Purchasing

How to buy products and services at UW–Madison, including how to get started making a purchase, who to buy from, who to contact, and how to pay.


News

Common tasks

How to make a purchase

A guided introduction on following the rules when purchasing products and services at UW-Madison, including buying for yourself and getting help.

Make a purchase

Purchasing Cards

How to apply for a purchasing card, allowable purchases and managing your account.

Use a Purchasing Card

Planning a UW Event

Overview of tasks that need to be taken when having an event.

Plan your event

Find a vendor/contract

Use a contracted vendor that has already gone through a formal bidding solicitation which do not require additional paperwork before making a purchase

Search contracted vendors

Manage your order

Including requisition status, encumbrance, making changes on your order and closing orders.

Manage an order

Simplified Bid Process

Used when the estimated cost of a transaction is between $5,000 and $50,000 and is not available at ShopUW+ or through a contract.

Explore the Simplified Bid Process

Sell to UW–Madison

Steps to take for businesses to become aware of procurement opportunities available in commodity areas.  There is no “approved vendor” list.

How to sell to UW–Madison

Agent resources

Tools and resources only for UW–Madison delegated purchasing agents to help with the procurement process.

Access agent resources

Purchasing Specialists

Full list of our Purchasing Specialists per area of expertise.

Contact a Purchasing Specialist

Products, Services, and Requisition Status

How to buy products

These purchases might include office supplies, computers, and lab equipment. Some purchases can be made without additional approvals, others may require the help of a procurement specialist.

Aerial shot including 21 North Park Street building and some other nearby buildings.

How to buy services

These kinds of purchases might include maintenance, construction, speakers, marketing and other services from vendors on-contract, or not on-contract.

Maintenance staff clear several inches of snow left by an overnight storm

Check a requisition status

Check in to see the status of your request after the requisition (first step of a purchase order) has been made.

People order food and beverages from the Memorial Union Terrace

Policies and Procedures

Graduate students take notes

Following business policies and procedures are essential to making sure UW–Madison and all its resources are in compliance which helps minimize risk to the university, establishes fairness in practice, and helps create understandable guidelines to follow.

Review purchasing policies and procedures

Contact

Find Purchasing Services

Purchasing Services
21 N. Park Street
Madison, WI 53715

Call Purchasing Services

(608) 262-1526