University Procurement Services Achieves 2022 Award for Excellence in Procurement

University Procurement Services (UPS) received the 2022 Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) at its annual conference in Dallas, Texas on June 8, 2022. UPS was recognized for demonstrating ingenuity and thought leadership in its efforts to address environmental shifts such as sustainable practices to distribute supplies throughout the expansive university efficiently and effectively and to create opportunities resulting from these shifts.

As the only group-based award from the NAEP, UPS further exhibited teamwork and focus on the university’s mission while establishing best practice. Higher education institutions awarded 2022 Excellence in Procurement along with Rutgers include the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign, University of California – San Diego, Arizona State University, and Johns Hopkins University. 

“It is a real honor for UPS to be recognized by our peers at a National level,” Nimish Patel, Associate Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer of UPS at Rutgers, “and it is a testament to the hard work, collaboration, and innovation by the team.”

Pictured from left: Kelly Loll Mayorga, Chair of NAEP Board of Directors; Alma Ortiz, Supplier Relationship Manager, Emily Ijalana, Supplier Relationship Manager, and Susan Panacek, Director of Strategic Sourcing, received the award on behalf of UPS; and Lenora Sevillian, NAEP At-Large Director.
 

University Procurement Services Award for 2022 Excellence in Procurement

There were many accomplishments from UPS resulting in this highly notable award including:

• Focus on leveraging and building supplier relationships
• Create an inventory management system with Institutional Planning and Operations to distribute supplies throughout the university
• Continue communications and support to university stakeholders regarding supply constraints and availability
• Secure critical technology and software applications during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure staff could effectively work remotely
• Provide and distribute essential supplies to frontline workers throughout the pandemic
• Manage financial challenges by mitigating budget costs, educating users on discretionary spending and prioritizing purchases, providing oversight of purchases, negotiating with suppliers to generate cost savings and rebates, and delivering constant reporting   ​​​​​​​

Congratulations to University Procurement Services for this impressive award!

For more information about the 2022 NAEP Awards, please visit naepnet.org/2022AwardWinners.