UShop Training, Procedures & Resources

Policies Specific to MSE

PURPOSE/LOCATION.  On the UShop checkout page, click the "Comments" tab.  Add a comment to your shopping cart saying (a) the lab where the items will be used or stored and (b) the purchase’s business purpose (what it’s for). In half a dozen words, describe how you are using the item(s) or how it/they relate to your research.  If the purchase is a service, such as machining, analyzing, or repair, make that clear -- it makes a difference for the accounting distribution.

CART NAME.  Rename your shopping cart from the default.  On the checkout page, click the pencil icon next to General Information to edit your shopping cart's name, description, and so on.  Include the date, in the format YYYY-MM-DD, your advisor’s name, and the supplier.  Alternatively, you can include your advisor's name in the comment about purpose and location.

To Add a Default Address in UShop

• From the shopping cart, click “Proceed to Checkout”.
• Under “Ship To / Billing Options” click on either “Required” or the pencil icon.
• In the search box in the pop-up “Edit Ship To / Billing Options”,  type “materials  304”.
• Click on MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING in the drop-down.  A box will open under “Ship To” with the address.  Verify it says “122 Central Campus Dr Rm 304.”
• Edit the ATTN  line if necessary.
• Click  the box “Add to my addresses”.
• In the new box “Nickname”  provide a name (for instance, “CME 304”).
• Click the box “Make default”.
• Click Save at the bottom of the popup window.

Separate Carts

A purchase order can only be issued to a single supplier.  Think of it like a real shopping cart:  If you are buying corn chips and salsa at Smith’s, and screws at Lowe’s, you can’t put it all in one cart.

Always make a separate cart for each supplier.   If you already have a cart that hasn’t been submitted and you do more shopping (especially from a punch-out catalog), UShop will put the new items in your existing cart. That’s good if you are shopping from the same supplier but bad if you are shopping from a different supplier.

Before clicking on the supplier button, create a new empty cart.  Click on the Cart Icon on the left tool bar; My Carts and Orders; View Carts.  Click on the button saying Create Cart at the far right. Doing this will keep the old cart waiting for you and begin a new cart to shop at another supplier.

If you forget and end up with a cart with two suppliers, sometime you can move items to a new cart.  Not all punchout catalogs allow this.

Orders in a cart with more than one supplier have to be separated before purchase orders can be issued. Since you know what you want, you’re less likely to make a mistake splitting them than if your requisitioner or if UShop does it.

Accounting Distribution

The project or activity goes in the shortcut box.  UShop will fill in most of the other boxes, except the account and the A/U.  The account will usually, not always, be 62600 for lab supplies.  The A/U is 1 for an activity (a five-digit accounting shortcut) and it is left blank for a project (an eight-digit shortcut).

Revising, Replacing, or Closing a Purchase Order

Once a purchase order has been issued, if you are canceling the order for any reason, always notify the company. Ask your requisitioner to close the purchase order.

If you need to revise a purchase order, consult with your requisitioner, who will submit a change request. A typical reason for revising a purchase order is if the prices shown on the purchase order aren't correct, and the supplier has asked for a revised purchase order.  A revised purchase may or may not need to be sent to the supplier.  A purchase order to the wrong supplier or division of a supplier must be closed and a new purchase order issued.

If you want an additional item from the supplier, it is better to submit a new order.