Purchasing
The Purchasing Office offers the best value for centralized and decentralized purchasing and strives to contain costs by connecting buyers and sellers through contracts and technology.
Contact purchasing by email for suggestions or answers to questions.
Staff
Darin Lamont, director of financial planning, analysis and procurement, 309-794-7499
• Contract management
• Vendor-related matters
• P-cards
• Furniture surplus
• Concur Travel Portal
Kristen Day, accounts payable specialist, 309-794-7713
- Vendor creation and related questions
- Requisitions
- Purchase orders
- Expense reimbursements
- Accounts payable processing
Jennifer Fairchild, accounts payable specialist, 309-794-7688
- Accounts payable processing
- P-card receipts processing
- P-card statements processing
- Expense reimbursements
Cost-saving tips to plan purchases and services
Office supplies and furniture
Before buying new items, check the college's furniture surplus to see if there is used furniture in storage that could fit your needs.
Printing
Duplex print! Printing on both sides of the page is one of the easiest ways to cut down on paper use. Make sure your default print setting enables two-sided printing.
Use "print preview" to eliminate unnecessary pages at the end of a document.
Do you really need to print a page in color or would black and white be sufficient? Color prints are substantially more expensive.
If you are printing large quantities, check with the purchasing@augustana.edu Copy Center to see if it can run your print job more cost-effectively.
Technology
Laptops are about 30% more expensive than a comparable desktop. Unless you need a laptop for mobile use long-term, consider a desktop computer.
Apple computers are about 60% more than a comparable Dell system to buy, as well as more costly from a support and infrastructure perspective. Unless there is a strong business need, buy Dell.
Before purchasing a new cell phone or tablet, determine if it has a valid business need, or if it will be primarily for personal use. A device upgrade may not be needed if an older model works fine for business needs.
A department which has several employees who occasionally need to work outside of the office might consider buying a departmental laptop or tablet that can be checked out, instead of getting one for everyone.
Travel and entertainment
Ask if catering is really needed for meetings. Do attendees usually bring their own coffee anyway?
Is a meeting over lunch really needed? Could the meeting take place on campus instead?
College insurance includes auto insurance already, so don’t purchase it when renting a car.
Other
Make sure to tell vendors the college is tax-exempt (the number is on the P-Card).
Have additional cost savings ideas or strategies? Email us and let us know.