Dear Campus Community,

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

This month's features:  

• CANCELLED: September BearBUY Bears that Buy Open Office Hours: Here to Make Purchasing BEARable
• Reminder: How to Request New Shipping Addresses
• Tariffs and International Shipping

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

September Bears that Buy Open Office Hours:

Here to Make Purchasing BEARable

September office hours will be CANCELLED due to the start of the new academic year.  We are prioritizing uninterrupted service delivery and response times during this busy time of the year.   

Please join us for our next remote office hour October 21st, 2025, from 10:00 to 10:50 a.m.

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

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.

Individuals from the Procurement, BearBUY Solutions, Account Payable, and BRS teams will be present to address your questions and provide information about purchasing at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Open Office Hours will be held every third Tuesday of the month from 10:00 to 10:50 a.m.

How to Request New Shipping Addresses

With the start of the Fall semester, we have noticed an increase in new shipping address requests.  This is a reminder that new shipping addresses (Ship-To addresses) in BearBUY are for Berkeley-owned or leased properties only. Most campus buildings are already in the system.

If you need a new address for a building or room on a Berkeley property, please submit a request to bearbuyhelp@berkeley.edu.

Exception Process for Off-Campus Shipping

Requests for off-campus shipping addresses are an exception and will undergo a review process. This includes drop shipping to an employee's home for work-from-home agreements and shipping for sponsored research, both of which require department financial approval and a copy of the relevant work-from-home agreement or research contract.  Shipping research consumables is highly restricted and must be required under the terms of the research agreement and may not include any items that are restricted materials or under export controls. 

Note that departments are responsible for managing all IT devices shipped off campus. All items (excluding consumables) must be returned to the university if the employee leaves or the sponsored research ends.

For Campus location:

• Search BearBUY for your campus address in the description field in the Ship-To address section.
• If you cannot find your UC Berkeley campus address, please send your request to bearbuyhelp@berkeley.edu. The help desk will help you identify the campus address. Most campus buildings and rooms are already in BearBUY.  
• If your it is NOT in BearBUY, please provide:
• Building Name
• Street address (if available)
• Room #

More detailed information can be found in our Job Aid

Tariffs and International Shipping

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.  Catalog orders do not require users to add tariff lines to the quotes.  Tariffs, if applicable, will be listed as ‘misc’ on the invoice fees field or bundled into line item prices.

If using a non-contracted supplier, please work with your supplier to determine if there will be any tariffs and get a quote for the tariff charge before requesting a PO.  Tariffs for non-catalog spend must be added as a separate line item field using the non-catalog form, with the taxable flag set to a green check mark.  The Office of the President has advised UC Berkeley that tariffs are subject to taxation within the state of California.  

Additionally, we strongly advise campus shoppers who are placing orders from foreign suppliers to contact Berkeley’s official customs broker, American Cargoservice, Inc., before placing an order to request quotes or get advice on tariff rates. Call or email American Cargo at 858-565-4125, UC@ACSSAN.COM.  American Cargo can work with you directly to create the required customs documentation and apply for any applicable and available discounts or waivers.

For more information, approved tariff rate changes for contracted suppliers will be listed on BearBUY Dashboards under “News”.  Or visit our website for International Shipping.

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.

Whether you are an experienced or a new BearBUY shopper, it is always best practice to take the BearBUY: Basics for Shoppers training if you haven't already.

To take this ESSENTIAL training, please click on this course #: BEESS950-Online.