This is the JRM Lab web site.
If you can read this, your browser is unable to properly import or use
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Please upgrade to a more modern browser.

How to fill out and place a purchase order at the JRM Lab.

JRM Purchase Order Procedure

These procedures are to be followed by anyone making a purchase that will be charged to the following accounts:

All purchase requests for these accounts will use the form found at: http://jrm.phys.ksu.edu/po/.

Fill out as much of the form as possible before sending it for approval, and accompany that e-mail approval request with a note describing what the purchase will be used for. For operating grant purchases, the name of the person with authority to approve the PO is listed along with the category in the drop down menu. OOE and SRO purchases require Itzik's approval, Welding/Use requires Kevin's approval, MURI is approved by Zenghu, and obviously charges to Igor's grant need to be approved by him. After the appropriate person receives the PO form and signs it, send it to Lisa McNeil at lzecha@phys.ksu.edu for a PO number. She will enter the PO number and keep a copy of the form, then return it to you to place the order. If something should change when the order is placed, such as the cost of an item, please correct the form and send Lisa a corrected copy. Some of those with authority to sign the form will also want a final copy for their records. They will ask you for that when they return the signed form.

Some points to note on the PO form itself:

  1. Fields marked with a red asterisk are required.
  2. In addition to the main categories listed under the operating grant, you must choose one of three subcategories for each main category:
    1. Equipment: Items that meet the university's definition of equipment. (A non-consumable either with a value of over $5000 or that can be attached to one of the large equipment items in the list on the left side of the form.)
    2. Non-Equipment Inventory: Items that don't meet that definition but that we still want to track on our inventory, such as oscilloscopes and computers.
    3. Other: All other items, such as supplies or services.
  3. It helps us avoid overhead if we can attach an item to one of the large pieces of equipment in the lab. The drop down menu that appears when you check "Yes" in answer to the "Will this become part of a large piece of equipment?" question gives a list of those items. Please notify Kevin or Itzik if you think a large item might qualify but is not on the list. For example, a Conflat flange purchased for an EBIS beamline can be attached to item 432775, Cryebis Accelerator, and Charles Fehrenbach is listed as the contact person for that piece of equipment. This would prevent us from having to pay overhead on that flange, a substantial savings.
  4. One of the required fields is shipping. That must be filled out before the form can be saved and/or sent for a signature. We have had too many purchases made without proper planning and using expensive shipping methods. If anything other than Local or Ground is selected, you may be asked to justify the quicker (and more expensive) method.
  5. If there are several items to be purchased, or if you have an itemized list from the vendor, a list can be attached to the form with the button labeled "Click here to attach a file."

If you have questions, contact Kevin Carnes, kdc@phys.ksu.edu.

Physics and KSU Purchasing Rules

The ordering procedure must comply with the regulations of the KSU central Purchasing Office. The goal of the purchasing rules is to achieve a balance of low cost, time efficiency, and fairness to vendors and buyers.

There are two types of purchases, briefly described here:

  1. Orders for a total amount less than or equal to $5,000 including shipping cost:

    These items can be ordered directly from the vendor by telephone. Some vendors may ask you to type the order on an official letterhead and fax it to them. You are encouraged to shop around and be aware of multiple vendors for items of interest to you.

  2. Orders totaling $5,000 or more:

    For these items we write specifications and send them to the Purchasing Office in Anderson Hall. The Purchasing Office sends these specifications to our recommended vendors on their own official forms. After about 2 weeks (3 weeks for > $10K) we receive the bids. If we want any vendor other than the low bidder, we must state why and exactly which of our original specifications are not satisfied by the low bidder.

The central Purchasing Office of KSU frowns on the practice of splitting large orders into multiple smaller orders for the purpose of avoiding the bid process.

For details concerning these purchasing rules, please read the Physics Department's Purchasing Guidelines (pdf). Questions regarding these should go to Lindsay Thompson.

Last updated on Tuesday, 30-Sep-2008