How to Use the Commodity Search

This search tool is designed to help you locate the appropriate commodity code for a particular item you may wish to purchase and to identify which of our buying personnel are responsible for a particular commodity group.

Searching Options

This search has many powerful tools that allow the user to more efficiently find the results he or she is looking for.

• Single Word Search - This search is just a standard search that returns all results that contain the specified string alone or within a word.
• Full String Search - This search is used when a group of words is surrounded by quotation marks. The result of this search will only contain entries that have the exact string alone or within a group of words.
• All Words Search - This search is used when two or more words are separated by ++. The results will include entries that contain all of the words in the description and/or all of them in the keywords (or some variation of those words).
• At Least One Word Search - This search is used when two or more words are separated by a space. The results will contain entries that have any of the words in either the description or in the keywords.
• Wild Card Search - This search makes use of two different wildcards.
  • Single Wild Card - This search is used when an _ is used within a search term. The underscore allows for any letter to appear in the results in that location within the search string
  • Variable Length Wild Card - This search is used when a % is used within a search term. The percent allows for any number of letters to fall within a specified wild card region (spaces are not allowed).

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Manuals & Training

• Purchasing Basics Brochure
• Purchasing Card Manual
• Purchasing Cardholder Training
• Purchasing Card Verifier Training
• Purchasing Manual
  

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Related Links

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Reports

Reports for purchasing activity are available through the UC Flex Business Warehouse (BW) system.  They appear in the "Purchasing Decentral" folder when users log into BW. 

Several of the Purchasing reports have been developed as "all-purpose" reports, allowing the user to select records and customize the resulting output in many different ways.  If a large date range is selected, the report may take longer to run.  It is recommended that users do not select more than one year at a time.

Purchasing reports operate similarly to other BW reports.  Questions regarding how to use these reports and the data should be directed to 513-556-2387.

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Travel Information

The Central Purchasing Department negotiates travel contracts for travel agency services, to assist travelers in finding the best rates. Faculty and Staff traveling on university business are expected to follow the guidelines outlined in the Travel Expenses Policy.  For further information regarding travel reimbursement, funds reservation for travel, and the Travel Expense Report Form, contact your departmental Business Manager or Accounts Payable at 556-6746.

The links on this page are available to help travelers plan.  Note:  Many hotels and other travel services will offer special rates for government employees. If discounts are not offered directly to the university, goverment rates may still apply.

Travel Agencies & Additional Links

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