Purchase Requisition (PR) Changes

The Purchase Requisition (PR) document was modified on January 22, 2007 in order to incorporate Business Contract processing into DaFIS. The major changes include three new screens, along with minor changes to the main PR screen and Item Information screen.

Because Business Contracts are now part of the PR, the Business Agreement Request Data Sheet (BARDS) will begin to be phased out and no longer required as of 1/22/07.

The images below illustrate the changes made to the PR. Click on a numbered flag to read the description, or simply scroll through the changes listed on this page.

In addition to the changes highlighted on the document, there have been some other changes:

• Other Changes to the PR
  
• PR Routing Changes
  
• New Functionality: Automated E-Mail Notifications
  

1. New Name
   Because the PR now incorporates both Purchasing and Business Contracts processing, the name has been modified to Requisition in order to reflect this change. The acronym for the document will remain PR and can still be used for performing document searches.
2. Requisition Type
   Previously there were 2 types of PRs: Blankets and Specifics. The Business Contracts implementation adds two new types of PRs: Revenue and No Cost Agreements.
   • Blanket Request - Select this option for a purchase request of items and/or services on an as required and ongoing basis.
   • Specific Purchase - Select this option for a request for a one-time purchase of an item or service.
   • Revenue Agreement - Select this option when setting up an agreement that will generate revenue for the university. Examples include:
     • sale of animals, products, or byproducts produced or manufactured by UC Davis departments (i.e., seeds, plants, iodine, horses, etc.)
     • Agreements for services provided to outside entities by university departments that have an approved rate
   • No Cost Agreement - Select this option when setting up an agreement for which there is no cost to the university. Examples include:
   • Credit Applications requiring review and authorized signature in Business Contracts
   • Customized equipment loan agreements
   • Hotel or conference agreements requiring review and authorized signature in Business Contracts
The Requisition Type Help screen can help you determine the type of PR you are processing.
3. Date Item/Svc Needed
   This field has been renamed from Date Needed. In order to ensure that a reasonable date has been entered, a warning message will appear if the entered date may not be achieved by Contracting Services (Purchasing/Business Contracts). When processing a Requisition, allow ample time for document routing, review by Contracting Services, any required bidding processes, manufacture/assembly of requested items, and delivery.
4. Attachments Indicator
   To alert Purchasing and Business Contracts of any PR attachments, please check the Attachments indicator. When sending attachments, use the Cover Sheet for Requisition Attachments.
5. Contract Info Button
   When processing a PR type other than Specific Purchase, the Additional Business Contracts Information screen is required. This screen captures information needed for Contracting Services to process the PR. Because this screen captures the necessary agreement information, the Account Summary is no longer required. Note: The Additional Business Contracts Information screen cannot be accessed if Specific Purchase is indicated as the Requisition Type.
   
6. Req Type Help Button
   Uncertain of what to enter as the Requisition Type for your PR? Click the Req Type Help button in order to access the Requisition Type Help screen. This help screen will take you through questions that help identify the type of PR you are processing. After answering the questions, click the OK button to return to the main screen of the PR; the Requisition Type will be filled in.
   
7. Review Button
   Click on the Review button to access the Review Requisition screen. This screen provides all the PR detail on a single screen. This screen can be helpful for PR initiators to review before clicking OK on the PR. It can also be helpful for account managers and other approvers of the PR, as it eliminates the need to go back and forth on multiple screens. If desired, the Review Requisition screen can be printed by checking the Print indicator prior to clicking the Close button.
   
8. Vendor E-mail
   Often, a vendor may have a "centralized" e-mail address which is different from the vendor customer representative e-mail address. The Vendor E-Mail field allows you to enter a central vendor e-mail, which can be helpful if the vendor representative is unavailable.

Other Changes to the PR
In addition to the changes indicated above, there are several others:

• To assist with long and detailed item descriptions, the Description field on the Item Description screen has been increased from 2000 to 4000 characters. This should minimize the need to insert additional line items in order to continue an item description from a previous line.
• Commodity Code description now appears below the Commodity Code field and not default in the Description field in the Item Information screen. This change will ensure that a default commodity code description is not inadvertently processed on a PR. The PR should always contain a specific, detailed description of the requested product or service.
• Removal of Recycled Products indicator. To be consistent with the campus sustainability initiative, Contracting Services automatically seeks purchases that use the highest level of recycled products; this redundant indicator is no longer necessary.

PR Routing Changes
PRs now route to a Purchasing or Business Contracts workgroup, and the routing is based on the type of requisition and commodities indicated. Prior to these changes, the PR status showed as being fully approved before getting to Purchasing, and Purchasing downloaded PRs the next business day. These changes mean your PR documents will arrive in Purchasing more quickly than they previously did and won't appear as approved until after the Purchasing/Business Contracts workgroup has taken the necessary action.

New Functionality: Automated E-Mail Notifications
Automated e-mail notifications will now be sent to the PR initiator when:

• a PR has been buyer/analyst assigned
• a PR is reassigned to a different buyer/analyst
• a Purchase Order/Business Agreement (PO) has been established by a buyer
• an agreement is 45 days from expiration (if the initiator is no longer assigned to the organization, an e-mail will be sent to the account manager)

These e-mails will make it easier for the PR initiator to stay informed of the status of PRs without needing to access the Purchasing Inquiries screen.