Procurement, Contracts, and Logistics is located at 2714 Pico Blvd., Room 329, Santa
Monica, CA 90405 or visit our Contact Us page for more information.
For Deliveries: SMC Receiving Warehouse located at:
Santa Monica Community College
2121 16th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Log in to the BEST system to create and submit a purchase requisition (XREQ). Any
pertinent documents must be attached at the Header.
Only the District officials designated by the Board of Trustees are authorized to
sign legally binding contracts on behalf of the District. In general, no staff, faculty
member or dean has the authority to obligate the District in any contractual manner
or sign an agreement. See the Transaction Levels page.
For equipment, goods, materials and services, the formal bid threshold changes annually.
For 2022, it is $99,100. For public works, the formal bid threshold is $15,000.00.
Visit the Procurement, Contracts, and Logistics Department's website and click on
the Buyer Assignments link.
Log in to the BEST system, look up the XREQ # and check the Procurement Folder. Requestors
can also check workflow to see approval status of the XREQ.
All purchase orders are sent to the suppliers by the Procurement, Contracts, and Logistics
Department. Requesters are provided an informational copies for your records and
this indicates the order has been placed.
No. Only Buyers in Procurement, Contracts, and Logistics are authorized to place orders.
A supplier must be added to the District vendor file. To be added, a supplier must
complete the vendor registration form and will go through a vetting process by the
Procurement Dept. Note: This process merely registers the supplier with the District.
It does not give the supplier an "approved" or "preferred" status, nor does it preempt
the need for Procurement, Contracts, and Logistics to solicit bids depending on the
dollar amount.
No. All requests to purchase items must be submitted to Procurement, Contracts, and
Logistics.
Never sign a supplier's form or agreement. Supplier agreements must be reviewed by
Procurement, Contracts, and Logistics and signed by the appropriate approvers.
Accounts Payable, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405-1628 or by email to accountspayable@smc.edu
Payment terms are finalized prior to an award and are included in the purchase order
term and conditions. Payments are handled by the Accounts Payable Office at 310-434-4283.
The Santa Monica College District uses PlanetBids, an electronic vendor portal that
allows suppliers to register their business, search for bids and request for quotes
/ proposals, order and download documents electronically, bid electronically (where
applicable), and much more!
Purchasing methods:
Decreasing the amount of an Open Purchase Order is done by sending an email to the
Accountant in Fiscal Services. They will review the request and in conjunction with
Accounts Payable confirm payments and outstanding invoices, complete a change order
form and forward to the Buyer that created the PO.
Request to cancel a line item on a purchase order by sending an email request to the
Buyer that created the purchase order.
If the item has not yet been received by the warehouse and the supplier has not yet
shipped the item, and the line has not been paid, the line can be cancelled.
Adding or removing authorized users to an open purchase order.
When increasing funds to an open purchase order or adding another line item to an
existing purchase order, a new requisition must be prepared and sent through the approval
process in the BEST system.
Send an email to the Accountant in Fiscal Services. They will review the request and
in conjunction with Accounts Payable confirm there are no payments or outstanding
buyer can issue a change order/cancellation and forward to the supplier.
That would depend on the nature of the emergency.
Yes – If it is determined that goods or services are needed so the education function
can continue.
No – If it is because the requisition was not submitted for processing in a timely
manner.
Departments Responsibility for Blanket Purchase Orders (BPO)
BPO minimum dollars issued $500 and shall not exceed $10,000
Equipment value at $251 cannot be purchase via a Blanket Purchase Order
Order placement is processed by the Department
Returns are processed by the department including obtaining a Return Material Authorization
Number (RMA), for items that are damaged
Getting shipment ready for returns, and coordinating with Receiving for pick-up
Managing your blanket and reconciling expenditures to ensure you do not exceed the
BPO amount
Reconcile your BPO to ensure credits for return shipments are received and not charged
for items that are on back order.
Processing increases if the BPO is close to the dollar threshold that has been issued
If the department do not adhere to the usage of the BPO, privileges will be suspended
in the following year.
