Strategic Partnerships in FY24
Strategic Partnerships in FY24
Unlocking value through strategic partnerships
Strategic partnerships are long-term relationships with key suppliers that help UC Procurement optimize costs, foster collaboration, share expertise, and drive innovation toward mutually beneficial goals.
The stories featured below are just a few examples of how UC Procurement is leveraging these relationships to transform how we do business with our supplier partners.
SWP - Information, Analytics & Systems
An Enhanced eProcurement Experience with Labviva
UC Procurement recently selected Labviva, an AI-driven procurement platform, to streamline research procurement across its 10 campuses. After a successful deployment at UC San Diego in 2023, UC Merced went live with the platform in September 2024. Labviva enhances purchasing processes by providing 1:1 product comparison across vendors, price and shipping comparisons, responsive search results, and supplemental information. With real-time analytics and AI-driven product recommendations, Labviva empowers UC to take control of spend, improve product selection, and gain greater insights and visibility into trends. This initiative also aligns with the University’s strategic values by supporting UC’s goal of allocating 25% of spend to certified small and diverse businesses by 2025.
UC Berkeley
Welcome to Bear(BUY) Territory, Supplier Expo 2024!
After an eight-year hiatus, UC Berkeley’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) hosted the much-anticipated Supplier Expo 2024 this past April. The event, aptly themed "Welcome to Bear(BUY) Territory," provided an exciting platform for suppliers to reconnect with faculty and staff, showcase cutting-edge trends, and present innovative solutions tailored to campus needs. Attendees explored a vibrant marketplace of ideas and had a chance to network with industry leaders, discover new products, and learn about advancements to enhance their work. If you missed the Expo, you can still access all the featured suppliers and their offerings in this digital supplier guide. Dive in and explore how these partnerships can support your department’s goals and drive innovation at Berkeley!
SWP - Life Sciences
Thermo Fisher Scientific: Advancing UC Research through Strategic Partnerships
Thermo Fisher Scientific™ has been a key strategic partner with the University of California, fostering groundbreaking research collaborations across multiple campuses. In 2023, they opened a 44,000 sq-ft state-of-the-art Cell Therapy Manufacturing and Collaboration Center at UC San Francisco, accelerating cell-based therapy development with advanced cGMP services. At UC San Diego, a 10-year partnership is focused on establishing a cutting-edge Technology Sandbox, creating a collaborative research framework to explore scientific frontiers, developing a pipeline of diverse students for training in advanced research techniques, and promoting a sustainable supply chain for research products. At UC Davis, Thermo Fisher supports the Aggie Square Innovation District and collaborates at the Clinical Metabolomics Center to scale large cohort studies and provide training for early-career researchers. These initiatives showcase only a portion of Thermo Fisher’s significant contributions to UC’s research excellence. For more information, please contact Eric Van Denburg at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Photo by Matt Beardsley
SWP - Professional Services
Canva Transforms UC’s Educational Landscape
The University of California (UC) negotiated a first-of-its-kind partnership with Canva, the world’s only all-in-one visual communication platform, to provide Canva’s full product suite to UC students, faculty and staff across all UC locations. This partnership will transform UC's educational landscape and bring cutting-edge visual communication and design tools to UC’s entire community. This agreement enables free Canva Pro licenses for students and offers Pro licenses for faculty and staff at a substantial discount. Benefits include Canva’s powerful and easy-to-use design platform, no cost/reduced costs for licenses, compliance with UC Terms & Conditions, consistent brand management tools for marketing, and enables customer support across the system. This strategic initiative highlights UC’s commitment to equipping students, faculty and staff with pioneering workplace tools and skills to succeed in an ever-evolving educational and job market.
UC San Diego
UC San Diego Transforms Energy Research with DERConnect Facility
UC San Diego has unveiled its state-of-the-art DERConnect facility, a revolutionary project that replicates California’s power grid on campus. Backed by $42 million of NSF funding, this "grid tech sandbox" offers a controlled environment to test renewable energy integration, battery storage, and grid stability. This facility will enable researchers to develop low-carbon electric grids for sustainable energy solutions, advancing energy science and serving as a global model. Construction Commodity Manager, Gary Oshima, known for navigating complex construction-related procurement, oversaw collaboration with industry partners, ensuring effective use of funds while adhering to federal and UC policies. With DERConnect, UC San Diego is poised to lead innovations that could transform power grids worldwide.
SWP - Travel
Travel Education Sessions: Empowering UC Travelers
Our Travel Education Sessions highlight the benefits of UC’s travel program, with an emphasis on traveler perks. With over 2,200 attendees from January to July 2024 and a satisfaction rate of 86%, these sessions offer insights into the travel program and feature engaging Q&A sessions. The popular Supplier Spotlight sessions focus on UC traveler advantages, without a sales pitch. The success of these educational webinars has boosted travel program utilization by 19% year-over-year. Moreover, 35% of attendees do not travel for UC, reflecting a growing trend towards broader staff engagement. Stay informed and register for upcoming sessions through the ConnexUC Travel Portal or contact us at uctravel@ucop.edu.
SWP - Strategic Enhancement Team
Strategic Sourcing Supports Students
President Drake’s initiative to eliminate student debt and educate our students with as little financial impact as possible provides an opportunity for our suppliers to support UC operations and students directly. During the negotiation and contracting process with new or existing suppliers, we offer them the opportunity to participate in the Path to Debt Free Gift Program. Suppliers are often excited to learn that a relatively minor investment of $2500 per student per year allows UC to buy down that student’s potential debt for an entire year. It’s a satisfying and rewarding win-win-win program for students, suppliers, and UC Procurement.
Strategic Priorities
UC Procurement is committed to the five strategic priorities below. Through dedication to these priorities, we strive to empower our campuses, foster innovation, and shape a more sustainable and equitable future. This Annual Report is organized by these five priorities – click any card to delve into our progress in these areas:
Economic and Social Impact
Strategic Partnerships
Drive Value and Savings
Continuous Improvement
Risk Management
Our supply chain, legal, and policy strategies minimize risk to safeguard UC against financial, operational, and reputational damage.