Communications

Sourcing & Procurement sends out periodic communications to assist the community in navigating Guided BUying. Please see email updates below. If you are not receiving these emails, please fill out this form to subscribe.

• Freezer Upgrade Program NOW LIVE – (1/27/25)
• Announcement: Fairmarkit RFQ Review Procedure – P2P to review each RFQ for accuracy – (11/14/24)
• BU Travel Program: Benefits & Discounts available to BU faculty & staff for business travel – (11/6/24)
• Metrics: Fiscal Year 2024 Supplier Diversity Dashboard Update – (10/4/24)
• Catalog Announcement: Purchase Life Tech products from Fisher Scientific – (9/16/24)
• Event Announcement: Laboratory Equipment & Supply Expo on Tuesday, October 8 – (9/11/24)
• New Catalog Announcement: BioLegend – (8/26/24)
• BU Travel Program: JetBlue Corporate Perks Program – (8/21/24)
• New Catalog Announcement: Hawk Marketplace Catalog in Guided BUying for gift cards – (8/2/24)
• Reminder: Order through Supplier Catalogs in Guided BUying – (6/7/24)
• Reminder: PRs in Composing Status do Not Carry Forward to New Fiscal Year – (6/4/24)
• Event Announcement: BU Travel Fair Prizes Available for Attendees – (4/22/24)
• Metrics: First Half FY24 Supplier Diversity Data – (4/1/24)
• Event Announcement: Boston University Travel Fair on April 23, 2024 – (3/22/24)
• Announcement: Yankee Line as New Preferred Charter Bus Supplier – (3/18/24)
• New Catalog Announcement: Bio-Techne, doing business as R&D Systems – (2/27/24)
• Reminder: Digital Gift Card Ordering Process – (2/26/24)
• Reminder: Airgas Cylinder Returns & Gas Replenishments – (2/20/24)
• Gift Card Catalog Reminder: Hawk Marketplace for Digital Gift Cards – (2/15/24)
• Gift Card Catalog Announcement: Hawk Marketplace with Blackhawk Network – (2/8/24)
• Alert: Amazon Business Catalog – Product Safety Information – (11/15/23)
• Metrics: Fiscal Year 2023 Supplier Diversity Spend – (10/11/23)
• Event Announcement: 2023 Lab Equipment & Supply Expo – (9/7/23)
• Reminder: PO Closeout Requests – (8/31/23)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Fiscal Year Composing Errors – (7/5/23)
• Announcement: BU’s Travel Management Company Change – (6/21/23)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Fiscal Year End – (6/20/23)
• Alert: Unused Travel Tickets – (6/7/23)
• Alert: Creating Non-Catalog Purchase Requisitions – (5/24/23)
• Announcement: Christopherson Business Travel as BU’s preferred supplier for business travel management – (5/11/23)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Competitive Bid Policy – (4/25/23)
• Announcement: Airgas Bulk Pickup Of Empty Cylinders – (4/11/23)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Account Reassignment For Equipment PRs – (3/21/23)
• New Catalog Announcement: Linde Lab Gas Punch-Out Catalog – (3/15/23)
• Metrics: Fiscal Year 2023 Supplier Diversity Dashboard Update – (3/14/23)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Attend Virtual Guided BUying Training – (2/28/23)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Checking Out via Catalog & Adding Information to Header Level – (2/23/23)
• Announcement: Fairmarkit Pinned Groups for Quick Quotes – (2/23/23)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Signatories, PII, And Attachment Visibility – (2/9/23)
• Best Practices: Choosing the correct commodity code is essential for oversight and compliance – (12/19/22)
• Training: Guided BUying Monthly Training Sessions – (12/8/22)
• Alert: Intersession Procedures for 2022 – (12/8/22)
• Announcement: Ariba Contract Request Form (CRF) Enhancement For Campus Planning & Operations – (10/17/22)
• Event Announcement: 2022 Laboratory Equipment & Supply Expo on October 20 – (10/6/22)
• Metrics: Fiscal Year 2022 Supplier Diversity Dashboard Update – (10/4/22)
• Announcement: Removal of Purchasing Functions under Procurement Tab in BUworks – (9/23/22)
• New Catalog Announcement: Linde Lab Gas in Guided BUying – (9/19/22)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Account Assignment Change – (8/24/22)
• Reminder: Charter Bus Services Must Be On A PO – (8/17/22)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Fiscal Year Composing Error – (7/21/22)
• Catalog Announcement: EBook Purchasing Now Available Through Amazon Catalog – (7/26/22)
• Guided BUying Feature Announcement: “PR Interrupt” for diverse supplier bids – Go-Live July 19, 2022 – (7/14/22)
• Catalog Announcement: SHI Catalog Reinstated – (7/12/22)
• New Preferred Supplier: Linde Gas & Equipment for Lab Gases – (7/7/22)
• Catalog Announcement: SHI Catalog Outage – (7/7/22)
• Coming Soon: “PR Interrupt” to invite diverse suppliers to bid on PRs through Fairmarkit – (6/22/22)
• Best Practices: Supplier Guide For Invoicing – (6/21/22)
• Training Reminder: Supplier Diversity Dashboard & Explorer TOMORROW – (4/20/22)
• Training Announcement: Supplier Explorer by supplier.io Now Available – (4/14/22)
• Announcement: Launch of Supplier Diversity Dashboard & Supplier Explorer – (4/8/22)
• Catalog Announcements: New Artcraft Catalog and Catalog Ship-To Restrictions – (3/10/2021)
• Announcement: Launch of Sustainable Purchasing Program (SPP) to support BU Sustainability’s Zero Waste Plan (2021)
• Supplier Policy Update: Amazon Business Approval for Deliveries to Non-BU Addresses – (11/18/21)
• Announcement: FedEx Account Transition – Effective August 1st – (8/1/21)
• Supplier Announcement: Amazon Business – How To Purchase Digital Content – (7/30/21)
