Procurement Services Blog
Introducing the UW Supplier.io Business Directory
The University of Washington is pleased to highlight Supplier.io, our internal general business directory designed to support inclusive and strategic purchasing. This directory helps campus purchasers easily identify small, local, veteran-owned, and other diverse businesses that have registered and expressed interest in working with UW.
Ordering Tax-Exempt Ethyl Alcohol Items from FISHER SCIENTIFIC CO LLC
A new Workday Order From Connection, UWA ETHYL ALCOHOL, has been set up for FISHER SCIENTIFIC CO LLC, to support placing orders for Decon Ethanol Alcohol items that are tax-exempt.
What’s New
Global Helium Shortage
Due to the Middle East conflict affecting supplies from Qatar, a global helium shortage is emerging, resulting in Linde implementing a temporary price increase on helium of 20% effective June 1.
Airgas started adding a temporary surcharge of $13.50 per hundred cubic feet to helium orders in March. Procurement will be reviewing the situation with both suppliers regularly and will issue updates as things change.
Applying Use Tax on Expense Reports in Workday
What you need to know:
Workday has been updated to ensure use tax is properly applied on applicable Expense Reports (ER).
What was happening before?
Previously, there was no dedicated step in Workday to confirm that use tax was applied when required.
What’s changed?
Expense Reports that require use tax now include an additional review step. During this step, either the Shared Environment (UWM) or Expense Specialist (UWA) must confirm and apply use tax as needed.
New Ricoh managed print contract
Procurement Services is pleased to announce that a new contract with Ricoh for managed print devices is now updated and available for campus use.
Workday contract number: SPC-012707
Ricoh Representative: Nathan Buffington
Washington District Manager
RICOH USA, Inc
Cell: (562) 455-6877
Service: 888-456-6457
Expeditors news
Expeditors has a new online tool, Expo NOW, that allows you to track incoming freight as well as calculate tariffs for imports. Make sure to sign up for the new tool.
NOTE: On signing up, you will be given guest access. Make sure to reach out to John Perkins for full access: john.perkins@expeditors.com
Tariffs are still in place
After the Supreme Court ruled that International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs were invalid, they were replaced with a 10%–15% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, effective February 24, 2026. This is a temporary, 150-day tariff that will expire in July unless extended by Congress.
Have you noticed the Supplier Request Form enhancements?
The Supplier Request Form, an intake form found in the UW Connect Finance Portal which is used to request new suppliers or updates to UW’s supplier records, had some enhancements applied in early March, including:
UW 1099 Payee Data Collection Threshold
The University of Washington is updating its internal policy regarding the threshold for collecting payee tax information for reporting purposes. Effective January 1, 2026, the threshold for collecting payee tax information related to Form 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC reporting will increase from $600 to $1,500.