Procurement and Contract Services
Procurement and Contract Services
Procurement and Contract Services provides service and support of the procurement needs of the educational, research and administrative mission of the university while adhering to state and federal statutes and university policy. We manage the procurement process from the purchase request through the receiving of goods, processing of vendor payments and cataloging of inventory. In addition to the procurement process, we also manage university travel and contracted services (i.e. university contracts for Eagle Dining and Barnes and Noble).
Due to COVID protocol, meetings with Buyers are by appointment only. Please reach out to schedule a meeting before arriving on campus.
Procurement Services require new vendors to complete a Vendor ID Request and a W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. A W9 is required for all individuals (including undergraduate and graduate students) for services. Payments will NOT be made until the forms have been returned to Procurement Services for processing.
Also refer to the Vendor Maintenance Procedures section below for New and Existing Vendor EPLS verification
A permanent address must be provided for mailing a 1099 to the individual.
The department is responsible for getting all the relevant information needed to set up an International Vendor. The Foreign Corporation Information Form should be e-mailed to the vendor before any services are performed or goods are purchased. The department should then forward the completed document to Vendor Maintenance in the Procurement office. They will in turn forward it to the Tax Compliance office who will notify the department of additional IRS forms needed before the vendor can be set up in our vendor system.
Southern Miss has two methods of purchasing from external vendors: university procurement cards and official university purchase orders.
Procurement Cards
Purchase Orders
As a public institution, we must follow state purchasing laws and regulations. Under state law, we are subject to rules and regulations set forth by the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees; the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management (OPTFM) which is under the Department of Finance and Administration; and the Department of Information Technology Services (ITS). Laws relative to the OPTFM and the procurement process in general may be found in Chapter 7 of the Mississippi Code beginning with Section 31-7-1.
Quote and Bid Requirements
Orders on State Contract
Procedure for adding new vendors to the vendor database:
When it is determined that a new vendor will need to be added to the University’s Vendor Database, the following procedure will be followed: For New domestic vendors:
For New International Vendors:
If a determination is made by a University Department that an international vendor will need to be added to the University’s Vendor Database, the following procedure will be followed:
a. Requesting department is responsible for e-mailing the Foreign Corporation Information form and the W-8BEN form to the prospective vendor. Once the department has received the completed form, it should be sent to the Office of Tax Compliance for review.
b. The Office of Tax Compliance will notify the requesting department of any additional IRS forms needed before the vendor can be added to the vendor database.
c. Once all required documentation is received, The Office of Tax Compliance will send all necessary paperwork to the Vendor Maintenance Specialist who will follow the EPLS procedures described in section c. of the domestic vendor procedure prior to adding the vendor to the Vendor Database.
Ongoing Vendor Verification Procedures:
Monthly Vendor Validation
Once a month, updates to the excluded parties list are downloaded and compared to all of the University’s active vendors. Any names that match are then searched in detail on the Excluded Parties List System. If a USM vendor is found to match the EPLS, they are inactivated and no longer used. If need arises for future use, they must first be cleared from the EPLS before being reinstated as active vendors.
The following website is commonly used to find excluded individuals/entities:
If America is to continue its position as the principal economic force in the global marketplace, it must include all members of its society in productive enterprise. Purchasing power in the minority community will be getting much larger.
The University of Southern Mississippi highly encourages its constituents to source their needs from small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses, as well as veteran-owned businesses. To assist you in this endeavor we have provided a few tools listed below.
The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) provides a searchable vendor database. Once there, select the ‘Search Now’ link. No login is required. Additionally, another searchable database is the Mississippi Minority Business Registry.