Approval Threshold

The division has determined a dollar threshold for when requisitions must have an approver. The requisition preparer's Business Manager may have determined either a $0 threshold or a $1,000 threshold.

If a division has a $0 threshold, every requisition must be routed to an approver who has signature authority as shown in the Signature Authorization System.

If a division has a $1,000 threshold, only those requisitions greater than $1000 must be routed to an approver who has signature authority as shown in the Signature Authorization System.

Approver

An Authorized Signer in the Signature Authorization System who has enough dollar approval to approve a requisition.

Blanket Subcontract

Also called Extended Term Agreements or Type 2 orders.

They typically cover services or materials from a vendor over a number of months and are usually set up for 2-way matching (PO-Invoice match). Regular POs (not blanket) are setup with 3-way matching (PO-Receipt-Invoice match).

Buyer / Subcontract Administrator

A Procurement employee who is authorized to issue purchase contracts.

Certifier

A division employee who has been designated in a requisition to certify invoices before they can be paid. Certification is recommended for the following service Item Categories:

• Architect/Engineers (ARCH)

• Consultants (CNSLT)

• Personal Services Agreements (PSA)

• Construction (CNSTR)

• Research and Development (RANDD)

• Project Management (PROJM)

Distributed Procurement Unit (DPU)

The DPU is a group of Procurement buyers who handle low-value purchases and have Procurement Cards (PCards).

Extended Term Agreement

Also called Blanket Subcontracts or Type 2 orders.

They typically cover services or materials from a vendor over a number of months and are usually set up for 2-way matching (PO-Invoice match). Regular POs (not blanket) are setup with 3-way matching (PO-Receipt-Invoice match).

Goods

A tangible output of a process that has physical dimensions. Generally produced in a facility separate from the purchasing customer. They can be produced to meet very tight specifications day-in and day-out with essentially zero variability.

Within the eProcurement system, goods can fall under the following Item Categories:

• Office Equipment & Supplies

• Biological, Chemical

• Electrical, Electronic &Fabrication

• Laboratory Equipment & Supplies

• Computer

• Construction & Maintenance of Facilities

Government Furnished Property (GFP)

Government owned property that will be provided to the subcontractor/vendor for use during the performance of work with the expectation that any unused portion will be returned to LBNL at the end of the work.

Example:

We send the vendor wire to install in a magnet they are fabricating and delivering to us or if we send them a piece of machinery to help them in fabricating an item they will be delivering to us. We would expect the Government Furnished Property (GFP)--the wire or machinery--to be returned to the Lab.

Note: When lab equipment is sent out for repair, it is not considered GFP.

Item Category Codes

Related to the selection of Goods or Services in the eProcurement system. Based on the selection (Goods or Services), a list of related Item Category Codes displays.

Item Category Codes drive specific requisition approval workflows and resource categories, so it is imperative that requisition ipreparers use the most appropriate Item Category Codes.

On-Site Service

On-Site Services Hands On Work

• Use of hand or power tools
• Repair or service of a device, apparatus, machine, or mechanism
• Material handling (except delivery of purchased items)
• Handling or disposing of a chemical, compressed gas, or hazardous, radioactive, or bio-hazardous material
• Construction and related real property modifications/improvements

On-Site Services No Hands-On Work

• Office and administrative work
• Computer programming
• Attending or making a presentation
• Supervision of a worker(s) who is not performing hands-on work
• Document archiving
• Financial auditing
• Photography
• Language translation
• Providing classroom training

PCard Order

A PCard order is a purchase made using the PCard system and paid using a PCard.

Purchase Order (PO)

The order submitted to a vendor with intent to purchase following the approval of a requisition.

Requester

Someone who needs something. Requesters can be any person with a Lab Employee ID # and an email address. Guests with LBNL Email can be requesters as well.

Requisition

A way to request goods or services. A Requisition over the Division Requisition Approval Threshold amount must be approved prior to sending a purchase order to the vendor.

Requisition Preparer

An employee who has access to Create Requisition in FMS/Procurement (ePro) system. Preparers enter requisitions into ePro and show up as the “Entered By” person in ePro screens. A Requisition Preparer may also be a Requester on an ePro Requisition.

