The University Services Centre (USC) launches new process for making non-catalogue purchases using Sm@rtBuy

The following community message was shared with University Services Centre teams, the Division of Finance Administration, DSA, Assistant Vice-Presidents, Finance Executive Officers and Senior Executive Officers to share with appropriate staff on Monday, March 11, 2024. An earlier update message was shared with all CPM staff on Friday, March 8:

Please forward this information along to anyone on your team who may be impacted by this change.

Dear Colleagues,

The University Services Centre (USC) is announcing the launch of an online process that will simplify the community’s experience with making non-catalogue purchases using Sm@rtBuy. Developed in collaboration with the Service Excellence Program (SEP), this new process will reduce the amount of time it takes for purchases to be processed, while giving users better visibility into the status of their purchase order requests.

Sm@rtBuy will now become the primary platform for purchasing all goods and services at York, eliminating cumbersome practices like the need for manual, email-based approval processes.

What is changing?

Starting today, all new purchase requisitions (catalogue and non-catalogue) must be completed in Sm@rtBuy, except for Facilities-related purchases which will continue to be initiated through a service request in Maximo.

This launch is an important milestone for how purchase requisitions are requested and processed at the University. Some of the primary benefits include:

Providing a single source for all Purchase Orders (POs) through Sm@rtBuy
Faster order processing through a fully digital Purchase Order requisition form
Improved accuracy by eliminating duplicate manual data entry
Improved and consistent approval workflows within Sm@rtBuy for purchase requisitions and associated invoices, removing the need for separate email-based approvals
Improved visibility into the status of Purchase Orders and improved reporting capabilities

Information and Training

In addition to the training sessions that have already been held, the University Services Centre team has scheduled more optional drop-in sessions in YU Learn to provide a demonstration of the process in Sm@rtBuy, share information about the resources available to support people using the new process, and answer questions. Details on these sessions are below:

Additionally, there will be monthly training sessions available to community members who are unable to join the sessions above. We invite you to register for the session that is most convenient for you. Please note that a Passport York (PPY) username and password is required to register for training sessions through YU Learn.

For more detailed guidance on this process, several resources have been created including FAQs, job aids, and video guides, which can all be accessed on the Strategic Procurement Services Website. Please bookmark this page for easy access to updates when available.

For more information on this change or general inquiries, please contact Procurement Operations in the University Services Centre: SmartBuy@yorku.ca.

Sincerely,

Anthony Barbisan

Assistant Vice-President

University Service Centre