Glossary of Procurement Terms

a.  Award:  a term used to mean the announcement or placement 
     of an order for goods or services at the conclusion of a
     competitive bidding process.

b.  Blanket Purchase Order:  a standing purchase order issued to
     vendor by the College for goods that are purchased on a regular
     basis.

c.  Commodity Manager:  an individual responsible for
     coordinating or approving the purchase of a specific item or
     class of items for use cmapus wide.

d.  Contract:  a written agreement between Loyola College in
     Maryland, Inc., and a third party detailing the terms and
     conditions of a transaction between the two parties.  The terms
     and conditions will include the compensation for the transaction,
     details of the transaction (purchase of goods, engagement of
     professional services, etc.) special considerations, the date
     when the transaction must take place, and the like.  A purchase
     order is an example of a frequently occurring contract reduced
     to a reproducible form.

e.  Fixed Asset:  any item purchased which has a useful life of
     more than one year and purchase price of at least $3,500.00.

f.   Procurement Card:  a MasterCard commercial credit card
     issued to Loyola College employees through MBNA to be used to
     simplify the purchase of small dollar ($1000) non capital goods
     and services including travel.

g.   Purchase Order:  a pre-printed numbered form used to notify a
     seller of the College's offer to purchase specified items at a
     particular price.  Other terms and conditions such as delivery
     dates, delivery instructions, warranty, installaiton, other
     business terms, etc., may be included in the document.

h.   Request for Proposal (RFP):  a written solicitation that
     conveys to vendors, a requirement for materials or services
     that the purchaser intends to buy.  An RFP is a primary means
     of inviting a bid or proposal from prospective suppliers.

i.   Signature Authority:  denotes having the authority and
     responsibility to execute binding contracts and/or purchase
     orders on behalf of the College.  The authority may be
     expressed in terms of dollar limits; many levels of authority may
     be present within the organization depending upon the type of
     transaction contemplated.

j.   Sole Source Item:  an item that is purchased non-
     competitively from one supplier usually because of its
     technological, specialized or other unique characteristics.

Go to Contracting Authority Figure 1