Vendor Resources
Connecting with ISU Departments
Although ISU’s Purchasing Office plays a pivotal role in supporting procurements across campus, most of the day-to-day purchasing happens on a department-by-department basis. You’ll need to build relationships with these stakeholders if you’re interested in supplying or serving the University’s needs. The Purchasing Office can help.
Email ISUPurchasing@ilstu.edu with an overview of your business—your offerings, capabilities, any certifications you may hold, and an electronic copy of any brochures or capability statements you’re interested in sharing with campus departments. Our office will connect you with the stakeholders on campus who could best use your products and/or services, giving you a foot in the door to begin growing your business with ISU.
State and University Requirements
Depending on the project, your business may be required to submit certain documents or show proof of enrollment in a state program before you can begin to work with the University. We recommend the Chief Procurement Offices’ Pathway to Procurement website.
Specific questions regarding procurement requirements should be directed to ISUPurchasing@ilstu.edu, unless the procurement has already been publicly posted on the Illinois Procurement Bulletin for Higher Education, at which point you should contact that solicitation’s listed buyer.
Please note: ISU does not have a qualified vendor list and does not require vendors to go through an institutional qualification process in order to do business with the University. There are requirements for various procurements depending on the product or scope of services, but there is no general vendor qualification process.
Public Solicitations
State law mandates that all procurements of a certain price must be competitively solicited. For general commodities, this threshold is currently $100,000. For certain professional services, including architecture and engineering services, this threshold is currently $25,000. If ISU wants to take on a project that exceeds these cost thresholds, the procurement will be posted publicly on the Illinois Procurement Bulletin for Higher Education. We strongly recommend all vendors interested in working with the University register on the bulletin website—it’s free and easy to register and gives you the option to receive procurement notifications for some or all Illinois public universities via email. It also has the ability to send notifications based on the type of procurement (construction, software, etc.)
Supplier Diversity
ISU strives to increase its spend with businesses owned by diverse, historically disadvantaged groups by either directly contracting with certified diverse businesses or through our non-diverse vendors subcontracting with certified diverse businesses for a portion of their own contract.
Many publicly posted University solicitations include a Business Enterprise Program (BEP) aspirational goal. This CMS-managed program certifies minority-, woman-, and person with disabilities-owned small businesses.
If you are interested in learning more about the BEP Utilization Plan included in most University solicitations, we’ve prepared a guide to cover how to navigate the CMS BEP/VBP directory and complete a Utilization Plan.
If you might qualify for BEP certification and are interested in applying, please follow the steps on the CMS BEP portal to begin your application. You can also learn more about the program at the BEP website.
If you’re a part of a certified diverse business and interested in connecting with campus departments, please submit an email to Brienne Reid, ISU’s Supplier Diversity Coordinator, at bdreid@ilstu.edu. Your email should include an overview of your business offerings, capabilities, and certifications, as well as provide electronic copies of any brochures or capability statements you would like distributed to campus departments