PURCHASING PROCEDURES - University of Central Lancashire

8: USE OF PURCHASE ORDERS
Purchase Orders are formal University documents which, when issued to an external party, commit
the University to expenditure and form a legally binding Contract with the external party. An order
must be raised prior to the ordering of any goods or services (unless the University Purchasing card
is being used.) Failure to do so will result in a breach of Financial Regulations (see paragraphs 705-
706.)
Purchase Orders are individually numbered and are obtained through Agresso.
In order to reduce the commercial risk in the use of such documentation, Purchase Orders
must always be approved by the Budget Holder and any over £5,000 are approved by the
Purchasing Office. The University‟s Terms and Conditions are available on the Internet as stated
on the Order Form. Only the Head of Purchasing, as nominee of the Group Executive Director
of Finance, may vary the Standard Conditions under which the University trades.
Where Suppliers issue an 'order acknowledgement', then User Departments should check quantity,
price and delivery details against the original Order and discrepancies taken up with the Supplier
immediately. Of particular importance is the need to check whether the acknowledgement
attempts to enforce the Suppliers Conditions of Sale. If so, this must be challenged by fax or
letter before receipt of goods or services: please contact the Purchasing Office for assistance, if
necessary.
Once a Purchase Order has been issued, a check to determine progress on the delivery of the
products or services may be required (either before or after the specified date). The responsibility
for progress chasing (expediting) rests with the Budget Holder/User Department issuing the
Purchase Order.
Any unreasonable delays or erroneous deliveries from a Supplier who is listed in the Buyers Guide
must be made known to the Purchasing Office so that appropriate action can be taken.
Required delivery dates must be stated when raising Purchase Orders so that progress can be
checked against such dates. The use of 'Urgent' or 'ASAP' are not acceptable terms for
delivery dates.
Purchasing Procedures December 2011