As you may be aware, the President announced significant tariffs that will affect nearly all trading partners.
This development is expected to create substantial challenges for our procurement operations, including potential cancellations of purchase order requests and demands for renegotiation of pricing terms.
In light of this uncertainty, it is imperative that we take proactive measures to mitigate disruptions.
The most effective and actionable steps we can take at this time is to continue to prioritize the partnered supplier catalogs within BearBUY and use UC system-wide contracted suppliers whenever possible since they are the best options for procuring most goods.
These suppliers are integral to our procurement strategy, as we have established collaborative and long-term relationships with them. By aggregating our UC Procurement spend with these suppliers, we reinforce the value of our partnership and ensure continuity during this period of instability. These relationships are meaningful to both parties and provide a foundation of reliability in challenging times.
If you cannot utilize one of our strategic partners in BearBUY, it is recommended to consider possible impacts of tariffs when requesting supplier quotes. If costs are increased by the supplier, it is preferable for such additional fees to be clearly identified, rather than be embedded in the cost of the goods.
We encourage you to visit the UC Procurement website for more resources and information and view our guide on Searching for Contracts and Applying a Contract to Your Cart in BearBUY for guidance.
I will continue to provide updates as the situation evolves. The campus Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and UC Systemwide Procurement are actively collaborating to navigate these challenging and unpredictable supply chain conditions.
Thank you,
Russell Chung
UC Berkeley Chief Procurement Officer