Contract management

Overview

Fordham University Contracting Process 

At Fordham University, we are committed to making our contracting process for goods and services as efficient and compliant as possible. We believe in departmental ownership of their contracts, empowering our departments to take full responsibility for understanding Fordham’s policies and procedures for contracting with vendors, including purchasing, payment, and vendor relations.  

Oversight and System

Contracting at Fordham is overseen by the Office of Strategic Sourcing and Office Services. 

Jaggaer (FINCON) is Fordham’s contract management solution. Jaggaer streamlines the entire process, handling various levels of review, approval, and signatures required for contracts, and serves as a repository for executed contracts.   

To ensure proper risk mitigation and asset protection, the Office of Strategic Sourcing and Office Services collaborates with various departments, including: 

  • The Office of General Counsel
  • The Office of Risk Management
  • The Office of Information Technology
  • The Office of Finance

For more detailed information regarding the contracting process, please review these Contracting Basics Guide.  

Before You Make a Purchase Commitment

Before you commit to any purchase, every contract manager should follow these steps:

  1. First, determine if the product or service you need is available from a University Preferred Supplier.  If the product or service is available from a Preferred Supplier, then no additional agreements are required.  Simply issue a Purchase Order to the supplier from FINBUY and proceed.
  2. Some Preferred Suppliers require a signed Statement of Work (SOW). The SOW is specific to the goods or services of the individual purchase and does not impact the terms of the preferred supplier agreement.
  3. If a non-preferred supplier is necessary for a product or service, the department should check with Strategic Sourcing to determine if an existing contract is in place with the supplier.  If an existing agreement is applicable, it will govern the purchase.
  4. If no contract exists with the desired vendor, the department will request a new contract be initiated, following the University Contracting Process.  

Contract Basics Guide

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • There are currently seven types of contracts available. The contract types are:  

    • Master Services Agreement 
    • Master Goods and Services Agreement 
    • IT Master Service Agreement 
    • Facilities Use Agreement 
    • Fordham University Student Travel 
    • Performance Contract 
    • Software and Licensing 

    More information about each type can be found through the provided link

  • Yes, an MSA is typically used when multiple SOWs are executed against the MSA over a given period. 

  • The Fordham University templates are the preferred document for use when entering into a signed agreement with a supplier. The terms and conditions have already been approved by the FINCON review team (Sourcing, IT, Risk, Controller and Legal) 

  • You can approve a contract in FINCON by clicking on the approval link included in the email notification you received. 

  • To search for a contract locate the contract ribbon on the left hand navigation menu and navigate to “Search Contracts” using the search bar, input keywords such as the contract number, supplier name or the Contract title. 

  • If a department approver is on vacation, they can delegate their approval responsibilities to another user while they are away. 

  • To update the signatory, the Contract Manager must reset the signature process. This allows for the addition, editing, or deletion of the current signatory information. 

  • The banner above the contract will indicate its status, such as Draft, Internal Review, External Review, Pending Approval, Out for Signature, Executed or Expired. 

  • Once you receive notification from the supplier that their review is complete, the contract manager needs to access FINCON and end the review round. Please note that the system does not automatically end the external review process. 

  • A University-wide contract is a contract managed by Strategic Sourcing. These contracts are designed to be used across multiple departments and often enable the use of Statements of Work (SOWs) for project implementation. 

  • All Contracts for the purchase of goods or services by Fordham MUST be reviewed by the Contracts Review Team