Supply ordering goes online

Office items already available; lab orders will be next, MDS says

UW–Madison researchers will be able to order laboratory supplies online with long-time vendor Fisher Scientific as the campus takes its next step in a major overhaul of buying practices.

The move to online ordering is part of a larger shift in contracting practices that purchasing officials say will lead to more streamlined ordering and delivery of basic office and lab supplies.

Materials Distribution Services, formerly known as State Consolidated Stores, plans to phase in the new system over the next six months, says Tom Sailor, director of purchasing services.

“We are striving for this to be a relatively smooth transition,” Sailor says.

Fisher has been a contractor with the university for five years. Under its new “prime vendor” contract, it will honor existing contracts with campus units but offer the deeper discounts of the new campus-wide contract, Sailor says.

The online aspect of the new system reflects a broader trend in purchasing, says Terri Parks, a business services manager who has been intensively involved in the transition.

“The business world is going this direction, and we’re trying to move the campus in that direction as quickly as possible,” Parks says. At the same time, purchasing officials have taken steps to fix pricing errors and address campus buyers’ other complaints about another vendor’s new online purchasing system.

BT Office Products International, which became UW–Madison’s primary office supply vendor July 1, initially listed incorrect higher prices in its online office supply catalog used by many campus office managers and others.

The online catalog has been corrected and campus units will be billed for supplies ordered at the correct prices, says Sailor, who met with the vendor’s top managers to get the problem corrected quickly.

“We’ve had some rockiness on this, like any new venture,” Sailor acknowledges. “But no one has been overcharged.”

The university has moved to prime vendor contracts as a way of getting better prices and service on an array of everyday items. BT, for example, offers discounts of 45 to 59 percent off list prices for its office items and furniture.

Training for the online ordering systems is available. Contact Terri Parks, 265-3961, tparks@bussvc.wisc.edu.

Questions or comments regarding the new ordering system may be directed to Sailor, 262-8721, tsailor@bussvc.wisc.edu, or Bill Sutton, 262-2415, wsutton@bussvc.wisc.edu.