Procurement Newsletter February 2026
UC Santa Barbara
Procurement NEWS | February 2026
Table of Contents
- Live Events: New Vendor Requirements
- Close/Cancel PO's
- Purchase Order Updates
- UCSB Virtual Amazon Business Relaunch
- SB27: Contracting Out off campus
- Copier Companies
- Updated Restricted Commodity List
- Office Hours
Live Events: Requirements for Vendors and UC
Does your department host live events such as commencement ceremonies, concerts, athletic games, or guest speakers? If so, a new state law (Labor Code 9251) now impacts how you hire vendors for these events.
To comply with new OSHA-enforced standards, any vendor providing equipment rental, installation, or operation at UC-owned or leased venues must now certify that their staff is properly safety-trained. This certification is required for every event and every requisition.
If your vendor handles any of the following, they must comply:
- Setup/Breakdown: Staging, rigging, and scenery.
- Technical Operations: Sound, lighting, A/V equipment, or pyrotechnics.
- Infrastructure: Electrical systems and heavy machinery.
To ensure UCSB meets these legal requirements, please use Gateway and the Restricted Items dropdown when submitting your requisition. Procurement and EH&S will help your department ensure the vendor provides a list of participating employees/subcontractors and the relevant safety training certification.
Close/Cancel PO's
When submitting requests to close or cancel a Purchase Order, please only submit one PO # per ticket. This ensures we don't miss any from a list, and we receive the information needed for each PO.
Please also confirm all receipts are uploaded, and invoices are fully processed before submitting a request to close a PO.
To close or cancel a PO, please submit a request via the Procurement ServiceNow Portal.
Purchase Order Updates
This is a friendly reminder about some of the changes we communicated about in August.
| 1) | The Procurement team is not able to change the CCOA mid requisition; we will have to return the requisition if any changes to the CCOA are needed. |
| 2) | No one is able to use, update, or reopen Purchase Orders that now have an "X" in front of them (XGW000012345). These are the legacy PO's for viewing purposes only. |
| 3) | Procurement is unable to reopen any converted PO that came over as Closed. |
| 4) | Converted VBs or Contracts cannot be changed in any way (no extension, no change in funding, or change to the CCOA). If you have an amendment to a contract for a legacy/converted PO, please submit the vendor's amendment on a Contract Request Form instead of an Amendment Form, and please include your former XGW purchase order number. We will copy over all the former contract documents to your new contract requisition, and include the original Term dates. This new contract PO will be the replacement PO for the contract moving forward. |
UCSB Amazon Business Relaunch: Join the Virtual Info Session
UC Santa Barbara is relaunching our partnership with Amazon Business, and we want to ensure all employees are equipped to make the most of our official campus account.
Whether you are new to the University or looking to refamiliarize yourself with our purchasing tools, this relaunch is designed to help you streamline your procurement process. By using the official UCSB account, you unlock benefits that save your department time and money, including:
- Business Prime: Fast, free shipping on millions of eligible items.
- Specialized Pricing: Access to business-only pricing and discounts across the marketplace.
- Personalized Support: Direct access to our dedicated Amazon Business Account Executives for troubleshooting and account optimization.
Virtual Info Session: Getting Started & Best Practices
Join us for a live virtual session to meet our Amazon Business Executives, Alex and Nicole. They will walk through the best ways to access the account, whether you use the Gateway punchout or a FlexCard via the Amazon Business site, highlight our account benefits, and answer your questions live. They’ll also be giving away an Amazon gift card during the event. Be sure to attend the live session for your chance to win our opportunity drawing!
- Date: Friday, March 13, 2026
- Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
- Location: Zoom
- Action: Register via Zoom to add this event to your calendar. You will also have the opportunity when registering to submit questions prior to the session.
Ongoing Support: Weekly Office Hours
If you can’t make the virtual session or have a specific question, our Amazon Business team is here to help. Alex and Nicole are available during Procurement Office Hours on Tuesdays at 9:00 AM via Zoom to provide real-time assistance.
New Resource Hub
Ready to dive in now? We’ve developed a brand-new Amazon Business Resource Page. This site is your one-stop shop for registration guides, account migration walkthroughs, and technical FAQs to get you up and running today.
SB27: Contracting Out for Covered Services
When UC pays for services off campus, Contracting Out for Covered Services may still apply. For example, if your department pays for catering for an event at a venue or a park, such catering is a Covered Service. Another example may be if UCSB pays for grounds or custodial labor at an offsite location.
California law SB27 expands the requirements UC has with Article 5, so it's very important to submit a Covered Services ticket before authorizing any work that may be Covered via the Contracting Out ServiceNow Portal.
Please join us on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 11:00am for the first in a series of “deep dive” Mini Tune-Up sessions for Contracting Out for Covered Services: Register for the Contracting Out Webinar.
Copier Companies
To guarantee your department receives official University pricing and service standards, please purchase directly from our contracted copier vendors rather than third-party resellers. Buying through resellers can be risky: if a reseller changes ownership, your department could lose access to University contract pricing, existing leases, and guaranteed maintenance. Here are our current campus reps for Canon, Ricoh and Xerox:
Campus Rep: Andrea L Volpe
Phone: 310-492-3960
Email: andrea.volpe@ricoh-usa.com
Contract #2021002788
Campus Rep: Nathan Long
Phone: 805-212-9462
Email: nalong@cusa.canon.com
Contract #2020002755
Campus Rep: Peter Jones & Barbara Sanchez
Phone: 805-217-3410
Email: Peter.Jones@xerox.com & Barbara.sanchez@xerox.com
Contract #2020002686
Updated Restricted Commodity List
To ensure our campus remains compliant with evolving legal and policy requirements, we regularly update the UCSB Restricted Commodity List. The latest version includes new requirements regarding OSHA and Export Control.
Before submitting your next requisition, please verify your purchase against the current Restricted Commodity List. Selecting the correct item from the "Restricted Items" dropdown on your requisition is a vital step; it ensures your request is automatically routed to the correct departments for a timely review and approval.
Office Hours
| Gateway & Procurement | Invoicing Q & A |
|---|---|
| All Hands - Tuesdays, 9-10 am Zoom Link | Tuesdays 3:00 - 3:30 pm Zoom link |
| Equipment Management | FlexCard |
|---|---|
| Tuesdays 2:30 - 3:00 pm Thursdays 10:00 - 10:30 am Zoom link | Tuesdays 2:00 - 2:30 pm Thursdays 10:30 - 11:00 am Zoom link |
Use Our Helpdesk!
Looking for a fast response? Use our online helpdesk system to submit requests and track inquiries.
UCSB Procurement Processing Times
Standard turnaround times for purchase orders and contracts are available here:
bfs.ucsb.edu/procurement/processing-times
Where is my order?
After pulling up your requisition, locate the "What's Next" section on the right side. The current status will appear in a green checkmark. You can also use the Comment tab to get in touch with the person assigned the requisition.