• Reminder: Amazon Requisitioners and Administrators Roles – (7/30/21)
• Announcement: Amazon Requisitioners and Administrators Roles – (7/22/21)
• New Catalog Feature: Enhanced Amazon Catalog: “Checkout-Based Punchout” – (7/15/21)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Team Buying – (5/20/21)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Ordering Method Matrix – (3/16/21)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: When and How To Place After the Fact Orders– (3/4/21)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Engaging Consultant; Registering Supplier & Having Contract Signed; Shipping to Non-BU Delivery Address – (2/17/21)
• Guided BUying System Updates: PR Title, Order Type, Accounting Summary – (2/3/21)
• Guided BUying Training: Register Now for February 2021 Trainings – (1/28/21)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Amazon Business, Shipping, and Canceling vs. Closing a PO) – (1/26/21)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Ordering Method Matrix, Disbursement Process, and Searching for Suppliers – (1/14/21)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: ATF Orders, Adding Attachments for Suppliers, and PR Title – (12/15/20)
• New Catalog Announcement: SHI Apple Catalog Now LIVE – (12/11/20)
• Reminder: SHI Apple Catalog COMING SOON – (12/4/20)
• Announcement: Creating a PR for Moveable Capital Equipment – (11/19/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Email Notifs from Ariba; Adding Attachments; Adding Approvers & Watchers to a PR; Attend Training – (11/18/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Amount Based POs and BPOs – (11/12/20)
• New Catalog Announcement: SHI Apple Catalog COMING SOON – (10/29/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Process to Register a Supplier and Have a Contract Signed: CRF – (10/22/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Shipping to a BU Delivery Address and Managing Submitted Requests – (10/20/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Closing vs. Canceling a PO – (10/15/20)
• Guided BUying Training: How Suppliers send Invoice to BU via Ariba Network – PO Flip – (9/30/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Personal Profile, Shipping to a Non-BU Delivery Address, and Shipping to a BU Delivery Address)– (9/21/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Amount Based Non-Catalog PRs; Attachments on Catalog PRs; Supplier Request Form; Designating Request as Amount Based or Standard – (9/3/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints Setting Shipping Address; Viewing PRs &POs; Requesting on Behalf Of – (8/31/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Register New Suppliers; Update Supplier Registrations; Delegate Authority; Add Approvers & Watchers – (8/25/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Searching for Suppliers and Ordering Method Matrix) – (8/20/20)
• Training: Fairmarkit Quick Quoting Tool – (8/17/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Non-Catalog PR to replace Ad Hoc Requests; Updating Account Assignment to IO; Editing & Resubmitting Denied PRs – (8/14/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Approval Workflow, Ad Hoc Requests, Saving PRs, and Supplier Invoices – (8/11/20)
• Metrics: BW Reporting – (8/6/20)
• Guided BUying Helpful Hints: Adding multiple suppliers to a PR; Searching for Registered Suppliers (Catalog and Ad Hoc Request) – (8/4/20)
• Training Announcement: Sign Up for August Guided BUying Training (PRs and Approvals, Invoice Approvals & Exceptions – (7/31/20)
• Training Guided BUying Go-Live – (7/23/20)
• Training: Guided BUying Training: Sign Up! PRs and Approvals, Requisitioner Invoice Approvals & Exceptions – (7/8/20)
• Guided BUying Training: Dates and Frequently Asked Questions – (6/29/20)
• Announcement: Transition to SAP Ariba Guided BUying – Best Practices – (6/19/20)
• System Announcement: Highlights – SAP Ariba Guided BUying for Invoicing Highlights – (6/11/20)
• Announcement: New Procurement System Coming Soon! – (2/12/20)
• Announcement: UPGRADE of Existing Procurement System in Spring 2020 – (12/6/19)

Training

Thank you for your interest in Guided BUying Purchase Requisition (PR) & Approval Training. In addition to the Guided BUying training video you can take at your convenience, Sourcing & Procurement is now hosting monthly Guided BUying training sessions. Offerings include 90-minute group sessions on Zoom on or around the 15th of every month along with weekly small group Q&A sessions. Training on Ariba Guided BUying is open to the Boston University community and is required to ensure efficient use of the system. Attending training sessions will not only streamline the ordering process for you in Guided BUying but will offer helpful tips and tricks. Visit our training page here to sign up for a training session.

After watching the video and attending a training session, we recommend browsing the resources available on the How to Place Orders page on the Sourcing & Procurement website for more videos and guides on specific topics.

If you have any questions, please submit a ticket to the Financial Affairs Customer Service Portal.

Note: If you had shopper or approver access in SRM, you should have Requisitioner or Approver access in Guided BUying. If you do not have access and require the role, please reach out to your Department Security Administrator (DSA). If you are not sure who your DSA is, please contact Information Security at buinfosec@bu.edu.