This document is intended to be a brief guide to assist vendors/suppliers in doing business with UMKC. Additional information can be obtained by contacting the UMKC Procurement Department by telephone or email at the addresses listed in the following section. The Procurement Directory may be accessed for the names and telephone numbers of the individual staff members and their responsibilities in procurement.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) is one of four campuses of the University of Missouri System. Each of the campuses as well as the University Hospital and Clinics has a procurement department that handles much of the procurement of goods and services for its location. Although the policies of the Curators of the University of Missouri are those that govern University purchases, certain individual, specific policies, guidelines, or procedures may be established and followed on the individual campuses. These are not inconsistent with the Curators' policies.
The UMKC Procurement Department is located in the General Services Building and maintains hours of 8:00AM to 5:00PM Monday through Friday. The department's mailing address is: 5100 Rockhill Rd, 108 General Services Building, Kansas City, MO 64110-2499. We are located at 1011 E 51st Street. Phone: (816) 235-1371 Fax: (816) 235-5552 e-mail: umkcprocurement@umkc.edu
The department is responsible for purchases of goods and services for the campus with the general exceptions of construction (see Campus Facilities Management), purchases for the Bookstore and food service operations, and some minor purchases made by a limited number of departments (see 3.0).
For purchases of $10,000 or more, competitive bids (or proposals) are solicited. Request for bids are typically mailed to potential bidders and posted on the UMKC web site with bids due 5-15 business days (1-3 weeks) from the date of issuance. Bids submitted in response to these requests must be signed and received by the due date in sealed envelopes identifying the bid request number. Faxed responses are NOT acceptable unless specifically allowed by the bid request specifications. Bid requests for purchases anticipated to cost $25,000 or more are advertised by being posted on the UMKC Website.
Organizations are encouraged to register with the UMKC Procurement Department using the vendor registration form in order to be included in bid solicitations.
Most purchases of less than $5,000 are made by individual faculty and staff, using the Purchasing Card.
Sole source purchases - On relatively rare occasions, purchases are made with purchase orders in excess of $10,000 without the solicitation of competitive bids or proposals. Such purchases require detailed supporting justification and approval through the Procurement Department by University administrative officials.
Bid requests - Bid requests contain detailed specifications and are issued with the intent of awarding bids to the lowest bidder meeting the specifications. Price is the primary determining factor (after evaluation to determine adherence to specifications) in an award although UMKC reserves the right to take into consideration the skill, facilities, capacity, experience, ability, previous work, and financial standing of the bidders as well as the quality, efficiency, and construction of the equipment proposed to be furnished and the delivery time indicated by bidders. UMKC also reserves the right to reject any and all bids, and/or to waive any informalities. If a discrepancy exists in a bid between the unit price and the extension, the unit price prevails.
There are no monetary preferences to be considered in awarding bids however it is University policy that, all things being equal, preference will be granted to all firms, corporations or individuals doing business as Missouri firms, when the same goods/services can be secured without additional cost over foreign products or products of other states. In addition, all other things being equal, in the case of a tie bid between a minority vendor and a non-minority vendor where both are Missouri firms, the award should be made to the minority firm. However, if the minority firm is not a Missouri firm and the non-minority firm is, the award shall be made to the latter.
A copy of all bid requests not yet due is maintained in the office and available for review by vendor representatives during business hours. Bid results are typically available shortly after bid due date and time by contacting the Procurement Dept. by phone or visiting the office in person.
Request for Proposals - Request for proposals (RFP) are occasionally issued by the UMKC Procurement Department. They contain basic mandatory requirements and typically ask vendor/suppliers to propose programs or products. In RFPs, price is only one factor used in the evaluation process. A list of the evaluation criteria is contained in the individual RFP. An award is made to the respondent submitting what is determined by UMKC to be the lowest and best proposal. UMKC reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and/or to waive any informalities. The public may attend proposal openings in which the name of the respondents are announced. Pricing and other details are not available to the public at that time. For those not wishing to attend, the names of the respondents submitting proposals are available immediately after proposal due date and time by contacting the Procurement Dept. by phone or visiting the office in person.
A copy of all RFPs not yet due is maintained in the office and available
for review by vendor representatives during business hours.
Purchase orders are issued for officially authorized purchases of UMKC. UMKC may not be held responsible for payment of purchases made without an official purchase order number.
Purchase orders issued by the UMKC Procurement Dept. include the address to which invoices should be sent. Invoices should be sent to that address, as including them in packages containing materials ordered will delay payment, sometimes substantially. The invoices should have the UMKC purchase order number listed along with a description of the goods/services furnished, quantities, unit prices and extensions and payment terms. To help ensure prompt processing of the invoice for payment, one original and one copy of each invoice should be supplied. The accounts payable section of Accounting Services can be contacted at (816) 235-1345 with questions regarding payment of existing invoices.
University employees are prohibited from receiving any financial interest or personal gain which may influence or effect University procurement decisions. Any such attempt may, at a minimum, lead to disqualification of a vendor. It is preferred that incentives take the form of quality, service or price considerations.