Dear Campus Community,

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

This month's features:  

• Scheduled BFS/BLU Maintenance
• Responding to the AI Storm: Strengthening BFS and BearBuy Security
• BearBUY Chatbot: Thank You & Feedback Winners
• New: Ferguson punchout Catalog Available in BearBUY
• Reminder: Property Management Launches Rheaply, Our New Online Furniture Marketplace
• Reminder: New Federal Restrictions on 1260H & Biotech Vendors
• Reminder: Hays Talent Solutions Selected as UC Berkeley and UC-Wide Managed Service Provider (MSP)
• Reminder: Bears that Buy Open Office Hours

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, 

UC Berkeley, Supply Chain Management

Scheduled BFS/BLU Maintenance

The BFS system and Blu Portal will perform maintenance tomorrow Tuesday, September 22, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. PST. BearBUY will be unavailable during this maintenance period.

After the maintenance, please delete your browser cache, close all your browsers/tabs, and open a new window before you log in to BFS.

Please prepare for planned system downtimes and visit the Controller’s Office website for the BFS Maintenance Schedule.

Responding to the AI Storm:
Strengthening BFS and BearBuy Security

The rapidly evolving “AI storm” and increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats require us to continually strengthen security practices for our financial systems. Effective July 1, 2026, VC Finance implemented an automated UCPath feed that inactivates BFS and BearBuy access when an employee’s status becomes INACTIVE, including during applicable leaves of absence. This automation strengthens security and reduces the need for departments to manually remove access; however, employees returning from leave will need to have their access restored. After approved leave,

BearBUY users should ensure they are ACTIVE in UCPath and submit a SARA Request to restore access. Learn more about the changes and action items for DFLs.

We are excited to share that the BearBUY Chatbot has been a tremendous success, thanks to the valuable feedback and engagement we have received from across the UC Berkeley campus!

Since its launch on May 18, 2026, the chatbot has received more than 1,500 individual inquiries, demonstrating the growing value of this resource in helping our campus community get the support they need.

Let’s keep the momentum going! Your continued use and feedback will help us further improve the BearBUY Chatbot and make it an even more valuable resource for our campus community.

Congratulations to Our Tango Gift Card Raffle Winners!

• Miguel Rivas
• Alyssa Parker
• Jessica Loza
• Norma Jones
• Paul Raumer

Thank you to everyone who participated, shared feedback, and helped make the BearBUY Chatbot such a success. Together, we’re making BearBUY support faster, easier, and more accessible for everyone!

The Ferguson punchout catalog has been available in BearBUY since September 1, 2026.

Ferguson Facility Supply has a wide range of products such as plumbing, HVAC, appliances, lighting, PVF, water and wastewater solutions and they also provide expert service in the matter.

As part of our continuing efforts to better serve our campus and public communities, UC Surplus is proud to announce that we have digitized our furniture inventory onto a new online platform. Introducing Rheaply.com, a comprehensive marketplace where customers will be able to see our current inventory and reserve items for purchase. 

Rheaply is an online Reuse Marketplace that effectively accesses new sales and donation opportunities that traditional in store business models fail to reach. This platform allows us to easily sell, reuse or donate our inventory within the UC Berkeley Community and with our external partners.  

We hope to simultaneously recapture additional revenue for the University, while reducing waste into the landfills. 

To get started, just login to Rheaply.com with your berkeley.edu email and it will take you through CalNet authentication to set up your account and start browsing our current inventory.

On June 8, 2026, the Department of Defense (DoD) expanded its Section 1260H list of Chinese Military Companies to include Alibaba, Baidu, WuXi AppTec, Novogene, TP-Link, BYD, and Unitree. Some of these vendors are used at UC Berkeley today.  Existing vendors will not be barred or restricted by Procurement at this time as non-DOD funded research is still allowed.


Key Compliance Rules

• DoD Funding Restriction: Under current policy, federally funded research cannot use equipment or services from any 1260H-listed entities.
• BIOSECURE Act Impact: Enacted in December 2025, this law will soon prohibit all federal agencies from funding biotech equipment or services from listed companies (like WuXi and Novogene), with full implementation expected by early 2028.
• VAR Restriction: Please note that this prohibition also applies to goods and services purchased through a Value Added Reseller or Distributor. 


Your Next Steps

1. Review Your Research Funding sources and Vendors: Check if your lab uses these restricted entities.
2. Respond to Outreach: The Research Security team is actively contacting PIs with matching purchase records. Please reply promptly to help us protect your funding.
3. Plan Transitions: Begin identifying compliant alternative vendors to avoid research disruptions.  

A Simpler Way to Manage Non-Employee Hiring Coming Early 2027


Following a competitive bid process, the University of California is partnering with Hays Talent Solutions to bring a Managed Service Provider to all campus locations. As our new MSP, Hays will be providing campus hiring managers a streamlined, centralized resource for non-employee hiring. UC Berkeley is currently working alongside campus departments in a collaborative discovery phase to ensure this tool fits our everyday needs ahead of the 2027 launch.


No action is needed today. This initiative is designed to take administrative headaches off your plate while keeping your existing team and contractor relationships running smoothly.


Supported Worker Categories Hays will support and simplify hiring across four key areas:

• Temporary Workers: Short-term staff sourced through agencies.
• Independent Contractors: 1099 and self-employed professionals.
• SOW Consultants: Project-based, deliverable-focused talent.
• Direct Hires: Permanent placement services.


How Hays Will Support You

• Save Time: Centralized support handles compliance and operational logistics so you don't have to.
• Clear Guidance: Consistent, hassle-free processes tailored for campus administrators.
• Hands-On Help: Dedicated assistance throughout the entire sourcing and onboarding lifecycle.


We are committed to a smooth transition and will share step-by-step guides, transition timelines, and training opportunities in the coming weeks.

Please join us for our next remote office hour next month on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.


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


Representatives from the Procurement, BearBUY Solutions, Account Payable, and BRS teams will be available to answer your questions and provide information about purchasing at the University of California, Berkeley. Open Office Hours will be held on the third Tuesday of each month from 10:00 a.m. 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.

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.