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Current News

This page provides procurement-related news including featured stories from our Dollars & Sense newsletter, current updates related to our Preferred Vendors, and upcoming events. You can also view News Stories By Year or view Back Issues of our newsletter for more information. 

Featured Stories

Regular Features

New Contracts

Procurement and Payment Services (PPS) conducts many Invitations to Bid to establish contracts for use by departments and schools. These contracts may be for use by all departments and schools, which are Preferred Vendors, or they may be contracts for use by specific departments and schools. Contracts are established based on the results of a formal, competitive Invitation to Bid process. See the Preferred Vendor List for more information on all vendor contracts.

Recent Contracts Established by PPS
Recent Contracts Established by PPS
  • NUIT Cisco Switch Agreement Extension
  • Vector Solutions Online Compliance Training Software Extension
  • BioRender FSM Agreement
  • Global Marketing Sprinklr Extension
  • NUIT Kivuto Extension
  • Adobe & Qualtrics Annual Renewal Payments
  • C2 Imaging for business cards and letterhead

Existing Contract Updates

Updates to existing contracts established by Procurement and Payment Services (PPS) may include new contact information for dedicated representatives, service updates, and newly available products. For questions about these updates, please view the individual vendor pages on the Preferred Vendor List or contact PPS at 847.491.8120 or procurement@northwestern.edu.  

Recent Changes Made to Contracts Established by PPS
Recent Changes Made to Contracts Established by PPS

Digi-Key Contract Extension

Northwestern’s agreement with Digi-Key (for electronic components) has been extended for another three years, through October 2026. All Digi-Key orders should continue to be processed through the Digi-Key catalog within iBuyNU.

Contact Dave Zohfeld at 847-467-0838 or d-zohfeld@northwestern.edu if you have questions.

CDWG Contract Extension

Northwestern’s agreement for computer peripherals/supplies with CDWG has been extended for another year, through September 2024.

Contact Dave Zohfeld at 847-467-0838 or d-zohfeld@northwestern.edu if you have questions.

Data Imaging Contract Extensions

The existing Preferred Vendor agreements with Datamation and Databank IMX have both been extended for another three years (through July 2026). These vendors both offer a variety of services related to electronic imaging and storage of physical documents. Each vendor has different pricing for their various services, but both are highly qualified and capable of completing all projects, large or small. Departments or schools are encouraged to contact both vendors for quotes prior to commencing any large project.

Contact Dave Zohfeld at 847-467-0838 or d-zohfeld@northwestern.edu if you have questions.

Contracts We're Working On

Procurement and Payment Services (PPS) is always working to establish Preferred Vendor contracts that best serve the needs of all Northwestern departments and schools. These are a combination of new contracts and timely rebids of current contracts. For questions about these or other bids, please contact PPS at 847.491.8120 or procurement@northwestern.edu.

  • Alumni Relations and Development CRM Analytics Partner RFP
  • Northwestern IT Secure Enclave RFP
  • Northwestern IT Data Protection Platform RFP
  • Housing Management Software Vendor Evaluation
  • Upcoming bids for laundry room equipment for student housing
  • Upcoming bids for Refresh of the Pre-Qualified Vendors for Facilities

Office Supplies Products - Current re-bid

Procurement and Payment Services has issued a formal invitation to bid for Office Supplies Products. If you have concerns about the current contract or contractor, please provide that information to:

Sheila Watkins
Procurement Administrator
Financial Operations, Procurement and Payment Services
s-watkins@northwestern.edu 

Shuttle Service - Current re-bid

Procurement and Payment Services has issued a formal invitation to bid for Shuttle Service. The purpose of this invitation to bid is to establish a contract for University Shuttle Service, which includes student, and staff day and evening shuttle services. If you would like to provide any ideas or specifications, please provide that information to:

Jim Konrad
Assistant Vice President
Procurement, Payment, and Logistics
j-konrad@northwestern.edu 

Travel Management - Current re-bid

Procurement and Payment Services has issued a formal invitation to bid for Travel Management Companies. If you have concerns about the current contract or contractor, please provide that information to:

Kathy Koestring
Procurement Administrator
Procurement and Payment Services
kathy.koestring@northwestern.edu

Travel Related

Travel related updates
Travel Related Updates

Pre-Notice! New Authorization Needed for Traveling to Europe (Spring 2025)

Ahead of a Spring 2025 launch, a new security measure will require American visitors who plan to travel to the Schengen area of Europe (mostly EU countries) for less than 90 days, and who do not require a visa to travel to Europe, will need special authorization. ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System), as it is called, requires Americans traveling for business, tourism, medical or transit purposes to apply for the travel authorization and pay a small fee.

To learn more about ETIAS, which countries will require ETIAS authorization, and to be put on a list for notifications, please visit www.etias.com.

Egencia's Mobile App: Access to Your Travel Information in the Palm of Your Hand!

