What is eBuy?

eBuy is an easy-to-use central web-based shopping site.  eBuy will be accessible to all UI employees for the procurement of goods from select contracted suppliers.  eBuy simultaneously streamlines the procurement process and promotes “best value” pricing.  The eBuy system has been successfully implemented at 7 of the Big 10 schools with proven cost savings.

eBuy Known Issues

Known issues and incompatibilities with eBuy are listed below.

Testimonials

Approximately 1,000 of your UI colleagues successfully used eBuy in its first month.  Here’s what some of them have to say:

• “I really like eBuy.  I was skeptical at first, but it’s so slick and easy.  Thanks to you and your team for implementing it.”  -Diann Pavelka, UI Research Park
• “I was a skeptic; now am an enthusiastic supporter of eBuy.  It’s working great for me.  What I like: a. No reconciliation; b. Audit trail to validate when purchase was made and from whom and the amount – that is electronically searchable.”  -Jerry Pike, Facilities Management
• “eBuy is great!  It’s so fast and efficient.  More importantly, it will help us organize our purchasing and save the University money.”  -Lori Bassler, Internal Medicine
• “We are using E-Buy to purchase several items in our department.  It is efficient and easy-to-use.  The approval process has been streamlined by the use of workflow.  I look forward to expanded use of this technology.”  -Jeanne Myers, Anatomic Pathology
• “I was absolutely thrilled when I used your easy to follow program…The convenience of your program has implemented it all into one easy process and I no longer have to put all the information into the orders as the information is already known by your system…..We here on campus do not show your department the gratitude you deserve with all this new programming and I, for one, needed to let you know.   It is great and has been a long time coming.  A process I used to dread is a piece of cake now.”  -Kay Wheeler, Tippie College of Business

If you have feedback you want to share, email it to eBuy@uiowa.edu.

Join your colleagues who enjoy the many advantages of using eBuy:

• One login to access UI contract pricing from 12 suppliers
• Streamlined order processing
• No sole-source or other supporting documents required on eBuy purchases of >$10,000
• Fewer ordering errors
• Real-time access to data for budget reports
• Reduce paper catalogs on campus
• No reconciling or CVing
• Guaranteed UI contract pricing

eBuy Roles

Here are some simple definitions for eBuy roles.  More detail is available in our training materials.  Please note, these roles are not mutually exclusive.

Shopper:  Typically the end-user of the item ordered.  This person fills a shopping cart with items and usually assigns the cart to their designated Requester for processing.

Requester:  This is the person designated by your department to process orders on your behalf.  They have an understanding of the appropriate use of the MFKs supporting your work. 

Improvements

• All Supplier Searches will now allow for a “contains” name search. For example, if a supplier search is performed on “Grainger,” “WW Grainger, Inc.” will be returned in the results. This is an improvement over the “starts with” search on the first word of the supplier name that was in place previously.
• Users can search for Suppliers using the Supplier Name, Supplier defined Alias, Supplier Number, SciQuest ID, Third Party Reference Number, and the Commodity Code listed in the Supplier’s Profile. Supplier Name and Supplier defined Alias use the “contains” search functionality. Supplier Number, SciQuest ID, Third Party Reference Number, and the Commodity Code are all complete match searches.
• Because the supplier search is more robust, the “Supplier Information” search field has been removed and this information can now be entered in the supplier search field.

Our eBuy Suppliers

Please remember to try eBuy when ordering from these suppliers: