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The rockefeller university

Vendor/contractor reliability

Vendor/contractor reliability

The University will contract with reliable vendors/contractors who are capable of providing goods and services in a consistent, timely, and cost-effective and compliant manner. In judging vendor/contractor reliability, the following factors should be taken into account:

  • All Small Business Administration (SBA) vendors ( Minority-Owned, Women-Owned, Native-American-Owned, Veteran-Owned, Other Small and Large business) are welcome to the opportunity to seek to do business with the Rockefeller University.
  • Vendors seeking to do business with The Rockefeller University are vetted by the University Procurement Department via the Dunn & Bradstreet Risk Manager Supplier Software to determine if the vendor (domestic or international)  may pose a liability to the University; any reports that yield any Disbarment,  OFAC  and/or SAM violations, any EEO and/or discriminatory-related  violations, legal and/or government  compliance violations, liabilities and poor financial stress scores, etc., will result in the vendor being denied any business transaction until such time the vendor’s D&B Report states rectification and resolution of the all outstanding  violations.  These same vetting parameters for vendors established by D&B are also part of the   vendor registration  process of the Paymentworks  software utilized by the University Finance Department to register new vendors to facilitate oversight of  the invoice component  of the Procure to Pay Process.   Potential vendors must also comply with all University insurance and indemnification requirements. A vendor that is not able to fulfill all insurance and/or indemnification requirements may still merit further consideration and shall be referred to the Risk Manager for consideration of exception. Vendors must not have any conflict of interest (e.g., no relatives employed with the University and in a position to influence decisions) and must not engage in any improper or inappropriate conduct. Unethical conduct such as harassment, pressuring sales tactics to any University resources,  inquiring from university personnel about competitor’s pricing and/or business practices are both illegal and unethical. The University also will not disclose pricing and business practices obtained from a particular vendor to any competitive vendors; such a practice is illegal, unethical and in direct contradiction to the University Code of Conduct.    Authorized vendors will be required to pay a $25.00 fee to the Security Department to obtain a vendor security identification tag (which will be requested by the Director of Materials Management & CPO), which must be worn at all times while at the University. Authorized vendors must make an appointment to see any member of the University for University-related business and must leave the campus after their appointment and cannot roam about the campus for unsolicited business practices. Any vendor that fails to honor these requirements is subject to suspension and/or termination of the right to conduct business with the University by the Director of Materials Management & CPO

Vendor Requirements:

  • Offer fair, aggressive and competitive pricing and excellent customer and technical services to the University at all times and maintain and observe price confidentiality between the University and vendor.
  • All promotions, displays, seminars, vendors shows, special discounts from the vendor must be first presented for approval to the Director of Materials Management & CPO and the /or the Purchasing Department, prior to distribution to the end user community by the vendor.
  • Avoid any conflict of interest. Do not offer any gratuities to any University employee, affiliate, member of the University Purchasing Department in exchange for solicitation and/or awarding of business with the University.
  • Integrity and reputation; compliance with all legal, ethical, fair and sound business practices. Vendors are to conduct themselves while on campus in a professional and competent manner at all times.
  • Past performance with the University and other higher educational or public sector institutions.
  • Sound and reliable financial and technical resources.
  • Ability to meet University Insurance/Indemnification and Workmen’s Compensation requirements
  • The vendor must also be reliable and proficient in the communication of order details, status and problem resolution with the Purchasing Department and other departments directly involved with the specific vendor/contractor transaction.

End users are advised to report any vendor-related issue or potential vendor-related issues to the Director of Materials Management & CPO for immediate review and investigation. Any end user that is contacted by a vendor or feels that a vendor is attempting to engage in any pressure tactics or other unethical/unprofessional practices to obtain immediate business or convince the end user they must buy any goods or services (e.g., printer/copier toners and copier service, etc), must notify the Director of Materials Management & CPO. Under no circumstances should any solicitation for the obtainment of goods and services from a vendor be transacted under any direct or indirect pressure from the vendor. All procurement transactions on behalf of University business must be executed by the University Centralized Procurement Department (e.g., verbal approvals, end user name approvals, email or fax written approvals to obtain and purchase items from a vendor in which the vendor stated the end user must or needs to obtain such commodities, etc., are not an allowable form of procurement).