Office of Purchasing
The Office of Purchasing helps Wichita State University (WSU) departments buy goods and services responsibly and efficiently. Through competitive bidding and strategic sourcing, we secure the best overall value while ensuring compliance and safeguarding public resources. This website provides tools and guidance to help campus departments successfully navigate the procurement process.
The six steps outlined below provide a basic overview of the process for making a purchase at WSU. Additional information about each of these steps is provided in the sections below and within the linked documents.
- Determine the need and outline specifications - Depending on the nature and dollar value of the purchase, purchasing specifications may be documented formally or informally.
- Identify the most appropriate source - Sourcing Strategies (How to Find a Supplier) are described in the section below in order or priority.
- Obtain competitive pricing - Various Competitive Procurement Methods (Purchasing Theresholds) are available depending on the source and dollar value of the purchase in the section below.
- Route contract for review and approval - When a purchase requires a separately executed contract, coordinate with Office of General Counsel or Office of Research for Office, as appropriate, for contract review.
- Submit a Wu-Buy requistion - After all required approvals are obtained in Wu-Buy the requisition will be converted to a purchase order and issued to the supplier.
- Receive order in Wu-Buy - Upon receipt of goods or services, complete Wu-Buy receiving activity. When an order has been fully received, invoiced and paid, the order will be closed.
Ethical procurement is essential to protecting Wichita State University’s reputation, ensuring public trust, and safeguarding the responsible use of university and public funds. Individuals involved in procurement are expected to act with honesty, fairness, and impartiality, pursue best value through transparent processes, and protect confidential supplier and pricing information. Procurement actions must comply with university policy, be well documented, and support competition and accountability in all purchasing decisions.
To preserve the integrity of the procurement process, employees must actively avoid conflicts of interest, refuse gifts or favors from suppliers, and comply with all applicable laws, including the Anti‑Kickback Act (41 U.S.C. Chapter 87). Kickbacks, bribes, or improper incentives are strictly prohibited and must be reported immediately. Upholding these ethical standards is critical to maintaining compliance, preventing misuse of funds, and reinforcing a culture of trust and responsibility across the university.
Sourcing is the process of identifying, evaluating, and selecting suppliers or internal sources to meet the needs of campus departments for the acquisition of goods and services. Effective sourcing ensures compliance with university policies, maximizes institutional value, and supports research goals by leveraging contracts, competitive bidding, and strategic partnerships.
Follow the steps outlined below to identify the most appropriate source for your purchase (in order of priority):
Step 1 Internal Source: Determine whether the goods or services available from an internal source.
Procuring goods or services from internal sources maximizes value for the institution as a whole. Examples include:
- Facilities Services (repair & maintenance)
- Information Technology (hardware & software)
- Telecommunications (phone equipment and service)
- Media Resources Center (media equipment and services)
- Shocker Printing & Promo Solutions (printing services and WSU promotional items)
If you are procuring equipment, contact wsupropertycontrol@wichita.edu to determine whether similar equipment may be available as surplus from another WSU department.
Step 2 Contract Purchase: Determine if the item is available through a contract.
Contracts available to WSU include WSU contracts, State of Kansas contracts, and other consortium contracts. Wu-Buy users can browse these contracts directly, or request assistance by contacting purchasing.office@wichita.edu. The requirement for competition is satisfied when purchasing an item on contract.
Off-Contract Purchases: If a department identifies a more economical, non-contract source for goods or services that are otherwise available through WSU, State of Kansas, or Consortium contract and desires to purchase the goods or services off-contract they must submit an Off-Contract Waiver Request Form with the Wu-Buy requisition. The absolute savings and percentage of savings relative to the contract supplier, including supporting documentation, must be included on the prior authorization form. A minimum savings of 10% or $100 (whichever is greater) is required for an off-contract purchase.
Step 3 Wu-Buy Marketplace: Browse for the desired item in Wu-Buy Marketplace.
Tools for identifying an appropriate supplier for the desired goods or services include Guided Buying and supplier catalogs.
