As of July 30, 2009, the Procurement Services Department is implementing several important system modifications in FFE and Finsys. These modifications are being made to provide stronger oversight into the establishment of vendor relationships at the University. The changes affect the following systems:

• FFE - You will now be required to search and choose your vendor from a pre-determined list of vendors that comes from AP/CAR. These vendors have undergone a basic, central validation to determine validity and appropriateness. Please take some time to watch the video tutorial to familiarize yourself with the new look and feel.
• Finsys (Vendor Create) - The Vendor Create Questionnaire, located on the Finsys tab at my.columbia.edu, has been enhanced with some additional questions. However, the look and flow of the questionnaire remains quite similar.

If you have any questions regarding these modifications, please feel free to contact us at procurement@columbia.edu.

Validated Vendors List (PDF) FFE Vendor Selection Tutorial Announcements Vendor Approval Rush Process Vendor Modification/Validation Request Form Finsys (Vendor Create) FAQ Procurement Mechanism Guide

Below is a list of all of the communications that were sent out from the Procurement Services Department in regards to the changes. Please take some time to review the messages as they may address any questions you might have.

• Communication #1
• Communication #2
• Communication #3
• Communication #4
• Communication #5
• Communication #6
• Communication #7

When urgent circumstances require a vendor for a check or PO to be issued within 48 hours, a department may request a Rush for Vendor Approval. This request must be approved by Vendor Management. Rush requests impede the normal flow of vendor approval processing, as these vendor approvals are pushed ahead of other work properly submitted in the queue. In order to maintain appropriate processing times, Rush requests are evaluated to verify that an immediate payment or a PO is necessary.

All Rush requests must be submitted by e-mailing Vendor Management at vendormaintenance@columbia.edu with either one fo the following descriptions in the subject line of the e-mail:

1. Rush Vendor Approval for payment
2. Rush Vendor Approval for a PO

In the body of the e-mail, please include the detailed reason requiring the rush vendor approval. Rush requests are approved for circumstances deemed unavoidable or unforeseen. An emergency is any situation which, if not corrected immediately:

1. Could result in a hazard to persons or property
2. Could result in damage to buildings or facilities
3. Could result in a violation of law, statute or ordinance established by governmental or regulatory authority
4. Or in any other fashion, if not acted upon, would be seriously detrimental to the interest of the University

Remember, if a vendor is not entered and approved in a timely fashion by your department, this alone does not constitute an appropriate reason for a Rush vendor approval. Please regularly monitory your queue in the FinSys Vendor Create module to follow up on vendors placed on hold or rejected where the required paperwork (W8/W9, etc.) has not yet been received by Vendor Management in order to prevent the need to rush these payments.

In order for the email Rush request to be included in the current day's requests, the request (ie a released vendor in the FinSys Vendor Create module or the completed Vendor Modification form for vendor validation rush requests) must be received in Vendor Management by 12:00 PM. PLEASE INCLUDE the FinSys Vendor Create Reqeust ID# in your email.

A Vendor Management representative will notify you if the request has been approved or denied and advise you of any additional steps required to complete the request. All approved requests will have the vendor approved within 24 hours.