What is a Master Agreement?
Master Agreement establishes a relationship between the Laboratory and a supplier in which the parties agree to do business under certain terms and conditions that will govern future purchases, but does not obligate funds. Procurement has established multiple Master Agreements for commonly purchased goods and services for the Laboratory.
Benefits of a Master Agreement
Master Agreements allow for a simplified purchasing process on future orders because terms, conditions, and (if possible) pricing have already been established. Benefits of Master Agreements include:
- Simplified purchasing process – agreements are pre-established with terms, conditions and/or pricing
- Expedited order processing
- Efficiency gains with order process administration
Procurement strives to continuously improve order processing time. Master Agreements may be considered to meet on-going Lab needs – especially when there is high volume of goods and services purchased by several departments with the same supplier. However, Master Agreements may not be appropriate for all suppliers. Consideration on use of a Master Agreement should include: availability of small businesses to provide goods and services, competition requirements, and fair and reasonable pricing.
How to use a Master Agreement
First, check if the good or service you wish to purchase is available from eBuy, or can be placed using a Division PCard. If neither is an option, follow the steps below: Step 1) determine if there’s an existing Master Agreement you can leverage; Step 2) prepare the requisition per the guidance below to leverage an existing Master Agreement. If a Master Agreement can’t be found, submit an ePro requisition to begin the purchase process.
Need Help?
We are committed to providing professional and timely service to our customers. If you need assistance with the Master Agreement process, we can help!
- For questions regarding Master Agreements, contact the Procurement Help Desk.
- To best serve all the various Lab departments and divisions, Procurement has five teams to help you with Master Agreement purchases. Get to know our Procurement teams here.