- Punchout Suppliers: The Punch‑Out Suppliers group in the Guided Buying section is the best tool for identifying suppliers with embedded catalogs. Catalog purchases satisfy WSU’s requirements for price reasonableness, but must adhere to appropriate Competitive Procurement Methods (Purchasing Thresholds) based on the dollar value of the purchase.
- Other Guided Buying: Guided Buying tiles can be used to identify suppliers who may be able to provide the desired goods or services. But other sourcing methods would be required to obtain price information or quotes. Non-Catalog items are initiated with a supplier quote, require price reasonableness, and must adhere to appropriate Competitive Procurement Methods (Purchasing Thresholds) in the section below based on the dollar value of the purchase.
Step 4 Competitive Procurement: If steps 1-3 do not yield goods or services that satisfies the department’s requirements, identify a source through a competitive procurement process.
The requirements vary depending on the dollar value of the item, as outlined in Competitive Procurement Methods (Purchasing Thresholds) section below.
Step 5 Sole Source: If competitive procurement is not practicable, document the justification for a sole source selection using the Sole Source Jusitifcation Form ,and include documentation of price reasonableness as described in the Price Analysis (How to Ensure Your Price is Fair and Reasonable) section below.
Supplier Request: If you identify a source for goods or services and the supplier is not available in the Marketplace, please submit a supplier request in Wu-Buy.
The threshold values outlined below include the entire cost of the goods or services, including shipping, delivery, installation, and other charges. Selecting the lowest price is not required, but justification must be provided when a more costly alternative is selected. For example, a higher price may be justified based on quality or delivery. Based on the dollar value of the goods or services, the methods outlined below satisfy WSU’s requirement for competitive procurement:
- Micro Purchase (< $10,000): Competition is encouraged but not required. However, departments should always ensure the price for the goods or services is fair and reasonable. Refer to the Price Analysis (How to Ensure Your Price is Fair and Reasonable) section below for additional information about this requirement.
- Simplified Acquistion ($10,000-$49,999.99): A Simplified Acquisition is a procurement for goods or services where the total cost of the procurement is between the micro purchase threshold and the formal procurement threshold. Competition requirements are satisfied by completing an informal bid - soliciting at least three quotes from different suppliers. “Quotes” may include website price lists, written supplier quotes, quotes from online searches, email bids, and phone or verbal quotes documented with sufficient detail to support the purchasing decision. All quotes should be documented on the Quote Comparison Form and attached to the Wu-Buy requisition.
- Formal Bid/Formal Procurement (> $50,000): A Formal Procurement is a procurement of goods or services where the total cost of the procurement is greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, a formal bids process is required. Refer to the Formal Bids (RFP/RFQ) section below or contact purchasing.office@wichita.edu for assistance.
WSU offers three main payment methods:
- Wu-Buy (Purchase Order/RQ to Check): Processing a requisition in Wu-Buy creates an encumbrance in Banner, reserves budget, ensures approvals prior to commitment, and results in the issuance of a formal purchase commitment (PO) to the supplier. Retrofit orders are available when a PO should not be sent to the supplier, typically when a PO is being processed in Wu-Buy to record a commitment that has already been made.
- Emburse Enterprise/ChromeRiver (Direct Pay Invoice): Process invoices without a PO for micro-purchases, routine expenses, and other low-risk items (e.g., utilities, catering, professional memberships or subscriptions, etc.)
- Procurement Card (P-Card): Best for small, incidental purchases where speed and convenience matter.
When a formal procurement process is required or desired, the Office of Purchasing will work with the department to solicit competitive bids.
- The department provides written purchasing specificiations for the item based on their requirement.
- There are several different mechanisms for obtaining formal bids. Purchasing will
assist the department in determining the best solicitation type based on the circumstances
of the procurement, including the anticipated cost. Depending on the type of solicitation,
bids may be open or seated.The most commonly used bid types for WSU include the following:
- RFI (Request for Information): Gather market insights and vendor capabilities when requirements are unclear.
