Supplier Contract Process

The purpose of this document is to clarify the roles and responsibilities of RIT departments involved in the supplier contract review process including the department procuring the goods or services, the Procurement Services Office (PSO), Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and Risk Management and Insurance. All contracts involving the acquisition of goods and services by RIT departments from 3rd party suppliers are in scope.

To enhance and streamline the supplier contract review process, ensure compliance with University purchasing policies and procedures, as well as to protect the University from risk, generally, the actual review and approval process is jointly managed by PSO and OLA. Refer to the information below regarding the specific responsibilities of each department/office:

• Department procuring goods or services - Forward contracts to PSO (in MS Word format) as early as possible in the procurement process; obtain signatures on final contracts; forward a fully executed copy of the contract to PSO when the order is placed (i.e., when requisition is created), attach fully executed contract to appropriate Oracle requisition. 
• PSO - Review and amend business/procurement terms including contract deliverables, business specifications, contract term, and payment terms. If applicable, negotiate specific terms with the supplier. Store multi-year contracts within the contracts database, iContracts and engage with other departments as needed.
• ITS – Information Security Officer reviews for institutional Data Management compliance.
• OLA - Review and amend legal terms including indemnification, governing law, jurisdiction, etc. If applicable, negotiate specific terms with the supplier.
• Risk Management - Review and propose amended insurance terms when the proposed requirements don't meet the RIT standard.
• Marketing & Branding - Review and propose amended marketing/branding terms. 

PSO and OLA will work concurrently to create, review and/or revise their respective terms and conditions. After all proposed changes have been made to the contract, PSO will return the redlined version to the department which is responsible to return the revised contract to the supplier. If the department requires assistance negotiating the revised terms and conditions, OLA and PSO will work together with the department and the supplier until a satisfactory conclusion is reached. If the supplier accepts the revised contract terms and conditions, the department will obtain the appropriate signatures (refer to the Signatory Authority Policy) and then return a copy of the fully executed contract to PSO. PSO will maintain multi-year contracts within the contract database, iContracts. Departments will attach any executed contract to the appropriate Oracle requisition. 

Departments may direct questions regarding supplier contract management to the PSO or OLA.