Procurement

Services

There are a few services offered through the Procurement Office: ordering stationery and business cards online, and Zipcar discounts for students, faculty, and staff.

• Stationery and Business Cards

  Letterhead, envelopes, and business cards with Lesley branding are available for ordering through Staples.

  1. Log onto Staples Advantage and select from your authorized department numbers. Your department number for ordering office supplies will be in its shortened version (1-1111, for example). Your department number for ordering Lesley custom stationery will be complete and followed by an "s", for example, 1-1234-52602S).
      
  2. Select "Your Lists" and then “Lesley Custom Print” to open the stationery product catalog.
• ZipCar Discounts

  As a Lesley University employee, you're eligible for discounted personal access to Zipcar. This includes reduced weekday rates, more than half off the annual fee, and exemption from the application fee. Visit the ZipCar website to join.

Lesley Vendors

If you don't find the item or category you need from our approved vendors, contact the Procurement Office at ext. 8179 or procurement@lesley.edu.

• Catering

  At Lesley, we have a full-service catering function staffed by Lesley Hospitality for university catering requirements. Contact Lesley Hospitality for menu consultation, service options, schedule, and pricing.

  University policy does not permit billable catering for staff meetings, internal departmental meetings, birthday parties, wedding/baby showers, or any other personal employee related purpose. Refreshments for these types of events should be paid for by the participants, and there should be no expectation of reimbursement of the expense by the university. Farewell parties may be paid for by the university, but the event must be approved by the department head. The size and expense of the party should be commensurate with the length of employment at the university and their position.

  All caterers must comply with the City of Cambridge Polystyrene Ordinance (effective October 20, 2016).

• Courier Services

  RTD Logistics (formerly Skycom Courier) offers same-day bike and vehicle deliveries throughout New England. Lesley can take advantage of discounted rates when using the service within the metropolitan Boston area and surrounding communities.
  
  To set up a billing account, fill out an online registration form. Include your department name in the customer reference field. An RTD representative will contact you within 36 hours to establish your account.
  
  RTD Logistics is a certified minority-owned business, meeting all NMSDC certification requirements.

• Federal Express

  Lesley University has negotiated an agreement with Federal Express. To set up an account, contact Procurement at ext. 8179 or procurement@lesley.edu.
  
  Drop off your packages at the drop off box behind University Hall at 1815 Mass. Ave by 6:00 pm for pickup on the same day.

• Furniture

  Furniture requests often fall under the central University budget. You must receive approval before ordering furniture. Contact Kevin Murphy at ext. 8883 or kmurphy@lesley.edu for purchases that will be paid from the central university budget.

  For purchases that will be paid from departmental budgets, email procurement@lesley.edu.
  
  Include the following with the specifications of your request:

  • Name of person request is for
  • Department
  • Delivery address
  • Type and quantity of furniture required
• Hotels

  The university has preferred rates established with a group of local hotels. Be aware that all rates are subject to availability.

  Review hotels and where to stay.

• Office Supplies

  Staples is the exclusive vendor for ordering office supplies at Lesley University. Staples Advantage has established an online ordering system for Lesley staff.

  Contact our Staples representative, Philip Baker-Coe at 978.621.8218 or philip.baker-coe@staples.com to set up an account.

• Technology

  Departments should contact Lesley’s Information Technology (IT) Department on all technology requests, email it@lesely.edu. Procurement works in conjunction with IT to facilitate technology purchases.

  In addition, review our Desktop Printer Policy.

• Vending Machines

  Vending machines are located at numerous locations on the Lesley campus. If you lose money in a machine, discover one is malfunctioning, or would like to give product suggestions, contact the LesleyCard Office at 617.349.8825 or lesleycard@lesley.edu.
  
  

Travel

Egencia is Lesley’s preferred partner for booking travel, and all university travel contracts are loaded into Egencia's system.

Lesley employees who are traveling to conduct university business should use Egencia to make reservations for:

• Air travel
• Car rentals
• Rail travel
• Lodging

Egencia offers Egencia Preferred Rates (EPR) and Expedia Special Rates (ESR) that allow us to book hotels nationwide for a discount. These are billed directly to the university. Lesley has direct bill accounts with Avis, Herz, Enterprise, and National car rental companies.

Before traveling or making travel arrangements, review the university's travel policies.

• Create a Traveler Profile

  To register and begin using Egencia, you'll need to establish a traveler profile.

  1. Contact procurement@lesley.edu to set up a profile.
      
  2. Once your access has been approved, you'll get an email containing your username and temporary password.

  
  Your Egencia travel profile contains contact information, your travel preferences, and TSA Secure Flight data. Make sure that all of the information contained in your profile is current.

   

• Become a Traveler Arranger

  Egencia allows you to make travel arrangements for other members of your department.

  Contact procurement@lesley.edu or at 617.349.8179 to become a travel arranger. Once you have been designated as a travel arranger and you have created your traveler list, you can book travel for these individuals by selecting their name from the drop-down box on the "Book Travel" module on the Egencia website.

  Guest Accounts

  Egencia's online booking tool enables travel arrangers to use Guest Accounts to make travel arrangements for guests visiting Lesley. Guests are visitors who are not employees and might include job candidates, speakers, athletic recruits, among others. Contact Procurement at procurement@lesley.edu or at ext. 8179 to set up a Guest Account.

