Doing Business with CSUN - Info for Vendors

ABOUT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE:

California State University, Northridge is a vibrant, diverse, university community of nearly 36,000 students and more than 4,000 faculty and staff, sited on a 356-acre campus in the heart of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

ABOUT PURCHASING & CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION:

Purchasing & Contract Administration is the delegated, centralized procurement function for the University. Requests from campus departments are processed by Purchasing & Contract Administration and include goods, services, construction and contracts.

CSUN Purchasing & Contract Administration is committed to providing its customers with quality materials, on-time delivery and competitive pricing in accordance with the desired specifications. By law, all purchases of goods and services shall be governed by the laws of the State of California.

Our role is to develop and preserve alliances with our internal and external customers by:

• Listening to our customers;

• Offering assistance and technical advice;

• Promoting sound business practices while maintaining the highest level of source.

Each Buyer acts as an agent to the University by routinely performing the following functions:

• Negotiate prices for supplies, equipment and services;
• Solicit competitive bids;
• Establish and administer contracts/purchase orders;
• Research and identify potential sources of supplies/services to include small and disabled veteran businesses;
• Evaluate and monitor supplier performance;
• Provide customer service by following up and expediting orders;
• Purchase Order/Contract Dispute Resolution;
• Ensure that the purchase practices comply with the established purchasing and contracting policies and procedures.

The Procurement Staff is organized by commodities.  Please review the Staff Directory/Commodity Assignments.

It is strongly recommended that you make an appointment with the Buyer for your commodity/service area to ensure that quality interaction takes place. We are open for business from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, with the exception of legal and University holidays. Purchasing & Contract Administration is located at:

California State University, Northridge
Purchasing & Contract Administration
18111 Nordhoff Street, University Hall - Room 180
Northridge, CA 91330-8231

Phone: 818.677.2301 Fax: 818.677.6544

Email: purch@csun.edu

CODE OF ETHICS:

California State University, Northridge, Purchasing & Contract Administration subscribes to the code of ethics of the California State University Procurement and Support Services Officers Association. As public employees and purchasing professionals, we commit ourselves to provide leadership and dedicated service to our customers and to apply our best, unbiased judgment and maintain the highest ethical and moral standards in the conduct of CSU business. We guide our activity through the application and adherence to the following commonly shared values and ethical standards in our daily interaction with suppliers and University customers.

1. Conduct business in good faith; demanding honest, legal, and ethical practices from all participants in the purchasing process.
2. Foster an open environment by being fair and reasonable in all dealings.
3. At no time and under no circumstances accept directly or indirectly, gifts, gratuities or other things of value which might influence, or appear to influence, purchasing decisions.
4. Promote positive supplier/contractor relationships by according to the Vendor Representative’s courteous, fair and ethical treatment.
5. Make reasonable efforts to negotiate equitable and mutually agreeable settlements of controversies with supplier(s).
6. Avoid involvement in any transactions/activities that could be considered to be a conflict between personal interests and the interests of the CSU.
7. Know and obey the letter and spirit of laws governing the purchasing function and remain alert to the legal ramifications of purchasing decisions.

VENDOR REGISTRATION:

Register your Company to ensure we have your current information and information on the goods and/or services your Company can provide to the University. This will also help ensure your Company is included on bid solicitations.

You can register at the following:

• Planet Bids
• CalUsource

BID OPPORTUNITIES:

All purchases require the establishment of fair and reasonable pricing. Final discretion on the level of competition required for a purchase rests with the Procurement Staff.   Potential bidders can view and download bid solicitations directly from:

• Planet Bids
• CalUsource

ACCESSIBLE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE

The California State University (CSU) system is committed to ensuring that all of its programs and services are accessible and usable by all students, staff, and faculty, including those with disabilities. A critical component of this effort involves ensuring that all electronic and information technology (E&IT) products meet recognized accessibility and usability standards, including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, at the time of procurement or adoption.  CSUN complies with this requirement to procure accessible electronic and information technology products which include:

• Software applications and operating systems
• Web-based internet and intranet information and applications
• Telecommunication products (phone systems, voice mail systems)
• Video and multimedia products (videos, TV tuners and displays)
• Self-contained, closed products (printers, fax machines, kiosks, ATMs)
• Desktop and portable computer

DISABLED VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES PARTICIPATION PROGRAM

The Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) Participation Program was established to acknowledge disabled veterans for their service and to further DVBE participation in state contracting, promote competition and encourage greater economic opportunity.  The State of California established a DVBE contracting participation goal of at least three percent. The goal applies to the total contract dollars expended each year by all campuses.  This includes all contracts, purchase orders, and procurement card orders.  In the effort to reach or exceed this goal, campuses may specify an amount of DVBE participation greater than 3% for an individual solicitation. Please review Certification Information and Application Procedures.

SMALL BUSINESS/MICRO BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM

The CSU supports the spirit of the California Legislature's declaration as set forth in the Small Business Procurement and Contracts Act (G.C. 14835 et seq.) and supports those goals established by the Office of Small Business and DVBE Services (OSDS), for the extent of participation of small businesses, including micro-businesses, in the provision of goods, information technology, and services to the state, and in the construction of state facilities.  Certified Small/Micro Businesses can request a 5% bid preference as described in each solicitation. Please review Certification Information and Application Procedures.

RECYCLED PRODUCTS:

CSUN shall establish purchasing practices that assure, to the maximum extent economically feasible, the purchase of materials, goods and supplies that are recycled or have recycled material within their content. Fitness and quality being equal, purchase preference shall be given to recycled products whenever such products are available and the cost of such products is no greater than that of their non-recycled counterparts.

AUTHORIZED METHODS OF PROCUREMENT:

• Purchase Orders and Contracts - issued by Purchasing & Contract Administration.
• Procurement Card – The University has a credit card program in place.  Deal directly with the cardholders on orders.

If you accept an order without an authorized Purchase Order/Contract or University Procurement Card, you must deal directly with the individual that placed the order to obtain payment.

PARKING:

Daily parking permits may be purchased from a parking permit dispenser or from one of the parking booths. The parking permit must be displayed properly at all times while parked on campus.

Please review Parking & Transportation Services website.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION:

Central Receiving - Receiving hours: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Monday - Friday

University Accounts Payable - Accounts Payable hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday

California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8202

Phone: 818.677.3472