Shopping in the CU Marketplace
Most users will use the Marketplace to place orders for goods and services. However, your decision to use the Marketplace or not will depend on the type of good and/or service, the cost, and the relationship the supplier has with Columbia.
If you are looking for alternative procurement methods outside of the Marketplace, visit the Non-Marketplace Purchasing Methods page to learn more.
What Is the CU Marketplace?
The CU Marketplace provides users with a modern, electronic procurement experience through access to contracted, preferred suppliers, known as Catalog Suppliers, saving both time and money.
The CU Marketplace is powered by JAGGAER, the leading eProcurement solution used by 85% of R1 institutions and seven of the eight Ivy League schools, with integrations with ARC, Columbia’s financial system, and PaymentWorks, Columbia's Vendor Management system. Users can shop from a range of our Catalog Suppliers, create requisitions using the Goods and Services Request Form, acquire necessary approvals, issue purchase orders, and even make payments, all in one location—the CU Marketplace.
An Introduction to the Marketplace
Faculty and staff who want to browse items from the University's Catalog Suppliers can visit the Marketplace as a Shopper. You do not need special permissions or other roles to browse or fill a cart in the CU Marketplace.
However, to complete purchases, users will need to apply for and complete training for the Procurement Initiator role.
Anyone responsible for approving requisitions submitted by Initiators will need to apply for and complete training for the Department Requisition Approvers role.
Visit the Acquiring Financial Systems Access page to learn more about departmental and central roles and their respective trainings.
System Transactions Table
- Transaction
- Requisitions/POs
- CU Marketplace
- X
- ARC
- Transaction
- Contract Request
- CU Marketplace
- X
- ARC
- Transaction
- Payments (Vouchers)
- CU Marketplace
- X
- ARC
- Transaction
- Journal Vouchers
- CU Marketplace
- ARC
- X
- Transaction
- P-Card Reconciliation & Approval
- CU Marketplace
- ARC
- X
Read-only access to see historical procurement information in ARC will be available.
Visit the Shop dashboard in the Marketplace to find options for buying goods and services.
Goods and Services
- IT, AV, and Office Supplies and Related Services
- Lab Products and Related Services
- Medical and Clinical Products and Related Services
- Facilities Supplies and Related Services (only visible for CUFO and Off-Campus Facilities administrators)
Each dashboard contains "punchout" links to Catalog Suppliers (if applicable), a list of associated UwPA Suppliers (if applicable), a button to open the Goods and Services Request Form, and a Helpful Links widget.
For more information about shopping from these categories above, visit our associated pages contained in the Policy, Training & Related Pages box at the top of this page.
Services Only
- Service Providers and Consultants
- Events and Catering
- Writers and Illustrators
Each dashboard contains information about requirements for contracts, a Self-Service Documentation widget, and links to the Contracts dashboard where users can begin a Contract Request in the Contract Request Tool.
For more information, please visit the Contracting in the CU Marketplace page.
For assistance finding a vendor that matches your purchasing needs, visit the Columbia Blue Pages Shopping Directory to view a searchable "phone book" of recommended vendors that have agreements in place with Columbia University. More than 150 vendors can be filtered according to product-based Commodity Codes or the following Supplier Types:
- Concur Travel Suppliers
- Marketplace Catalog Suppliers
- UwPA Suppliers
- Events & Catering Suppliers
- Other Non-Catalog Suppliers (Coming Soon!)
If you cannot find what you need from the Columbia Blue Pages, consider speaking to those in your school or department who can recommend common vendors for your purchasing needs, or contact the Finance Service Center to request assistance from Central Purchasing with obtaining potential vendor recommendations.
Access "punchout" Catalog Supplier websites from within the Marketplace system and fill a digital shopping cart.
- In short, purchasing products from "punchout" Catalog Suppliers is fast, easy, familiar, and preferred overall. And we are working to add more Catalog Suppliers every day.
Submit a Goods and Services Request Form for UwPA Suppliers and Non-Catalog Suppliers.
- We recognize that many services cannot be fulfilled by Catalog Suppliers. When a good or service is unavailable from a Catalog Supplier, users may pursue purchases from UwPA Suppliers followed by Non-Catalog Suppliers. This is accomplished by submitting a Goods and Services Request Form, which requires more steps and requirements, including review by Central Purchasing, to fulfill the purchase.
