Organization of the Purchasing Department

Section 1:1 Revised  10/17/2002

The Purchasing Department is the only agency on the UNC Charlotte campus which may authorize acquisition of products or services to be paid from university accounts.  As with all State agencies, UNC Charlotte is bound by the contracts negotiated by the Purchase and Contract Division of the North Carolina Department of Administration. Paragraph 58 of North Carolina General Statute #143 states that if purchases are made in violation of the rules and regulations of the State and/or agency, the persons responsible may be held personally liable for any financial commitment made.

The Purchasing Office is the agency of the Purchasing Department responsible for making all purchase contracts entered into for the University. The procurement needs of the University require the services of several Purchasing Agents who are assigned specific departments. This provides each of the departments with one individual to contact in the Purchasing Office for all of their purchase requirements.  Stores is located in the Warehouse on Mary Alexander Road.

Stores is the service agency of the Purchasing Department which is responsible for maintaining an inventory of the most commonly used office supplies and equipment. (See Stores Online Catalog @ www.uncc.edu/recvnstores). Stores also maintains an inventory of supplies and materials for the operation of the University Physical Plant.

The University Purchasing Director is responsible for determining those items which will be placed on the Stores stock list. Factors to be considered in this determination are: multi -departmental use of the item, usage rates, quantity discounts, order, and shipping time. The decision will reflect what is most economical for the University as a whole.

Central Receiving is the service agency of the Purchasing Department which is responsible for receiving, checking, and redelivery large shipments of supplies and materials ordered for all University departments, schools and agencies. Central Receiving is responsible not only for receiving and redirecting the materials to the requesting departments, but also for returning merchandise to vendors for reasons as may be necessary. Additionally, it provides a daily delivery service for Stores.

Shipments through priority handling services such as UPS, RPS, Fed-Ex, etc. are consigned directly to the using department.  Procedures for processing receiving documentation on these shipments are covered in a separate section.

The Surplus Property Warehouse is the service agency of the Purchasing Department which has the responsibility of disposing of surplus materials in accordance with rules and regulations of the State of North Carolina and the University. Surplus property is stored in the Warehouse on Mary Alexander Road.

The Fixed Assets Section of the Purchasing Department is responsible for maintaining a complete inventory of all University-owned equipment purchased at an initial cost of $500.00 or more. All moves, disposals, or loss of equipment should be reported to the Fixed Assets Section, as detailed in the University Surplus section of this manual.