Purchases, Procurement and Contracts
LTH is part of the public authority Lund University. Lund University has procured various goods and services that you may need to perform your duties through national and local contracts. These contracts are binding and must always be complied with whenever you make a purchase or place an order. Certain goods and services can be ordered internally within Lund University.
All Purchase require Approval from your Line Manager
Always check with your manager before placing an order or making a purchase, and find out which cost centre and activity you should charge goods or services to.
Terms and Conditions Are Contractually Regulated
The contracts signed with suppliers are intended both to provide Lund University with good prices and to ensure that many of the terms and conditions are pre-negotiated, making life easier for both the buyer and seller when an order is placed. These terms and conditions may relate to:
- the range of products or services offered;
- prices, including discounts;
- delivery terms;
- invoicing;
- returns policies.
Consumer Legislation Does Not Apply
It is important to bear in mind that almost all legislated consumer rights that you would automatically have enjoyed if purchasing from a supplier as a private individual are completely null and void when you purchase from the supplier in your professional capacity. This is where the contract comes in; it regulates terms and conditions and provides you with rights even when ordering for work.
Contracts Are Binding
As an employee of LTH, you are obliged to use these contracts when ordering and purchasing in the course of your work. You will find almost all contracts, products, services, suppliers and related information gathered in Lund University’s purchasing tool, Lupin.
All Orders Should Be Placed in Lupin
The Swedish Government has placed a requirement on all public authorities to use e-commerce to the greatest possible extent. Among other things, e-commerce involves electronic ordering and authorisation, as well as electronic invoicing (known as e-invoicing). This allows many steps of the process, from order to paid invoice, to be automated and reduces unnecessary paperwork and handling. Increased e-commerce also contributes environmental and economic gains and thereby leads to a better environment and use of public funds.
E-commerce also means that there are reliable statistics on purchases, which in the long run can provide better prices when it is time for Lund University to procure new agreements.
The tool that Lund University uses for e-commerce is Lupin. Lund University’s Purchasing and Procurement Policy therefore states that, as far as possible, all purchases shall be made via Lupin. It is not sufficient to solely ensure that your order is placed with a contracted supplier, the order must also be placed electronically in Lupin.
For practical reasons, there are a few contracts for which orders cannot be placed in Lupin; for example, taxi journeys. The vast majority of contracts do however permit ordering via Lupin and, when this is the case, orders must be placed in this way.
DIGG, the Swedish Agency for Digital Administration, has made a short and informative film about how purchasing becomes more efficient with e-commerce.
More efficient purchasing with e-commerce (in Swedish) (youtube)
Contracts Are in Place for Most, but Not All Products and Services
Lund University is a large public authority that purchases everything from advanced microscopes and animal feed to soap dispensers and grand pianos, and much else besides.
Generally speaking, for frequent purchase and anything ordered in bulk there are contracts in place, and you will find these in Lupin. Still, situations may arise where you are unable to find a contract in Lupin for what you are looking for.
If you cannot find a contract that matches the type of product or service you wish to buy, there may be a national agreement in place that you can use. If you exhaust this possibility as well, then you must comply with applicable legislation and regulation on public procurement.
Purchasing, Procurement and Contract News
Those of you whose duties include regularly placing orders and making purchases may benefit from subscribing to the Purchasing and Procurement Division’s newsletter, Inköpsnytt, which is published whenever there is new information in the area of purchasing, procurement or contracts.