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Preferred Contract Suppliers

• Preferred Contract Suppliers are Approved Suppliers with strategically sourced University contracts that include negotiated pricing and additional benefits such as service and quality commitments.
• Whenever possible, purchases should be made through Preferred Contract Suppliers to maximize value and leverage the University’s purchasing power.
• Benefits include:
  • Negotiated pricing
  • Established service and quality expectations
  • No competitive bidding requirement for individual purchases under an existing preferred contract
  • Support for University-wide strategic sourcing efforts

Use the Supplier Search to identify Preferred Contract Suppliers by selecting Preferred Contract Suppliers from the Supplier Type filter.

Approved Suppliers

Approved Suppliers are vendors that have been centrally vetted and approved to do business with Penn. These suppliers are enabled for purchasing through Purchase Orders in BEN.

When purchasing from an Approved Supplier:

• Competitive bidding requirements do apply.
• If the supplier you need is not an Approved Supplier, submit a New Supplier Request through Penn Marketplace for review.
• Do not conduct business with a new supplier until they have been approved and a Purchase Order has been issued.

Other Supplier Types and Statuses

• Local Community Supplier – an Approved Supplier located in West Philadelphia.
• Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Supplier – an Approved Supplier that has certified itself as an SBE.
• Deactivated Supplier – A previously approved BEN Buys supplier whose purchasing site has been deactivated in the approved supplier database. This may occur as the result of supplier consolidation, a new supplier contract, or supplier performance concerns.
• Supplier Name Changes – Suppliers that have changed their corporate name due to a merger, acquisition, or change in ownership are listed in the Supplier Name Change list.