Purdue Procurement Services receives award for innovative services and practices

Purdue’s Procurement Services has received the 2021 PULSE Award for Innovation in Higher Education Procurement from the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP).

The national award recognizes institutions and individuals for innovative practices, creative processes and commitment to continuous improvement.

“Receiving this award is an honor for our procurement staff. Our team is consistently finding creative ways to secure new contracts and opportunities for the campus community,” says Rob Wynkoop, associate vice president of auxiliary services. “Our team persistently recognizes the importance of student affordability and works to generate savings within these contracts and opportunities.”

Jessica Robertson, senior director of procurement, says, “As a team of 28, our procurement department is dedicated to making sure Purdue is reliable and responsible in managing contracts, facilitating procurements, bringing on diverse suppliers and managing University travel. This award is a testament to the transformative work they are doing.”

In its submission for the PULSE Award, Procurement Services highlighted various initiatives that fulfill the award criteria. One of those initiatives was the University’s decision to transform retail dining by bringing on third-party provider Aramark to operate retail dining locations across campus. This agreement has enhanced dining options on campus by bringing in additional options and adding new technology to help streamline service and wait times.

The submission also highlighted Purdue’s partnership with Starship Technologies. Purdue brought 30 Starship Technologies delivery robots to campus in fall 2019. The autonomous robots conveniently deliver food and drinks to students, faculty and staff from various dining locations on the West Lafayette campus.

“At the end of FY20, Starship served more than 15,000 customers, totaling $112,000 in merchandise sold,” Wynkoop says. “In response to their popularity on campus, the service area is being expanded and more robots will be added to the fleet."

 Wynkoop says Procurement Services will continue to focus on improvements for the benefit of the campus community.

“At the end of the day, our efforts are directed at being a reliable and innovative service partner that helps the University achieve its priorities,” he says.

In announcing the award, Krista S. Ferrell, executive director of NAEP, said, “We are extremely proud to present this award to Purdue University’s Procurement Services for their excellent work in higher education procurement. Our winners recognize the importance of adapting and enhancing their services and practices, and Purdue has successfully achieved this.”