Wave 2 Change Advisory Committee
Andrew Keen Alumni & Development [email protected]
Janet Reyes Architecture [email protected]
Nekeia Rooks-Holder, Arts [email protected]
Josh Sakolsky Arts & Sciences [email protected]
Kelly Tiedemann Athletics [email protected]
Anna Wojnarowska Business [email protected]
Lisa Connolly Climate Schoo [email protected]
Christian Molina College [email protected]
JoAnn Garcia Columbia Global [email protected]
Tony Cerone CTV [email protected]
Diana Gurevich CU Health [email protected]
Raquel Marin CUIMC [email protected]
Barbara Rosenberg CUIMC [email protected]
Susan Liquori CUIMC [email protected]
Dania Acosta Dental [email protected]
Will Yandolino Engineering [email protected]
Antonella Contrera Facilities [email protected]
Kate Sheeran Finance [email protected]
Natasha Genodman General Counsel [email protected]
Harold Owusu-Ansah Graduate School of A&S [email protected]
Tanya Mottley Journalism [email protected]
Rosemary Dodemaide Law [email protected]
Nicole Ogden Libraries [email protected]
Henry Lee Nursing [email protected]
Kelinda Rolon Physicians & Surgeons [email protected]
John Smerdon Physicians & Surgeons - Research [email protected]
Jeffrey Cousino President's Office [email protected]
Karyn Louis-Smith Professional Studies [email protected]
Michelle Baggan-Bacchus Provost's Office [email protected]
David DeClercq Public Health [email protected]
Susan Richards Research [email protected]
Patrick Bohan SIPA [email protected]
Kathy Dodd Social Work [email protected]
Ed Johnson Zuckerman Institute [email protected]
Paige Lyne Zuckerman Institute [email protected]
Marketplace Purchasing Methods in Detail
When you buy from a Catalog Supplier, you benefit from vendors specially contracted to offer a "punchout" cart shopping experience directly on the vendor's website, all without leaving the CU Marketplace platform. Simply add product selections to your cart.
Other benefits of purchasing from Catalog Suppliers include the following:
- Catalog pricing is negotiated for all Catalog Suppliers.
- It's possible to create one requisition with items from multiple suppliers.
- All approvals workflows are handled within the Marketplace.
- Instead of manually submitting vouchers, all electronic invoices are matched with automated payments to the suppliers after the approvals workflow process is complete.
- No monthly reconciliations.
- Shoppers can fill up a cart and assign it to designated Procurement Initiators in their school or department.
- No Central Purchasing approval is required except when select products or dollar thresholds are involved.
Administrators should be aware that if a purchase from a Catalog Supplier is not feasible, then procuring from a UwPA Supplier via Goods and Services Request Form (requisition-to-purchase-order process) is the strongly recommended next step.
UwPA Suppliers are vendors that have been awarded a University contract through a competitive or negotiated process managed by Central Purchasing.
Benefits of utilizing a UwPA include the following:
- Suppliers offer easier access through designated customer service and sales representatives.
- A quote/proposal is all that is required to attach with the Goods and Services Request Form.
- Certificates of Insurance are not required unless otherwise specified by the commodity selected.
- Service levels are enhanced.
- Better than competitive pricing.
UwPA requisitions created from the Non-Catalog Goods and Services Request Form in the CU Marketplace will trigger an auto-sourced direct purchase order sent to the supplier.
In the event that a product, but more likely a service, is unavailable from a Catalog Supplier or a UwPA Supplier, you may proceed with submitting a Non-Catalog Goods and Services Request Form for a Non-Catalog Supplier sourced by administrators or other designated staff. All Events & Catering Suppliers in the Columbia Blue Pages are considered Non-Catalog Suppliers.
Submit a Request
Ensure the following conditions apply before completing your submission:
All Contracted Services Require Central Purchasing Review
- This applies to the majority of service providers not associated with Events. Visit the Contracts section of the Procurement site to learn more about requirements for purchases involving contracts.
Goods/Items Over $500
- When a UwPA in the CU Marketplace cannot be utilized.
- When a P-Card cannot be used.
Required Documentation
Supporting documentation is required depending on the funding source and dollar threshold in addition to the category of good or service being procured. The Goods and Services Request Form will help prompt collection of required documentation based on the purchase. Or use the Purchasing Process Toolkit to identify in advance the documentation that may be required.
Refer to the Procurement Forms and Documents Library to filter (according to Topics) for Requisition Documentation or Columbia Templates for Service Contracts.
When the requisition is approved by Purchasing, a central purchase order will be created and sent to the supplier. Payment is completed with a voucher. Learn more on the Paying in the CU Marketplace page.
For assistance adding new Non-Catalog Supplier vendors via PaymentWorks, visit our section on Vendor Management.
View a recorded information session about the expanded CU Marketplace
View and download the CU Marketplace Information Session presentation from July 2, 2025.