Purchasing glossary

The following terms are used in technical procurement and asset management at Carnegie Mellon. Offsite links will open in a new browser window.

CMU Procurement Services (PS) Department: The University's centralized purchasing-management group, responsible for setting and enforcing CMU and government purchasing policies.
Office of Sponsored Research (OSR): Liaison with University Departments, all rebudgeting requests, responsible for sponsored project PO approvals.
Purchase Order (PO): The formal document, generated by SCS Purchasing group staff and approved by CMU Procurement Services, that authorizes a vendor to proceed
PCard (TTC): An acquisition tool, similar to a credit card, for which a specific employee is authorized use and assigned responsibility.
Competitive bid process / Purchase Order Checklist: Three (3) quotations (two when approved by CMU's PS Director), are required when a purchase from a nonpreferred vendor is $2500 or greater. The bids (quotes) should contain price, quantity, description, and the supplier's terms and conditions (if any). Supporting documentation of price/cost analysis must be attached to the Purchasing Checklist and Bid Summary form and forwarded to the PS Department before the PO will be approved.
Preferred vendor: A vendor selected by the University through the Preferred supplier program, a competitive proposal and negotiation process designed to provide consistently the best overall quality, pricing and service to the university. When purchasing from a preferred vendor, you need not obtain competitive bids nor complete a Purchasing Checklist and Bid Summary form, since the University has already negotiated the lowest competitive pricing.
Nonpreferred vendor: A vendor not on the preferred-supplier list. Buying from one of these companies usually requires a competitive-bid process.
Technical equipment: Items (including but not limited to computers, monitors, racks, disks, etc.) that directly support SCS research
Technical supplies: Technical items whose total cost (including any shipping charges) is $1000 or less
Capital equipment: A technical equipment item with an original cost of $5000 or more and a minimum useful life of two or more years. Capital equipment is exempt from overhead charges.
Noncapital equipment: A single item of technical equipment whose total cost (including any shipping charges) is more than $1000 and less than $5000.
Fabricated equipment: Technical equipment developed and constructed at Carnegie Mellon by combining discrete components and/or materials into one identifiable unit. To be considered a "fabrication," all components must work as one unit; parts alone are not considered a fabrication. All items that comprise the fabrication project are considered "equipment" regardless of the dollar amount of those items. Fabricated equipment is exempt from overhead charges.
CMU asset number: A number assigned to capital and noncapital equipment purchases for University property-management and insurance purposes. The number also appears on a colored, bar-coded label affixed to the item.