The powerful Egencia mobile app puts the efficiency and flexibility to book, manage and view business trips — all in the palm of your hand for business travelers and travel arrangers.
  • Travelers: Book travel, access itineraries, change or cancel reservations, get assistance, provides on the go support, and more
  • Arrangers: View travelers’ trips and change or cancel their reservations
  • Navigate any city: Compare ground transport options and find the best way to get where you need to go
  • Help: Is only a tap away with the app’s dedicated AssistMe button, so you or your travelers can easily connect with the customer service team, wherever they are
  • Alerts: Travelers will receive check-in reminders and other notifications about their flights such as gate changes, delays, and cancellations

More information is available on the Egencia site under the “Tools” tab on your header.

The Egencia Mobile App is available on iOS and Android, through the Apple App Store and through the Google Play Store. Also available on Android Wear and Apple Watch.


Changes to Egencia's Phone Number

Egencia’s customer service phone number has changed. It is now 212-329-7203. International charges may apply from international destinations.

You can Now Book VRBO Apartments and Homes through Egencia!

Northwestern’s travel policy allows travelers to book “non-conventional” lodging for business purposes, like VRBO, if it makes sense and is within budget to do so. Now you can book these properties through Egencia! Once you select that you are looking for a hotel, choose the city, and indicate the dates of your stay, you will be able to click on “Property Type” on your tool bar as shown. Some properties will accept our ghost card protocol so that a unique credit card number will be issued for the booking like a regular hotel reservation, but some properties may require a personal or corporate credit card. 

 

Contact Kathy Koestring at 847-467-0590 or kathy.koestring@northwestern.edu if you have questions about any of the travel related articles.

Sustainability Highlight

PPS worked with Facilities Management’s Office of Sustainability to re-bid the contract for computer recycling services. Key departments across campus were included on the evaluation committee to determine and select the bidder that represented the best value for Northwestern. After thorough reviews and discussions, the University awarded a Preferred Vendor Contract to our incumbent vendor, Kuusakoski.

Additional details of the computer and electronic recycling program can be found on the Northwestern Facilities website.

Additional details of the University’s sustainability program can be found on the Northwestern Sustainability website.

Contact Laura Norton at 847-467-3345 or laura.norton@northwestern.edu if you have questions.

Small Business Spotlight

New Addition to our Fixed Price Menu Dining Program: Evanston Corner Bistro

LM Restaurant Group (Land & Lake Restaurants/Bistronomics) has opened a new restaurant adjacent to the Hilton Orrington Hotel. Evanston Corner Bistro is an American bistro focusing on approachable contemporary cuisine. The menu highlights dishes made with fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients. Their special Northwestern dinner menu ($90) offers a wonderful three course meal featuring a choice of salad, an entrée, and dessert. The price includes two glasses of wine or draft beer and gratuity. This menu is available for up to 12 diners. And the restaurant is open on Mondays! Be sure to let them know that you would like the Northwestern “set menu” when making your reservation, and please bring a signed one-time use tax-exempt form with you. The restaurant also offers a special fixed price lunch menu for Northwestern faculty/staff. This menu is $40 per person and is three courses and includes bottomless coffee, iced tea, and soft drinks. Gratuity is also included. Same rules apply to the dinner menu.

Evanston Corner Bistro
703 Church Street, Evanston, IL 60201
847-492-9700
https://www.evanstoncornerbistro.com/

General Updates

Blanket Order POs

For blanket purchase orders, departments should inform the vendor of the new purchase order number. As a reminder, from the Procurement and Payment Services website:

Blanket order POs will close at the end of each fiscal year. After the approval of a new blanket order PO, the PO number should be provided to the vendor by the requester so that it can be included on all invoices for the remainder of that fiscal year.

Tax-Exempt Certificate

If a vendor requests an updated tax-exempt certificate, please adhere to the guidelines provided on the Procurement and Payment Services website.

Contracting Process

As part of an effort to improve the efficiency of procurement contracting practices, the Office of General Counsel (OGC) and Procurement and Payment Services (PPS) partnered on an initiative to clarify processes and provide resources. You can find Northwestern’s contract templates for the purchase of goods and services, such as the University’s Purchase Order Terms and Conditions, professional services agreement forms, and event riders, by visiting the Contract Process Guidelines on the PPS website.

Highly recommended resources for information about processes and contracting basics are training materials that can be found on OGC’s Contract Review Process and Resources web page, including the video from the October 2022 contracting training presentation.

Don’t hesitate to send questions to OGC’s Contract Manager, Rich Cummo at richard.cummo@northwestern.edu or PPS’ Contracts Manager, Tracy Mrowczynski at tracy.mrowczynski@northwestern.edu.

Open Lab Sessions

Procurement and Payment Services (PPS) hosts monthly informational sessions called Open Lab Sessions in which representatives from the PPS office can answer staff’s questions regarding Procure to Pay topics. Our next sessions will be:

  • Wednesday, December 13, 2023
  • Thursday, January 18, 2024
To sign up for the Procurement and Payment Services listserv, to receive monthly reminders of our Open Lab sessions as well as other relevant Procure to Pay information in between the Dollars & Sense newsletter, review the IT Knowledge Base web page for instructions on how to subscribe. The list ID is: PROCUREMENT (or PROCUREMENT@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU).