Administrative Training and Policies

Biomedical Engineering Purchasing Policy 

Due to the large volume of orders placed by the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Office, the below process must be followed for submitting BME research order requests.
Orders are processed by the BME Office within 2-3 business days of receipt.

• BME.Orders@tufts.edu - All orders must be submitted to the BME order email by group leaders ONLY. Individual order requests from group members will not be accepted. NOTE: Orders sent to staff members personal emails, will NOT be processed.  

Please let the BME Office know when a new group leader is assigned to take over for your group(s) ordering.  Group leaders are also responsible for providing the BME Office the names of the individuals in the group(s) for which they place orders.

• BME Order Form - The electronic version of the BME Order Form must be used to submit orders. The BME Office will not place orders without it; order information included in the body of an email will not be processed. To keep accurate ordering records, the page must be formatted to remain a one page document and not run onto a second page. If more space is required, use a new form. NOTE: Order requests received with improperly formatted order forms, will NOT be processed until correctly formatted by the end user. 
   
• PREFERRED VENDORS - Tufts University has strategic partnerships established with a number of vendors.  Whenever possible, the below vendors should be used for lab purchases. Please keep in mind that prices you view on a public-facing website are not the prices that Tufts Purchasing has negotiated with these vendors: 
  • Airgas
  • Biorad
  • Grainger
  • Invitrogen
  • Qiagen
  • Sigma Aldrich
  • ThermoFisher
  • VWR Scientific
     
• NON-PREFERRED VENDOR ORDERING - The BME department does have accounts with vendors that are not listed under the Preferred Vendors Section. Please contact the BME Main Office Staff for a list of these vendors. In the event that we do not have an account with a vendor that an end user would like to use, then the following steps must be applied: 
  • End Users must obtain a tax exempt quote. (The quote must include the correct shipping information and end user's name) 
  • End Users must verify that the vendor accepts phone orders that are paid via credit card, or via a secure payment link. NOTE: We cannot place phone orders with international vendors. 
  • If the vendor does not accept credit card payments, the end user must obtain the email information of the person within the vendor's organization that has the authority to provide banking information and forward this to the BME Staff, so that a Payment Works invite can be sent to them. Once the vendor completes the application, the BME Staff will forward the quote to the Tufts Procurement Department to be placed. NOTE: This process can take up to three weeks. 
     
• Amazon Ordering Guidelines -  Amazon cannot be used to place orders for the following items:
  • Computers or any computer equipment/peripherals (Peripherals must be purchased through WB Mason) 
  • Lab consumables
  • Lab equipment
  • Electrical components of any kind
  • Food products for cellular agriculture
  • Plant seeds for cellular agriculture
     
• Computer Ordering Guidelines - All computer purchases must go through the Tufts IT Department. You can contact them at Tufts IT Support it@tufts.edu or by phone 617-627-3376. 
   
• Cell Line Ordering Guidelines - Any new cell lines must be added to the Bio-Safety Registration BEFORE ordering. If you have questions regarding Bio-Safety Registration, please contact Carmen Preda. 
   
• Equipment Ordering Guidelines - Any lab equipment order must be approved by Laura Place or Carmen Preda.
   
• Order Confirmations/Records - The BME Office keeps a record of all orders placed by the office staff.  In addition, an order confirmation will be sent to you (the end user) after an order is placed by your group leader. 

It is your responsibility to report any item that has not been received, to the vendor, within one (1) week of the expected delivery date.  Please work directly with the vendor to resolve any backorders and/or substitutions.  If you have issues reaching a vendor, please see the BME Office for assistance.  

• SUPPLIER JUSTIFICATIONS - Purchases over $10,000 require a vendor justification due to the University’s bid-policy.  Three (3) written quotes are required as well as a brief summary of why the vendor was selected (i.e. sole source, performance/quality, cost/price analysis, etc.).  The BME Office will not proceed with a purchase order submission without three quotes.