Let’s start with the top of the pyramid, aka Tier 1 or Mandatory Statewide Contracts – DOAS’ State Purchasing Division (SPD) establishes Statewide Contracts for the benefit of both State and Local government entities throughout Georgia. By leveraging the State’s purchasing power, SPD can competitively bid statewide contracts and get competitive pricing that is beneficial to the State as a whole and eases administrative burdens of bidding from Buyers. You can spend as much money as your unit has and no one will question the purchase from a Purchasing perspective. Attached is a list of Statewide Contracts, both Mandatory and Convenience, you can do a filter for Mandatory Contracts just to have an idea of what all is on Mandatory SWCs or you can use the Georgia Virtual Catalogs within PeopleSoft Financials Team GA Marketplace (TGM). Personally, I just try to look at what is on each SWC and keep it in my memory. I am not a good “surfer” of the internet or TGM. I can never seem to type in the right word for the system to find what I need.

Different options tofind out what is on Mandatory SWCs….

  1. * My Preferred Way * - See the list provided, and then log into PeopleSoft Financials

– Click eProcurement

– Click Create Requisition

– Click on the Add Items and Services Tab

– Click on the Web Tab

– Click on the Georgia Virtual Catalogs link

– Then where you see Browse, you should see “contracts”, click on it

– Either click on the Search button or type part of the name of the contract you want to see more details on

– Click on the contract #linkyou want to see

– Click on Open Main Document or go to the Attachments and click on them…..this will give you the details of the contract: supplier, delivery terms, any special instructions such as if suppliers are awarded by county/region or if there is a minimum order, the contract also provides special payment terms such as discounts.

After I do this, I still have to get the items in my cart to bring back to a requisition, then over to a PO, but at this point I have part #s or know which punch-out to use.

  1. Log into PeopleSoft Financials

– Click eProcurement

– Click Create Requisition

– Click on the Add Items and Services Tab

– Click on the Web Tab

– Click on the Georgia Virtual Catalogs link

– Then in the empty box by Shop type in your keyword

– Click Go

– Then add the items wanted to your cart. However, the suppliers that have punch-outs will not show up in searches, so you have to know what they sell and punch-out to their site to add to your cart.

Mandatory SWCs that are a little different…..

  1. Administrative Vehicles and/or Trucks & Chassis – must submit a Vehicle Request through Division’s AOM to DNR’s Fleet Management who will route it through DOAS’ Fleet Management and OPB for approval
  2. Copiers & Mail Equipment – these are handled through Purchasing because of the State Accounting Office’s requirement to report on them each year for the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report). They are considered operating leases.
  3. Petroleum Products – minimum order, surcharge based on round trip mileage, and pricing is determined by the OPIS – the OPIS pricing is posted to DOAS’ website and we will have a direct link for your convenience on the intranet.
  4. Two-Way Radios – must email PO to Purchasing to get GTA approval prior to sending to the Supplier.

Now, let’s discuss mandatory contracts that you might want to look at and make sure you are using correctly….

  1. If you have a monthly gas bill, you probably need to check out the Natural Gas SWCs to ensure that you are using the correct supplier.
  2. Also, if you have a gas or diesel tank, you probably want to check out the Petroleum Products SWC to ensure you are using the correct supplier for your region
  3. Last but not least is the LP Gas SWC, make sure you are using the correct supplier for your region.

Please make sure you take a look; don’t think since we have been doing it this way for years that it is okay and not check. You may be accidentally doing something wrong. Since amount approval has been removed from the field, the Purchasing Unit should catch it.

What if there is a mandatory SWC for what I want but it doesn’t quite meet my need? For example, the Burn Team for WRD uses ATVs when doing prescribed burns. If they purchase the ATV on SWC the plastic will melt and the equipment they carry can cause the ATVs to overturn. However, there is a Honda ATV that has metal that will not melt and some kind of system that will not cause an overturn when equipment is loaded or unloaded. This is a perfect reason to submit a waiver request to not use the SWC. However, prior to going off SWC, DOAS must approve the waiver in writing. Please see the intranet for directions and the form.

By the way, any purchases from mandatory SWCs are purchase type SWCM when updating the PO that you sourced from a requisition.

If any of your purchases from mandatory SWCs are for services greater than $2500, you must upload the Immigration Affidavits to the PO Header. For example, the Auto Rental & Leasing SWC, CCTV Products, Services, Installation SWC, Electronic Monitoring SWC, Expedited Delivery Service SWC, New & Retreat Tires SWC, Security Services SWC, or the Temp Staffing SWC.