Important information follows that relate to how procurements must be handled from
purchase request through the closure of the purchase order.
Procurement Authority and Delegation
There are three procurement mechanisms - Purchase Request (PR), Blanket Purchase
Agreement (BPA) with blanket order releases, and the Credit Card. The
rules for the buys are consistent across all three mechanisms (if not restricted
in the procedures for some reason, such as capital equipment, radioisotopes, etc.)
What separates each mechanism, however, is where the procurement authority resides.
An end-user originally has no procurement authority, so must submit PR's. With Blanket
Order training, an end-user gains limited procurement authority and may place orders
against and in accordance with the Blanket Purchase Agreement, which is the commercial
contract established by the buyer/contract specialist. With the Credit Card program,
there is one level. All procurements must be at or below the micropurchase threshold of $3K.
Unauthorized procurement means that someone lacking the proper procurement authority
procured something, thus requiring ratification for payment by the OTS. Someone
with procurement authority is authorized from the date they are trained and sign
the training completion document until some action ends it, such as retirement or
losing the privilege of holding this authority.