- RFP (Request for Proposal): Solicit detailed proposals for complex projects where multiple factors (not just price) matter.
- RFQ (Request for Quotation): Obtain pricing for well-defined goods or services with clear specifications.
- Purchasing will review and finalize specifications and solicit competitive bids from vendors, collaborating with the Office of General Counsel to ensure the solicitation includes the appropriate terms and conditions.
- Purchasing will coordinate with the department to evaluate vendor responses, make a final vendor selection for the bid, and proceed with the procurement, as appropriate.
While safeguarding WSU’s resources and obtaining the best value is always a priority, extra compliance steps apply when spending federal funds. These funds may be governed by Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) for federal financial assistance or the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for federal procurements. Additional requirements may be imposed through award terms and conditions or governing regulations.
Principal Investigators (PIs) should work closely with the Office of Research and/ or the IDP Office of Procurement to understand and comply with applicable compliance obligations. Key requirements for procurements include:
- Price Analysis: Confirms that prices are fair and reasonable and demonstrates WSU’s stewardship of federal funds. Methods for determining price reasonableness include, but are not limited to, price competition, historical pricing, and market research. See the Price Analysis (How to Ensure Your Price is Fair and Reasonable) section below for additional information.
- Certified Cost or Pricing Data: For procurements subject to the Truth in Negotiations Act (ACT, Public Law 87-653), certified cost or pricing data must be obtained from the contractor and attached to the Wu-Buy requisition. This requirement applies to subcontracts greater than $2.5 million unless an exception applies. Key exceptions include subcontracts made under prime awards for commercial products or services and prime awards with adequate price competition.
- Commercial Product or Commercial Service Determination (CP/CS): A commercial product or service is commonly used by the general public for non-government purposes. For awards subject to FAR, making an appropriate CP/CS determination ensures the correct terms and conditions are flowed down to contractors and helps reduce administrative burden for purchases of commercial items. Refer to Commerciality Determination for additional information.
- Flowdowns and Special Instructions: The Office of Research and/or IDP Procurement reviews procurements to ensure all required terms and conditions are transmitted to suppliers. This may include WSU’s standard terms and any sponsor-specific flowdowns from the prime award.
Price analysis is the process of examining the proposed or quoted price of a good or service to verify whether the price is fair and reasonable.
Formal documentation of price analysis is required for all federally funded procurements and subcontracts, including purchases under Uniform Guidance and procurement contracts under the FAR. This documentation should be submitted with the Wu-Buy requisition and will be subject to review and approval by the Office of Research and Purchasing.
Examples of appropriate methods for price analysis include the following:
- Comparing proposed prices obtained through formal or informal competition
- Comparison to historical prices paid for the same or similar good or service
- Parametric estimating methods using measurable features of a good or service (e.g., dollars per pound, hour, or other unit)
- Comparison to published catalog or list prices
- Comparison to government contract pricing (e.g., GSA)
- Comparison to independent cost estimates
- Market research
The following tables summarizes documentation requirements for price analysis, depending on the sourcing strategy and/ or procurement method. For sole source procurements, supporting documentation must accompany the price analysis. For all other sourcing methods, the documentation requirement is simply to select the price analysis method used.
Wu-Buy is WSU's eProcurement Solution. Training videos and job aids can be found on the SharePoint Site: Procurement and Payment Services.
To streamline the University’s purchases made through Amazon, the University has entered into a partnership with Amazon allowing staff access to an enterprise-wide Amazon Business Prime account. Amazon purchases must be made through the Wu-Buy catalog. Benefits of the enterprise account include:
- Free 2-Day shipping on Prime-eligible items
- Automatic tax-exempt purchasing
- Access to millions of additional products available only to Amazon Business customers
- Business-specific pricing, including quantity discounts on eligible items
Training Material
- Amazon Buyer Training PowerPoint
- Shopping Quick Reference Guide PowerPoint
- Amazon User Registration Guide PDF
