Organization
Point Park University operates a centralized purchasing department. As such, this department is responsible for the procurement of goods and services for all of the University's administrative and educational departments, including the Pittsburgh Playhouse.
Authorization to Commit
In accordance with the University's policy of centralized purchasing, only Procurement and Business Services is authorized to make commitments on behalf of the University for goods and services in excess of $2,000 per order. The University's policy is summarized as follows:
- All formal Requests for Proposals and Requests for Quotations must be issued by Procurement and Business Services in order to be considered valid. Any quotations or pricing information sought by and provided to individual University departments will not be legally binding and will not be honored unless deemed in the best interests of the University.
- All correspondence with the University related to the purchase of goods and services must be directed to Procurement and Business Services unless otherwise directed by personnel.
- Procurement and Business Services will evaluate all acceptable bid responses and will notify the selected vendor of contract award. Any inference of commitment made by individual University departments is unauthorized and, therefore, non-binding on the University.
- Procurement and Business Services and/or an ad hoc negotiation team will conduct negotiations. Any terms and conditions negotiated independently that deviate from the University's standard contractual language will not be honored unless approved by Procurement and Business Services.
Purchasing Principles
The University strives to purchase goods and services that are of the best value, which is defined as the optimum combination of quality and price. In order to obtain this value, we rely strongly on supplier expertise in their given commodity field. We also practice the doctrine of value analysis and, consequently, are receptive to supplier suggestions regarding potential areas for cost savings.