Staff Excellence: Procurement Services

When 15 collaborative, strategic and adaptable professionals come together and manage more than 1,500 purchasing and contract interactions each year, remarkable things happen. Purdue’s Procurement Services team plays a vital role in powering the university’s success by establishing vendors to provide everything from custodial supplies to vehicles, executing and managing a contract for the Campus Connect shuttle between West Lafayette and Indianapolis, and even sourcing multimillion-dollar research equipment.

Establishing and supporting strategic partnerships

Procurement Services includes category managers, who develop and maintain enterprisewide vendor contracts, and strategic sourcing analysts, who partner with individual colleges and units to meet specific purchasing needs. Together they review and execute contracts, negotiate terms and service-level agreements, and manage vendor relationships — all to reduce risk, maximize value and achieve annual savings for Purdue. As a direct result of Procurement’s efforts, the university saw $13.5 million in hard savings and cost avoidances in fiscal year 2025.

A signed contract is just the beginning of Procurement’s work. The team continues to support vendors through onboarding, service setup and continuous relationship management. It meets with campus vendors throughout the year to review performance and metrics, conduct financial reviews of pricing and spend analysis, assess customer satisfaction, and discuss innovations and continuous improvement opportunities. When issues arise, the team collaborates with partners on a solution to ensure every relationship continues to deliver on expectations.

“While part of procurement is providing purchasing support, it’s so much more than that as Purdue’s needs have evolved,” said Jayme Baker, director of Procurement Services. “It also includes trademarks and licensing compliance to protect the Purdue brand and active engagement with other Indiana-based businesses to strengthen relationships and create value.”

Procurement oversees the licensing program for retailers to reproduce, sell and distribute merchandise that bears the Purdue names, marks, logos and symbols that represent the university.

The department also engages with businesses throughout the state with outreach and networking opportunities to provide educational resources, business development and information about available opportunities.

Engaging Procurement Services early

If there’s one key takeaway for the campus community, it’s this: involve Procurement early. Engaging the department during the planning phase of a purchase or contract can streamline processes, save time and often lead to better outcomes.

“We’re essentially the middleman between units and vendors, and we want to be involved. We may be able to expand existing contracts instead of seeking new ones, or we can leverage our vendors to see what additional services they can provide for different needs,” Baker said. “We also review and administer contracts to ensure that terms align with university policies, procurement rules and business objectives.”

To promote satisfaction with vendors, faculty and staff are encouraged to share feedback or concerns as they arise so issues can be addressed quickly. Report areas for improvement to your category manager or sourcing analyst as the first step.

Depending on dollar amount and scope, purchases may follow different processes, including a purchase order, service agreement or a public bid. Procurement’s team provides expert guidance every step of the way, from developing requests for proposals to executing final agreements.

Powering Purdue

Through diligence, strategy and collaboration, Procurement Services ensures the university has the goods and services it needs to operate smoothly and efficiently. Each purchasing decision and partnership contributes to Purdue’s mission, empowering faculty, staff and students to take their own small steps toward the next giant leap.

Procurement Services is part of Administrative Operations. The organization supports the university through safe, reliable and transformative services. Helping the university save money and contributing to 14 years of frozen tuition are just a couple ways the organization helps power Purdue. Follow @purdueoperations on Instagram and Purdue Administrative Operations on Facebook for updates.