The Four Purchasing Rules:

1.  Always complete a PO form.

Emails or phone calls don't work because then I have to fill out the form.

2.  Always include the vendor's city, state & phone number on the PO form.

This is how we determine the correct vendor in Harvard's online purchasing system among the sometimes many listed for individual vendors.

Without this, we have to spend time looking them up via the internet and calling to verify.

3.  Always call the vendor to verify pricing & availability.

We have to make the online PO from the form and then call the vendor to place the order. If the pricing or availability is wrong, we have to go back in and re-do the whole thing. I can't tell you how many times this has come up recently. Quotes are less important for small orders, if the company gives you static about making them, or if it causes delays - just get the pricing and availability right.

4.  When setting up new vendors, first check that they even accept Net 30 invoicing purchase orders, then complete the form with all details except the requester section.

Ok, a slightly longer rule. I would go even further in asking that you email the PDF form to me. The Physics dept. doesn't accept hand-written Vendor Setup forms, so if too much is hand-written, I need to re-do the whole thing.