Update on Strategic Supplier Program

Update on Strategic Supplier Program

U-M’s Strategic Supplier Program offers the university community pricing discounts on a variety of products and services, including office supplies, lab equipment, and computers. On an annual basis, the program saves units across the university millions of dollars.

In addition to pricing discounts, the Strategic Supplier Program includes a two-percent program fee that is charged to participating suppliers. This program fee has been used to fund the cost of the Strategic Supplier Program, which includes, among other things, software, hardware, and personnel.

In 2018, a team in Finance conducted an internal review of U-M’s accounting practices for federal sponsored projects and determined that the program fee is actually a discount that should be passed onto any federal organizations that fund research. The university self-reported the concern to the federal government in February 2019 and is awaiting a response.

On April 1, 2019, U-M began passing the program fee discount onto all federal agencies that fund sponsored projects at U-M. And beginning May 1, 2019, the program fee discount will be passed onto all non-federal organizations that provide funding for sponsored projects at the university. In addition, U-M leadership is currently evaluating ways to apply the program fee discount to all purchases made under the Strategic Supplier Program.

Please review this list of frequently asked questions for more information about this matter. The FAQ includes a variety of helpful information such as background on the Strategic Supplier Program and detailed information on how the program fee discount will appear on your Statement of Activity by Project/Grant Voucher Detail Expense Report.

If you have any questions, please contact the Procurement Solutions Team at (734) 764-8212, prompt 2, or procurement.services@umich.edu.