PaymentWorks Vendor Portal Resources

The vendor portal selection process included a survey of higher education peers across the country to determine what vendor portal suppliers are currently in use and gathered customer satisfaction feedback. Based on the data returned, vendors with established Purdue relationships and experience with the SAP enterprise system were prioritized and invited to provide a product demonstration. PW emerged as the clear choice due to its reputation as a reliable partner, experience working in higher education and SAP systems and its existing relationship with JP Morgan Chase, the university’s banking institution. 

The PaymentWorks (PW) vendor portal is a cloud based system that allows vendors to directly enter their information. Enabling vendors to manage their own business and banking details will reduce the need for separate electronic and verbal communications, significantly enhancing accuracy and transparency in the onboarding process.

The most impactful benefit expected from the implementation of PW is increased fraud protections for both the university and the vendors. PW will automatically validate TIN/SSN/EINs and verify phone number and banking information for all vendors in the portal. PW also completes regular reviews of vendors and their data against a list of over 1,600 current watchlists and sanctions. The vendor portal also eliminates the need for purchasing center staff to conduct domestic banking verifications, reducing administrative effort.

Impact on the day to day operations of the general campus community will be minimal.  Requestors will continue to work with their local Purchasing center or central Procurement Services (for vendors requiring an actual Purchase Order). Within the purchasing centers, select staff will be designated as “Initiators” and coordinate all vendor communications. Select staff at the regional campuses, central Procurement Services and Sponsored Program Services (for subrecipient purposes) will also have the Initiator role. 

Utilizing PaymentWorks (PW) for vendor onboarding is Purdue’s approved business process and ensures internal control procedures are met. PW uses industry-leading security practices to protect all sensitive information; sharing personally identifiable information and banking information through PW is more secure and less risky than Purdue’s previous Substitute W-9/PC process.  The use of PW by Purdue provides enhanced protection from fraud for both the vendor/payee and the University.

That being said, in rare circumstances exceptions can be granted.  The exception process is still in development.  In the interim, exception requests should be emailed to the Director of Business Operations & Admin (wbeutel@purdue.edu).  They need to include the rationale and justification for why an exception to the process is being requested.  The request must document the recommendation for approval by the appropriate DFA.  Approval is granted by the Controller and Executive Director of Finance and Business Operations . 

Four months of implementation preparations came to fruition with the full launch of the vendor portal on March 17.