Supply Management Services

The Office for Supply Management Services (SMS) reports to the Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Joanne DeStefano, and is led by Thomas Romantic, senior director of Channel Management and Business Services.

Organizational Chart

SMS provides a number of services to assist Cornell units with efficiently making purchases that are cost-effective and beneficial for the university, the economy, and the environment. Services range from strategic sourcing to innovative shopping tools such as e-SHOP to spend analysis tools such as Spend Viz to processing tools such as the Kuali Financial System (KFS) to travel booking services such as the Cornell Travel Portal, and many more. SMS also offers several training opportunities to help staff members learn about the procurement process at Cornell and how to process purchases in line with university policy using the tools available.

To ensure flexibility, efficiency, and a high level of customer service, SMS is configured into three functional teams: Operations, e-Business, and Strategic Sourcing. The functional team responsibilities are defined in the table below.

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SMS staff members possess a unique blend of business and technical skills required to purchase goods, supplies, equipment, and services, including the following:

• Providing the interface with suppliers in matters of price, quality, and delivery at both the quotation and ordering stages of the procurement process
• Identifying alternative sources of supply through regular commodity reviews 
• Conducting negotiations with suppliers 
• Communicating with units to stay current with planned needs 
• Assisting units with the development of specifications for required products and services 
• Providing acceptable terms and conditions for procurement actions 
• Resolving legal and risk management issues with the aid of the offices of University Counsel and Risk Management and Insurance, respectively, that may arise during contract and purchase order negotiations

Purchasing and strategic sourcing agents are responsible for all aspects of their assigned commodities, including customer and supplier relationship management; spend analysis and contracting initiatives; purchase order review and approval of transactions greater than $10,000; and problem resolution. For more information about each agent, see the directory to the left.

Our agents are available to help units:

• Leverage the institution's buying power to develop strategic supplier business relationships and implement cost-effective contracts that produce significant financial return-on-investment
• Interact with suppliers in matters of price, quality, and delivery at both the sourcing and ordering stages of the procurement process 
• Help identify alternative sources of supply through regular commodity reviews 
• Conduct transaction- or supplier-specific contract negotiations with suppliers
• Assist departments with the development of specifications for required products and services 
• Review supplier contracts for acceptable terms and conditions 
• Resolve legal and risk management issues with the aid of the Office of General Counsel and Office of Risk Management and Insurance that may arise during contract and purchase order negotiations 
• Deliver user-friendly and efficient buying methods, training programs, customer service, and support
• Support the principals of socially responsible purchasing

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Contact the following staff members for information on or support for these specific projects and services.

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