Restricted Items

Any item that:

• Has inherent safety hazards

• Requires special controls and/or authorizations

• If handled improperly, may:

• hurt people

• harm the environment

• damage equipment

• result in citations or DOE reportable occurrences

The Procurement Department maintains the Restricted Item List, which is available via the LBNL Home Page A to Z Index.

Services

An intangible process that cannot be weighed or measured. Requires some degree of interaction with the customer for it to be a service. The interaction may be brief, but it must exist for the service to be complete. Where face-to-face service is required, the service facility must be designed to handle the customer's presence. Services are inherently heterogeneous -- they vary from day to day and even hour by hour as a function of the attitudes of the customer and the servers.

Within the eProcurement system, goods can fall under the following Item Categories:

• Facility Related Services

• Personnel & Effort Related Services

• Lease / Rental Services

• Special & Other Services

Sole Source

The restriction of competition to a single source of supply.

The need to restrict competition may be justified by one of the following reasons:

• Unique capability, expertise, facilities, or equipment that no other source can provide to satisfy the Laboratory's requirements
• Compatibility with existing equipment and/or standardization of parts
• Follow-on work for continued development or enhancement of specialized systems, equipment, or services, when it is likely that award to a source other than the incumbent subcontractor would result in substantial duplication of costs (relative to overall costs) that would not be recovered or would cause unacceptable delays in fulfilling the program needs
• An unusual or compelling urgency that would cause an adverse or programmatic impact of such a nature and magnitude that a sole source justification is merited
• To establish or maintain a source for industrial mobilization or an essential engineering, development, or research capability
• Services of an expert or neutral person for any current or anticipated litigation or dispute
• Identified source is acknowledged to be the leader in its field of expertise as demonstrated in reputable and valid literature, symposia presentations, etc. While normally not appropriate for commercial goods and services, this identification may be appropriate in subcontracting for research and development.
• Authorized or required by statute or International agreement
• National security or public interest
• Unique bonding, insurance or indemnification requirements (applies if a Large Business is selected in lieu of a Small Business)

Open  A requisition has been created but not submitted for approval or further processing.

Pending  A requisition was submitted to an Approver and is awaiting approval.

Approved  The requisition was approved by the Approver. In this status, the requisition may have also been assigned to a PO or to a Procurement Card (PCard) Order.

PO Created  A PO has been created but not yet Dispatched (sent to the vendor).

PO Dispatched  The PO was placed/sent to with the vendor.

Received  Some of the items on the PO may have been formally received.

Canceled  The requisition was canceled and will not be processed further.

Approved  The PO was approved by the buyer should automatically change to Dispatched status within in 20 minutes.

Dispatched  The PO was placed / sent to the vendor.

Complete  The PO is closed. All invoices and receipts have been processed against the PO and all of the obligations of the vendor and LBNL have been satisfied. Liens are removed and no further invoices or receipts may be made on the PO.

Canceled  The PO was canceled--normally because it should not have been issued in the first place. No invoices or receipts were processed on the PO.

Subcontract Administrator / Buyer

A Procurement employee who is authorized to issue purchase contracts.

Supplier Acquired Property (SAP)

Property that the subcontractor acquires, and LBNL pays for, that will be used in performance of the work. This property is not part of the subcontract deliverable, but will still be delivered to LBNL at the completion of the work.

Examples:

• A vendor will buy a PC to help them fabricate an item for us, and they bill us for the PC. We would expect the Subcontractor Acquired Property (SAP)--the PC--to be returned to the Lab along with the fabricated item
• The vendor buys a ton of wire to go into a magnet they are fabricating for us. If they only used half a ton of wire, but the Lab agreed to pay for the full ton, we would expect the vendor to send us the magnet ordered plus the leftover half ton of wire

Type 2 Order

Also called Blanket Subcontracts or Extended Term Agreements.

They typically cover services or materials from a vendor over a number of months and are usually set up for 2-way matching (PO-Invoice match). Regular POs (not blanket) are setup with 3-way matching (PO-Receipt-Invoice match).