Dear Campus Community,

Supply Chain Management (SCM) has important updates and upcoming events to share with you.

This month's features:  

• Coming Soon: BearBUY 25.2 and Jaggaer Adopt & Assist (July 2025)
• Supply Chain Challenges Due to Tariffs
• Fisher Scientific & Possible Missions Partnership Now Live
• Reminder: Guide Me: Guided Intake
• Reminder: No Special Characters in Shipping Information
• Bears that Buy Open Office Hours: Here to Make Purchasing BEARable



If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the BearBUY Help Desk at 510-664-9000 (options 1, 2) or bearbuyhelp@berkeley.edu for immediate assistance.

Go Bears!!

Thank you for your continued support, 

Supply Chain Management

BearBUY 25.2 and Jaggaer Adopt & Assist

As part of the Jaggaer 25.2 upgrade, BearBUY will be unavailable from Friday, July 11, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. PST to Sunday, July 13, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. PST. 

The 25.2 upgrade release in BearBUY will go live this Monday, July 14, 2025. The BearBUY New Features webpage documents the new features and changes, including a limited number of embedded Jaggaer Adoption guides as part of the Adopt and Assist enhancement.



Supply Chain Challenges Due to Tariffs

We encourage you to use our contracted suppliers primarily, as UC Berkeley and the UC System are working to minimize the tariff increases. The most effective action shoppers can take is to prioritize ordering through catalog suppliers within BearBUY and use UC system-wide contracted suppliers whenever possible, since they are the best options for procuring most goods. UC is negotiating with these suppliers to minimize tariff impacts on prices.

If using a non-contracted supplier or placing orders that will ship from foreign countries, contact Berkeley’s contracted customs broker, American Cargoservice Inc., before placing an order to request quotes or get advice on tariff rates. Call or email American Cargoservice at 858-565-4125 or UC@ACSSAN.COM.

 For more information, please visit our Tariff & Supply Chain Challenges website. Approved tariff rates for contracted suppliers will be listed on BearBUY Dashboards under “News”.

Fisher Scientific & Possible Missions

Partnership NOW LIve

The new partnership between UC Berkeley, the Fisher Scientific Channel, and Possible Missions officially launched on April 25, 2025, and it’s already delivering benefits across campus research operations. 

Purchasers can now order LifeTech and Thermo Fisher Asheville products directly through the Fisher Scientific Punchout Catalog. Possible Missions, a small, woman- and minority-owned business dedicated to serving higher education and health services, will fulfill the orders.

What’s new?

When ordering from the punchout, you’ll see Possible Missions listed on carts, purchase orders, and invoices for these specific products. Everything else—pricing, availability, shipping, and delivery—remains the same. The process is seamless, with no added steps or delays, and both Fisher and Possible Missions teams are on hand to support you.

Why is this ​a win-win?

Enhanced service for campus researchers

Easier compliance with federal grant requirements

No change to costs, product access, or ordering workflows

Greater alignment with UC’s economic and community impact goals

To fully utilize this powerful collaboration, use the Fisher Scientific Punchout Catalog for all LifeTech and Thermo Fisher Asheville purchases.

Questions? Please see the Fisher Scientific/Possible Missions Job Aid

Guide Me: Guided Intake

The "Guide Me" Wizard offers step-by-step assistance for new and occasional BearBUY shoppers, helping them make compliant purchasing decisions.

This feature employs a rule-based Q&A format to direct shoppers toward the optimal procurement outcome. The Enhanced platform intuitiveness utilizes role-based questionnaires to assess the shopper’s needs and provides guidance and recommendations for the quickest purchasing path. This feature will undergo frequent updates for the next few months as we add new suggested suppliers based on user feedback.

Please help us improve the "Guide Me" Wizard by completing the Assessment Form.

No Special Characters in Contact Information in Shipping Information and PO Line Description

We do NOT recommend copying and pasting the item description from a website to a BearBUY form, as it might contain special characters like the trademark symbol. If you must copy and paste, use the plain text format and delete any special characters.

POs with special characters (i.e., #, /, &, *) in the Contact Line in the Shipping Information will NOT be dispatched from BearBUY to BFS. 

ONLY alphanumeric characters (i.e., a, b, c, A, B, C, 1, 2, 3) are allowed in the Contact Line in the Shipping Information and PO Line Description.

Prohibiting special characters enables supplier computers to read the contact information correctly.

For more information, please see the New Shoppers - Quick Reference Guide.

Bears that Buy Open Office Hours:

Here to Make Purchasing BEARable

Please join us for our next remote office hour tomorrow, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.

We encourage you to submit topics of discussion and/or questions in advance in this Google form.

Just so you know – individuals from the Procurement, BearBUY Solutions, Account Payable, and BRS teams will attend to listen to your questions and provide information about purchasing at Berkeley. The Open Office Hours will be held every third Tuesday of the month from 10:00 to 10:50 a.m.

Instructions and Zoom URL:

• To attend office hours, you MUST first be signed in to your Berkeley Zoom account. Please see How to sign in to your UC Berkeley Zoom account.
• You don't need to register. Join the Bears that Buy Open Office Hours or enter the Meeting ID 99363039857 in the Zoom desktop client.

Order Status





If you need assistance with determining the status of your order in BearBUY, visit the How to Find the Status of Your Order page on the SCM website. 

Please note that your SCM assigned Buyer will not receive the requisition until it has been approved by the department Org Node approver.

Who is My Department's Assigned Buyer?



If you are unsure of how to start your purchasing transaction, contact your Buyer for assistance by using your Org Node and Department Name to find your assigned Buyer located in this matrix.

Contracts in BearBUY





If you need help searching for a contract and applying it to your cart in BearBUY, please view the Searching for Contracts and Applying a Contract to Your Cart in BearBUY job aid.