Purchasing Goods and Services

Supplies, equipment, and services are all ordered through the UCSB Campus Procurement system, Gateway. Gateway allows us to quickly get purchase orders out to a wealth of suppliers, including Fisher Scientific, VWR, Amazon, Apple, Airgas and many more. 

If the desired supplier is not in Gateway, please submit a New Supplier Request Form by clicking the link on the right side of the Gateway homepage below the heading “Request New Supplier.” You will be redirected to the UCSB ServiceNow ticketing system to submit your request. A quote from the supplier will be needed to complete your request.

It is important to note that Gateway only allows one supplier per PO- trying to submit a requisition with multiple suppliers will cause an automatic rejection. Below are resources to get you started placing orders. 

Gateway Catalog orders

The left side of the Gateway home page lists suppliers that have catalogs available to search for competitively priced items. To search, click on the supplier icon. If the supplier has a “Punch-out Catalog,” you will be redirected to the supplier’s website to search for and select your desired goods, then be redirected to Gateway to complete your requisition when you click on the checkout button (Instructions here). If the supplier’s catalog is embedded in Gateway, a search box will appear when you click on the supplier’s icon. You can enter keywords, search all available items and add what you want to your cart. 

Once you have all of your desired items in a cart, you will click “Finalize Cart” in the top right corner and continue to the requisition where you will be prompted to enter your shipping information and account string to be charged. Click here to watch a short video detailing these final steps, starting at 1:41. 

Non-Catalog orders

If your desired supplier is active in Gateway but does not have a hosted catalog available to search, you may submit a Non-Catalog order using the link under “Order a Non-Catalog Item.” You’ll be asked to enter the supplier and item information, then click Save to add the item to your cart or Save And Add Another to continue adding items to your cart. If you are ordering from a quote, please attach the quote to the requisition so we can confirm pricing. If you do not have a quote, please include a link to the product on the supplier’s website to confirm pricing.

Click here to watch a short video about placing Non-Catalog orders. 

Orders placed with the department credit card - Flexcard

If it is not possible to add a supplier to Gateway, we may be able to place an order on the supplier’s website or by phone using the department’s credit card, otherwise known as a Flexcard. Please submit a Flexcard Authorization form from the Forms section on the homepage. If items will be ordered online, we ask that you include links to the products as well as product descriptions so we can be sure we’re ordering the correct products. You can do this by either adding the weblink after the product description or by adding the link(s) as a comment when you finalize the requisition. At the top of the form, for Order Placement, choose Another Flexcard. For Flexcard Holder’s Name, enter Jeri O’Mahoney.

Click here for instructions on submitting Flexcard Authorization orders in Gateway. Note: Gateway has been updated since Business and Financial Services released this guide- account string and ship-to address fields will look a little different.

Walk-In POs

The Walk-In Purchase Order is only used when you must select the items in person or an emergency necessitates same-day pickup. For a list of on-campus and local suppliers who accept Walk-In POs, click here to be redirected to Business and Financial Services.

Surplus Chemicals

UC Santa Barbara’s Surplus Chemical Program reduces chemical waste generated on campus by reusing chemicals instead of disposing of them as hazardous waste. When a laboratory shuts down, moves, or no longer needs a specific chemical, the program tries to find a lab that can use the chemical in their research. This service is operated by Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) and is free and available to any laboratory on campus. EH&S will deliver directly to your laboratory if you request a chemical from the program.

The Surplus Chemicals inventory can be found in Gateway. For instructions on how to search for available items, click the UCSB Surplus Chemical Program link to the right of this text.

Special Circumstances

For any orders that are non-standard, or do not fit within the parameters detailed above, please contact purchasing@eri.ucsb.edu and let us know what you’d like to purchase. High dollar equipment orders, contracts that require signatures, POs to be used repeatedly (Vendor Blankets), etc. require more stringent vetting and may involve significant delays. It is important that you reach out to us as soon as possible. 

Reimbursements

Per UCSB policy, a reimbursement request for supplies or services outside of Gateway is considered an unauthorized purchase and will be reviewed by the Office of Procurement for evaluation and guidance. You may not be reimbursed if the campus determines that the purchase was not critical or that you paid more than a contracted supplier would charge. Procurement Services is now reviewing reimbursement requests and may decline some or all expenses claimed. 

If you have a reimbursement request for supplies you purchased at the last minute or in the field, you may submit your request through concursolutions.com. You will need to upload your receipt(s), select the appropriate account string and detail the expense(s) before submitting. For more information about this process, click here for our Concur User Guide. You will need to be logged in to Google with your UC NetID to access the document. For supply reimbursements, refer to the instructions under Step by Step Guides - Business Expenses.

Receiving your order

It is up to you to track your Gateway orders and to pick them up when they have been delivered.

Ellison Hall:

You may have your packages shipped to Ellison Hall room 6722.  In the Gateway requisition Ship-to field, search for ERTH and choose the Ellison Hall option. The Receiving Room, 6722, is open weekdays 9am to 3pm. Please note- this room is not staffed. When you receive your order, write your name on the packing slip, and place it in the tray on the shelf.

Bren Hall: 

If you work in Bren you can receive orders there. In the Gateway requisition Ship-to field, search for ERTH and choose the Bren Hall option. When you receive your order, upload a photo of your packing slip to your Gateway PO comments. 

Webb Hall: 

If you work in Webb you can receive orders there. In the Gateway requisition Ship-to field, search for ERTH and choose the Webb Hall option. When you receive your order, upload a photo of your packing slip to your Gateway PO comments.

CCBER: 

If you work at CCBER you can receive orders there. In the Gateway requisition Ship-to field, search for CBER and choose the CCBER option. When you receive your order, upload a photo of your packing slip to your Gateway PO comments 

Home Delivery: 

While many of us are working remotely you may have the option of having non-chemical and non-hazardous orders shipped to a home address.  This will work with any Gateway Punchout Catalog and may work with other suppliers, as well.  Go to the Procurement Services Training Page and look for How to Add a One-Time Ship-to Address for Your Order. When you receive your order upload a photo of your packing slip to your Gateway PO comments.