A Rutgers purchase order (PO) is a legal document that contains a description of a requested good or service and the transaction conditions, including payment and delivery terms, for the purchase or lease. POs are one of the primary buying methods at Rutgers, and are appropriate for goods, equipment and services not available through the PCard. Purchase orders can be issued via a one-time purchase or as blanket orders.

You should review the sourcing process before placing an order in RU Marketplace. Once you have placed a requisition order in RU Marketplace and has included all necessary support forms, we will review your request and will issue a purchase order (PO) that can be tracked through the system. Work cannot be done and goods cannot be received until after we have issued a purchase order.

Rutgers uses different types of purchase orders depending on what you wish to purchase, and the cost. You should review Find Products and Services to determine procurement options and procedures.

COMMODITY CODES

Why should I care about the commodity code? The Commodity Code serves several functions. Overall the code provides categorization for the University spend, enabling business areas and Procurement to effectively and efficiently manage the University budget. For requestors, the commodity code enables the requisition to route systematically to the proper buyer queue for timely requisition review and approval. To review the Job Aid on how to search for Commodity Codes in Marketplace, click here. To see a full list of Commodity Codes and what is acceptable on which form, click here. If the cell is blank, the Commodity is not allowed on that type of form, and the requisition will be returned to your department.

Effective 9/30/20 end-users will need to use the Commodity Code "Wires, Prepayment, Uploads" on the Shopping Cart page for Non-PO Uploads.

Effective 11/12/20 the Commodity Code list has been updated to include what is allowed on a Check Request and Non-PO Upload. 

Note: If copying a cart, please remember to update the commodity code field as some of the commodity codes that were active in the past, are now inactive.

PUNCHOUT ORDERS

When shopping in RU Marketplace, you can view "punchout" catalogs of some contracted suppliers and order goods right in the system. Once approvals are complete , RU Marketplace generates a punchout order directly to the supplier. Look for contracted suppliers - these negotiated contracts help save you money, and make the procurement part of your job easier. Order modifications may not be done on punchout orders.

Shopping for punchout suppliers should be done via the punchout tile. Quotes should be submitted via the punchout unless the supplier cannot support these orders.

Punchouts do not allow the use of the Quick Order Form and the Goods Order Form.  Instead, item-based orders should be ordered directly in the punchout.

Some punchout suppliers do not allow changes in shipment addresses:

• Dell
• Henry Schein
• Agilent Technologies
• Office Depot
• EMD Millipore
• Sigma Aldrich
• VWR
• Airgas
• Bio-Rad

QUICK ORDERS

A Quick Order is a type of purchase order for goods under $50,000, that does not require the review of University Procurement Services and may be sent directly to the supplier by the unit once the unit approvals are complete. Quick Orders may only be used to purchase goods. Certain services are not to be purchased through a Quick Order (see below).

A majority of purchasing requests are quick orders, as long as these requests are not blanket orders or multiple smaller orders placed in order to bypass the $50,000 threshold. See Submit a Quick Order for requisition assistance.

Certain items and services cannot be purchased through a Quick Order, even if the total costs are below $50,000. See above Commodity Codes.

Among the restricted items:

• Animals
• Biological agents
• Branded Promotional Merchandise
• Controlled substances
• Equipment that requires a utilities hook-up
• Furniture, carpeting and window treatments
• Hazardous waste disposal
• Imported equipment that requires customs clearance
• Plaques to be affixed on buildings or University-owned property and monuments
• Radioactive materials
• Select agents and toxins
• Services
  • Business
  • Information Technology
  • Leases
  • Legal
  • Lobbying
  • Professional
• Software Licenses including all Cloud-Based Purchases and Web Applications

INTERNAL PURCHASE ORDERS

You can procure goods and services from other University service units within RU Marketplace, such as Dining Services. A complete list of active internal suppliers is available on RU Marketplace.  You must contact the internal unit directly to determine the required type of requisition. See details on the internal purchase order process.

CHECK REQUESTS

Some goods and services such as honoraria and scholarship payments are made by check request instead of purchase order. You can use RU Marketplace to generate a check request; this is an official request to Accounts Payable to process and issue payment to a supplier for these select goods. You must supply documents to support the check request and explain all charges. See more details on the check request process.