Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services Blog

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about the frustrations small businesses are feeling when dealing with large companies:

On average, big businesses – those with 1,000 or more employees – paid their bills more than a week past the due date on invoices, according to a report that’s expected to be released by Experian next week.

These big businesses appear to be taking even longer than they did last year to cut checks, and thus, settle their accounts with suppliers: The wait beyond contracted terms – that is, the date agreed to at the time of a sale – grew by 27% over the past year, from six days to nearly eight days, according to Experian.

The article also reports that the average payment term for small businesses is “46 days.” In a time when credit is difficult to find, cash flow management is crucial for small businesses – your company can make the greatest product or provide the best possible service, but if you don’t have the cash to pay your bills and your employees, you’re out of business.

That’s why the University of Virginia offers several payment methods that can help companies manage cash flow.

Did you know?

• Year-to-date, 98.93% of payments issued by the University are in compliance with Virginia’s Prompt Payment Act (Virginia Public Procurement Act, § 2.2-4347 through § 2.2-4356). In other words, we pay our bills on time.
• UVa offers a quick and easy method to check the payment status of vendor invoices. Check out our Invoice/Payment Status Lookup at https://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagevendorinvlookup.
• UVa offers flexible options for vendors looking to receive their payments faster, including “ePayables,” a ghost credit card payment, and “PayMode,” an electronic deposit directly to your bank account. No more driving to the bank to deposit checks! We can even offer payments earlier than our standard terms with a discount. For more information, visit http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagepaymentmethods.

For more information, visit http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/ or contact a Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services Payment Specialist at (434) 924-4212.

Angus Loten. “For Small Firms, the Check is Not in the Mail.” The Wall Street Journal. Published May 9, 2012. Accessed May 15, 2012. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304363104577390011371006778.html?mod=WSJ_SmallBusiness_LEADNewsCollection

Skanska will be hosting a meeting next week in Norfolk for the construction trade community to learn more about an upcoming project at Old Dominion University. These meetings are a great way for SWaM trades contractors to get involved in subcontracting, which is something we suggest for firms wondering how to get their “foot in the door” at universities.

RSVPs are required and must be received by this upcoming Monday, May 14. See the flyer below for details.

The University of Virginia has established a PAC contract with ViON Corporation to provide computer  peripherals/storage.

Go to the following website to view the University’s Agreement with ViON and additional contract information: http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagepacontractshttp://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagepacontracts

The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business has just announced the opening of the competition for the third annual Tayloe Murphy Resilience Awards, which honor “businesses that demonstrate sustained vitality in communities facing challenging economic conditions.” You can find out if your business qualifies by clicking here, then go into the nomination form.

The Resiliance Awards are a great opportunity to publicize your small business, and winners receive a free week-long Darden School of Business Executive Education program course. Applications will be accepted until July 2, and if you know of a deserving small business, you can nominate them here.

For more information about the Tayloe Murphy Resilience Awards Competition, visit: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/Resilience-Awards/Home/

We’re thinking about doing a quarterly Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services newsletter for UVa employees. Turns out a) it’s been done before here in PSDS, and b) this “electronic mail” thing sure sounds like the wave of the future!

From the Oct-Nov 1989 issue of “The UVA Buyline”

Starting this month on April 24th, the University of Virginia’s Procurement & Supplier Diversity Services, in conjunction with Applied KnowledgeLabs, will launch its 12-month program aimed at helping small businesses build the tools to move their business to the 5%: High Impact Firms that have acheived 25% sales growth for two years, and doubled their number of employees. If your company’s growth has been non-existent over the last three years, then this workshop series is your opportunity to recapture the dream and to behin realizing its true potential. If your company’s growth has been less than expected, and you are ready for a breakthrough, then this is your opportunity to learn how to accelerate performance and profits.

To learn more about April 24th’s session, “Market Intel on the Cheap: Be Smart or Be Gone,” click here.

The University of Virginia has established a PAC contract with W&H Resources/d.b.a Priority Elevators who provides all labor and necessary incidentals to test elevators, dumbwaiters, and miscellaneous wheelchair lifts located in various buildings and for the general maintenance and repair of the system.

Go to the following website to view the University’s Agreement with Priority Elevator and additional contract information: http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagepacontractshttp://www.procurement.virginia.edu/pagepacontracts

Are you ready?

Here are some of the events UVa Procurement & Supplier Diversity will be holding or attending this spring.

• Mar 21, 10am-12pm: UVa Vendor Training
• Mar 23, 1pm: Gilbane Building Company will be holding a pre-bid informational session & outreach for the UVa Rotunda Renovation Phase I – Roof Replacement project, seeking the following trades: Site Work, Demolition, General Trades, Skylight, Painting, Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing, Masonry Restoration Work, Roofing, and Window Restoration. For more info and to RSVP contact Tom Whitmore.
• Apr 17, 9am-12pm: UVa will host a business development workshop, registration info to be announced.
• May 6-8: Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council hosts the Virginia Business Opportunity Fair. This is a great event for minority-owned businesses. For more information and to register, click here.
• May 23: VAGP/CAPA Reverse Trade Show
• June 20-21: Department of Minority Business Enterprise is planning an outreach event at James Madison University. Save the date!

Don’t forget to brush up on your networking skills. This may be an older article, but the advice from entrepreneur.com is still relevant: How to Work a Trade Show.

What are your spring “can’t miss” events and what makes them so great?

The University of Virginia is seeking to establish multiple Agreements with a variety of Executive/Academic/Healthcare Search Firms.  To access this and other RFPs click here.

The proposal due date on RFP #END030812 is 4/2/12 by 12 noon.

Les Haughton, Director of Supplier Diversity, will be representing the University of Virginia at the upcoming “Selling to the Government” workshop on Tuesday, March 13. Les will be talking about upcoming procurement opportunities, and how to do business with the University, and will be joined by the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Time: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
Location: NEW Albemarle County Building
1600 5th Street Extended, Room A
Charlottesville VA

For more information, and to register, click here.