendor. Only the Procurement Department can legally obligate the university.
You must allow time for the procurement process, which may include competitive bidding or being placed on the Electronic State Business Daily. The requesting of bids is a requirement of the State and is a recognized and accepted means of insuring effective competition among vendors. Delivery will depend upon the supplier's stock and the problems they may encounter in securing delivery from their suppliers, as well as production problems.
It is the responsibility of the Procurement Department to originate, control, and analyze vendor bids and quotations. The requisitioning department is responsible for defining quantity, quality, specifications, delivery date requirements, and all other pertinent information. The requisitioning department should also suggest sources, when known, especially for unusual or unique items. The requisitioner may be called upon to assist the buyer in evaluating the bids received relative to a purchase for the department.
WHEN TO SUBMIT PURCHASE REQUEST OR PURCHASE VOUCHER
Purchase requests are submitted to the Procurement Department for the purchase of goods and services. Purchase vouchers are submitted to Account Payable for subscriptions, membership fees, registration fees or purchases under $500 except for printing services and computer purchases.
CONVERSION OF COMMODITY CODES FROM STATE TO NIGP
The state of Texas in December, 2000 converted their commodity codes to the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing's (NIGP) system. A conversion table is available (click here) to convert the old commodity codes to the new NIGP codes. In the conversion table the column labeled Texas is the list of old commodity codes. Look up on the Texas column (old commodity codes) to see what the new NIGP code will be. The column labeled NIGP are the new commodity codes that need to be used from December, 2000 forward.
BIDDERS PROTEST PROCEDURES
"Compact with Texans" a posting of how a state agency handles problems and complaints.
The following has been submitted to the Texas Procurement and Support Services as a part of the University of Houston-Clear Lake's Procurement Plan.
The University of Houston-Clear Lake shall award to the vendor offering the best value proposal to the institution.
The University of Houston-Clear Lake conducts its procurement activities in accordance with all-relevant governmental statues and regulations, and in a matter that protects the interest of the university.
The Procurement department is responsible for awarding contracts fairly. Vendors responding as bidders to either single-item purchase or term contracts may elect to file formal protest proceedings in the award of any contract that exceeds $5,000 within ten (10) business days of award. Procurement department must be able to justify its actions in the award.
The protest will be initially adjudicated by Procurement department. If Purchasing's decision is unacceptable to vendor, the protest may be filed with the Executive Director of Procurement and Payables or with the Vice President for Administration and Finance.