• Book Travel & Get Assistance

  After your have a traveler profile, you can begin booking travel. Go to http://www.egencia.com to make air, car, hotel, or rail reservations.

  If you need help using the online tool, you can get travel training in person or online. Contact Procurement Services to arrange a 30-minute training session. You can also review the online Egencia Resource Center.
  
  While we'd like to see all reservations made online, there are times when you may require agent assistance. For Egencia agent-assisted travel, or help using the online tool, call 1.877.814.5057 toll free.

  Booking Travel and Getting Approval

  Egencia's features will be familiar to those who have booked travel online. When searching for flights, Egencia displays fares sorted by price, lowest to highest. Lesley University policy requires travelers to be prudent and exercise good judgment when incurring travel costs.

  1. The traveler or travel arranger makes a travel reservation via Egencia, the university's designated travel agency.
     
     Make your travel arrangements Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am–4:00 pm, or Fridays, 8:00 am–1:00 pm. While the Egencia system is available 24/7/365, the university requires review and approval of all trips. And, if the reservation isn't approved and finalized within 24 hours, airlines will cancel the booking request without notification.
     
     Hotel Reservations: if you'd prefer to have your hotel stay direct billed to Lesley University, select room rates that state "Paid by My Company." If you do not select a "Paid by My Company" rate, you'll have to pay for your hotel and later submit an expense reimbursement. A credit card will likely be required at check-in to cover your incidental expenses.
      
  2. Egencia sends an email to the traveler or the travel arranger, as well as to the authorized departmental budget approver, with the itinerary and the cost of the trip.
     
     Egencia's fee for an online flight reservation is $7 (no fee for an auto rental or hotel). The fee is included into the quoted airfare. If agent assistance is required, the fee is $32 for domestic and $38 for international flights.
      
  3. The department's budget approver reviews the itinerary and pricing. The budget approver forwards this email with their approval of the itinerary to Lesley's Finance Office at po@lesley.edu. The Finance Office will review it and confirm ticketing.
      
  4. The traveler or travel arranger will receive an email from Egencia with itinerary confirmation and ticketing information.

  
  Changes to Your Itinerary

  You can go online and change your itinerary or cancel a reservation. After logging on, go to the Traveler's Trips and open the itinerary you'd like to change. You can cancel or exchange a flight with estimates of cost impacts. Similar tools are available to cancel or change a hotel or auto rental reservation.

  All schedule changes are sent directly to the traveler via email. The traveler can choose to receive notice via text or call through the flight alert settings in their Traveler Profile. Travelers can also download a Egencia mobile application.

  Travel Assistance

  Egencia maintains 24/7 coverage to assist travelers who have made online reservations. Call the toll free number at 1.800.401.2932 if you need to change, reschedule, or cancel your reservation.

Doing Business with Lesley University

If you're a supplier interested in working with the University, send your company's literature to our Procurement Office at procurement@lesley.edu, or make and appointment for a sales call. (We can not accommodate unscheduled sales calls.)

At Lesley, we are committed to socially and environmentally responsible purchasing, and the diversity of our suppliers. We promote business activity with minority and woman-owned companies, environmentally conscious companies, and local businesses and products when it makes sense to do so.

• Supplier Diversity Program

  If you are a minority or women-owned business enterprise who seeks to do business with Lesley University, contact the Director of Procurement and Cost Containment at 617.349.8179 or procurement@lesley.edu.

  Lesley University's Supplier Diversity Program is designed to enhance our supplier base and to foster the university mission of welcoming diversity to our students, faculty, staff, and community. To that end, we promote opportunities to qualified diverse suppliers to expand relationships and enrich economic opportunities.

  By creating effective business relationships, we strengthen the economic development of disadvantaged businesses while providing a value-added strategy that increases competition. Through this commitment, we promote the opportunity for qualified MWBE's (Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise) to receive fair and equal chances to provide goods and services to Lesley.

• Purchasing Transactions

  We use 3 preferred methods of doing business. Suppliers may enter into a formal contractual relationship with the University, they may receive a purchase order from our Accounts Payable department, or they may accept payment via the Lesley P-card.

  Verbal orders do not constitute a binding obligation. Suppliers who accept verbal orders do so at their own risk.

  The Terms and Conditions contained on the back of the purchase order governs all transactions. When a formal contract exists, it takes precedence over the purchase order. Suppliers should become familiar with our standard terms and conditions before entering into any business transactions.

• Bid Award Criteria

  Lesley University awards contracts based upon a combination of the the best total value. The University does not simply make awards to the lowest bidder. There are many factors that we consider, including:

  • Quality of the product or service
  • Product or service pricing
  • Ability of the bidder to meet deadlines
  • Reliability of the bidder
  • Product warranties and service guarantees
  • Bidder's expertise and product knowledge
  • Bidder's financial status
• Payment Terms & Vendor Forms

  Payment terms for all vendors are net 30 days. Any exceptions must be approved, in advance, by Lesley's Controller. Lesley University is a tax exempt institution. Lesley Accounts Payable must have your W-9 on file before you can be paid. Email your W-9 to ap@lesley.edu. Questions about vendor payments should be directed to 617.349.8763.

  Vendor Forms

  • Certificate of Tax Exemption Form (ST-2) (PDF)
  • Sales Tax Exempt Purchaser Certificate Form (ST-5) (PDF)
  • ST5C Updated (PDF)
  • W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Form (PDF)