Material & Disbursement Services (MSD)
Policy 13
Effective Date: 05/27/2003
Last Modified Date: 06/12/2006
Description
Purchasing Services maintains open-ended orders with local vendors so that departments may readily transact in-person purchases of non-restricted supplies (see restrictions below) that are not available through the University storerooms. This purchasing procedure was established before the introduction of the University's Purchasing Card. When the Purchasing Card is fully implemented and available to all campus customers, this policy statement will be phased out.
Restrictions on Use
This procedure cannot be used for the following:
- Orders over $2,500 (including taxes and delivery charges). Orders may not be split to avoid this threshold.
- Services.
- Gases.
- Radioactive materials.
- Printing. This includes all printing services (printing, binding, copying, composition of art work, etc.). Such services must be referred to UNC Printing Services.
- Items carried in University Storerooms. These items must be ordered from the applicable storeroom.
- State term contract items for which the open order vendor is not the State term contract vendor.
- Telephone orders or faxed orders, if the vendor is not able to physically identify the customer by viewing her/his driver's license concurrent with obtaining that individual's signature and driver's license number on the order.
- Travel.
Sales Tickets
Employees must present their UNC OneCards and driver's licenses as proof of identification when placing open orders. Before delivering supplies to the customer, the vendor must ensure that the sales ticket contains the following information:
- Listing of each item sold.
- Printed name and UNC OneCard (PID number) of customer.
- Customer's University department number, phone number, and account number (configured as x-xxxxx-xxxx).
- Customer's signature. Vendor must positively identify the customer via her/his driver's license concurrent with obtaining signature and UNC OneCard number. Note: For shipping services to the University, the identification comparison is not required.
Delivery
Customers may pick up supplies or have them delivered to their University department or work site only. Purchases must not be delivered to the Material & Disbursement Services's Central Receiving area or a personal residence.
Monthly Billing
Each month, the authorized local vendors submit all invoices to the Materials Management and Distribution Division (MMD), along with a summary of purchases made. MMD then bills each University account on its monthly MMD statement, based on the vendor's invoices (delivery tickets).
Department's Audit of Proper Charges
It is the responsibility of each department to review its own charges and to determine that all purchases were authorized and received, and that payments to the vendors are correct. The name of the person who actually made the purchase is included in the MMD statement to aid in verifying transactions. If an error is detected, the vendor should be notified immediately. The department has the budget authority and responsibility for all small purchases, including open orders. Departments are advised to establish a system of internal controls, limiting the number of authorized buyers, requiring prior approval of open order purchases, and immediately forwarding vendor invoices to the person assigned to work the MMD statement. It is recommended that departmental personnel match the invoice to the approved request form and follow up on invoices that have no corresponding approval. Departments are responsible for all charges (including unsupported charges) made against their accounts through the open order system. Any fraudulent use of this procedure should be reported immediately to the proper University investigative agency-the Internal Audit Department, Public Safety, and/or Risk Management Services. If the departmental site is located off campus, a report must also be made to the applicable local law enforcement authority. For proper security, when an employee leaves the University, the department must ensure that the UNC OneCard is turned in to the OneCard Office or to Human Resources. Additionally, only permanent employees should be authorized to use the Open Order System.
See also:
- Risk Management Services for assistance with property insurance and with losses due to employee dishonesty
- MSD Procedure 38, Loss of University Cash or Securities
- UNC OneCard Terms and Conditions
Post-Audit Review
The Central Audit units will conduct a post-audit review of open order vendor charges. Purchase orders will be selected for a post-audit review on a statistically random basis each month, and MMD will be asked to provide documentation for a statistical sample of open order vendor charges. The Central Audit units will review the selected transactions and follow up with campus units regarding errors or other issues.
Certified Merchants
A list of authorized local open order vendors is available from the Materials Management Division upon request (call 962-3384).
Additional Information
See also:
MSD Policy 9, Small Order Policy
MSD Policy 10, Blanket or Standing Purchase Orders
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