Starting July 1, UO units and departments can save money and time while getting many of the goods they need delivered right to the office.  

Duck Depot is the UO’s new e-procurement platform. The platform allows direct access to prenegotiated prices from many vendors and offers no-hassle returns and free shipping on many orders.

UO Purchasing and Contracting Services is launching the website this summer after spending the last year negotiating with various vendors to ensure the best benefit for the UO’s buying power. It partnered with the company JAGGAER to set up the platform that allows employees to log on and start shopping.

On July 1, anyone with a @uoregon.edu email address will be able to log into Duck Depot and look at the nine current punch-out catalogs, including Office Depot, Staples, Grainger, Fisher Scientific, VWR, B&H Photo, CDWG, Dell and Apple. Shari Powell, operations manager with Purchasing and Contracting Services said they will continue adding new catalogs in coming years as agreements are reached with more and more vendors.

Campus buyers can purchase both small and large quantities of goods at negotiated rates while bypassing the usual paperwork approval process in the UO portal. Because all goods available on Duck Depot have already been a part of a formal procurement process, the usual restrictions on purchases over $5,000 and $25,000 do not apply.

Powell explained that although anyone with a campus email address can shop on Duck Depot, only individuals who have gone through a formal training class can be a “buyer” and place orders on the system. Individuals who do not have buyer status can fill a virtual shopping cart with items and then assign it to a buyer. 

Duck Depot is available at http://pcs.uoregon.edu/DuckDepot. A link to trainings for buyers is also available on the page, along with a link to the one-page intake form to request a dedicated Duck Depot PCard.