Promotional and Trademarked Items

All purchases exceeding $75,000 must be completed as a formal bid through Procurement Services, with a minimum processing time of sixty (60) days.

A competitive quote bid must be completed for all promotional items, excluding cooperative purchases, prior to ordering. Departments are given the delegation to solicit competitive quote bids up to $75,000 (including freight but excluding sales tax). Procurement Services is available to assist in processing these bids if departments do not have the time or qualified staff.

Cooperative buying allows the university to make purchases for goods and services from contracts that have already been bid or negotiated for the benefit of the university. Staples Promotional Products is an approved cooperative contract available for the university to use for the purchasing of promotional products without requiring a bid, regardless of cost. This is not a mandatory contract. 

To complete a Staples Promotional purchase, complete the steps below:

1. Contact Staples Promotional Products and request a quote referencing the E&I contract number for your requested items. 
   1. For more information and to receive the contracted discount rate, contact the Account Manager, Jessica Morrison 913.319.4711, or Jessica.Morrison@staples.com.
2. Create a requisition in Workday, with the quote as an attachment, to Procurement Services.

UA Little Rock has established a licensing program to protect the university’s brand and prohibit unauthorized use of the university name or logo on commercial or other products. All uses and representations of the university’s name and marks on items of merchandise, whether for sale or internal use, are licensed. Licensed use of the university’s name and marks will preserve the university’s reputation by ensuring that products bearing the university’s name and marks are of quality and good taste and are consistent with the university’s branding efforts. 

All promotional or trademarked items must be produced by a supplier that has been approved by the Office of Communications and Marketing. The Office of Communications and Marketing has the right to grant exceptions to this policy on a case-by-case basis.

Promotional items are items purchased for distribution to employees, students, or the general public and may include pins, buttons, pens, tee shirts, sweatshirts, and plaques. UA Little Rock has been authorized to purchase items for promotional purposes by special language in the agency’s appropriation acts. Further direction can be found in the OSP Policies on Promotional Items. 

All purchases for promotional items, regardless of cost or method of procurement (P-Card or requisition), must be processed with a competitive quote bid, cooperative contract, or formal bid.

• Cooperative Contract
  If taking advantage of the Staples Promotional cooperative contract, only one quote is needed.
• Competitive Quote Bid and Formal Bid
  Using the licensed supplier list, obtain three quotes from three different companies.

*Please Note: If a P-Card will be used for the purchase, the Office of Communications should first provide written approval of the artwork. For a requisition, use the promotional items requisition type so that communications can approve the design.