Buying Blue is a new UM-wide initiative from Procurement Services to promote best practices, create efficiencies, and maximize resources on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint, and Michigan Medicine campuses.
This innovative outreach approach includes procurement buying reviews as well as networking and training opportunities—all designed to help the U-M purchasing community support the institution’s missions of education, research, and patient care.
Buying Blue has three components:
- Partner Engagement—Department-specific procurement reviews to discuss current and upcoming activities and cost-saving initiatives.
- Community of Practice—A UM-wide campus-driven forum for procurement professionals to build community and share knowledge.
- Training—UM-wide training opportunities to promote end-user success.
The first Community of Practice event will take place—virtually—on April 14, 2023 from 10 to 11 am and will cover a variety of procurement-related topics, such as future initiatives and priorities. It will also feature a number of speakers, including Brian Smith, associate vice president for finance, Pam Gabel, assistant vice president–Shared Services Center, and Tally Thrasher, U-M’s recently appointed chief procurement officer.
All U-M employees are welcome to join the Community of Practice and can sign up to receive updates via MCommunity. We look forward to seeing you in April at our first Community of Practice event!
The Partner Engagement component of the Buying Blue initiative has kicked off with six departments now up and running. These virtual meetings typically occur on a monthly basis and provide opportunities for the department’s leader to review department contracts, sourcing events, travel and expense data, and overall spend habits. For questions regarding the program, please utilize the contact form on the Procurement Services website.
Recent training activities have focused on sharing information related to the move to Collegiate Travel Planners as U-M’s designated travel partner, as well as changes to the process for declaring university-owned property as surplus. Stay tuned for future topics including additional travel booking updates, supplier showcases, and more.