Welcome to the NJSTART Team's 2024 Quarter Four Newsletter!
This Edition of the NJSTART Newsletter Contains:
Invitation to our upcoming NJSTART 101 Training Webinar
Updated reports on State of New Jersey contracts
Contract Spotlight on all NJ State Contracts available for cooperative purchasing
Tips when Using NJSTART
NJSTART News and Announcements
Ask the Contract Guys
Survey Question - these questions change every quarter and your feedback is valued
A Message from the Local Government Manager on Purchasing vehicles from Statewide contracts
Next NJSTART 101 Training Webinar
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming NJSTART 101 webinar! Join us on Tuesday, December 17th at 11:00 am to get an in-depth look at the NJSTART platform, giving you valuable insights on how to navigate and utilize the platform more effectively. During this session, we will also provide an overview of the NJSTART Marketplace as an additional tool you can use to support your day-to-day State contract purchasing needs.
These webinars are a fantastic opportunity to deepen your understanding of NJSTART and to ask any questions you might have. We’re looking forward to your participation and engaging with you!
Quarterly State of New Jersey Cooperative Contracts List:
Please use this link to download a spreadsheet containing a comprehensive listing of State of New Jersey contracts open to New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing Program Participants, with multiple tabs, listed below:
All contracts as of November 2024 with Notes
New contracts since July 2024
Extended contracts since July 2024
Expired contracts since July 2024
Expiring soon (over next three months) contracts as of August 2024
Please review the Notes column provided in each of the views listed above to review whether a soon to expire contract portfolio is being re-procured, or if there are any extensions remaining on those contracts. This information is for informational purposes only and is meant to help all participants plan better when leveraging State of New Jersey Cooperative Contracts.
The Quarter four Contract Category Spotlight is all of the NJ State Contracts available for cooperative purchasing. This report provides all local buying units with a comprehensive report of all contracts available. Local buying units can use this information to create annual omni bus resolutions. This makes utilizing State contracts easier throughout the year.
The report is in spreadsheet format so it can easily be sorted to address the specific needs of each entity. This will help streamline the approval process while maintaining the highest level of purchasing compliance
Please see the attached report with over 900 contract portfolios that cover all NJ State contracts available for Cooperative Purchasing. Contact the NJSTART Team with any questions at coop-njstart@mdfcommerce.com.
As part of NJSTART ongoing efforts to enhance the user experience for New Jersey agencies and local buying units, the Division of Purchase and Property (DPP) will be implementing a change to NJSTART’s naming convention. Effective November 1, 2024 the term "Master Blanket Purchase Order (MBPO)" will be replaced with "Contract" within NJSTART. This change will have minimal impact on NJSTART users, as no system functionality will be altered. The only difference you will notice is that certain menu options, documents, and field labels will be updated.
We believe this adjustment will provide greater clarity and ease of use for user searching for contracts. After a brief transition period, we hope you find this change helpful. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to the NJSTART Team.
Upcoming Procurement Opportunities
As part of the NJSTART contract reports, we will now be adding a section on upcoming procurement opportunities. This detail will provide NJ Local Buying units with added visibility to what the State, Division of Purchase & Property is seeking to procure or re-procure. It is important to remember that all procurement opportunities may not become State contracts available for cooperative purchasing. Users can always access current/active bid through the advanced search within the NJSTART system. For help or any question regarding how to do this please contact the NJSTART team at coop-njstart@mdcommerce.com.
Be sure to sign up for Office of NJ State Comptroller Updates. These updates are full of valuable information useful to all public purchasing entities.
Hear from Bill Hnatiuk - NJSTART Local Government Manager and
Trevor Day - NJSTART General Manager, as they answer
commonly asked questions, like:
Question: What does it mean when a contract is labeled “Pay Only”?
Answer: Pay Only status means the contract is only available for payment of previously placed orders, and that no new orders can be placed against that contract until the contract is extended or renewed. Always remember that a contract needs to be in ‘SENT” status for it to be active and purchasable.
Question: Is a V# the same as a contract number?
Answer: No. A V# is a unique identifier that is generated when a vendor registers in the NJSTART system. A contract number is awarded when a vendor has successfully responded to a bid solicitation. Remember that the “Contract#” must be on all quotes.
Question: Are GSA contracts that are part of the NJSTART system and offered as a cooperative contract allowed to be used?
Answer: Yes! To find out more, review this Special Notice.
Question: How can I tell if a contract is a State managed contract, a National Cooperative or a GSA Contract?
Answer: See graphic below for details, portfolio numbers that start with T/G/M are described as follows:
YOUR FEEDBACK IS VALUABLE!
Please take our one-question survey to help us collect your feedback on obstacles and challenges when using the NJSTART platform.
Guidance to Local Government buyers purchasing vehicles from Statewide contract
Many times, local buying units are asked to provide a V# (Vendor Number) to receive funds such as grants. Local buying unitsDo Not Register as a Supplier! The supplier registration button on the NJSTART landing page is for procurement suppliers only (suppliers that are able to deliver a product or service). Unless you are providing a service and receiving payment for those services do not register as a supplier. You can contact the NJSTART team at coop-njstart@mdcommerce.com, or Treasury, at NJSTART Vendor Support email: NJstart@treas.nj.gov and request the NJ NON Procurement Vendor W9 form.
The NJSTART Team is here to assist with any questions regarding the use of Statewide contracts for vehicle purchases, or if local buying units are having any contract related issues. Those questions or concerns can be sent to NJSTART at coop-njstart@mdfcommerce.com.
Did you know?
That users that are logged on to the NJSTART system have access to Marketplace Search? This feature allows public purchasing entities the ability to search Sate contracts available for cooperative purchasing using keywords. This enhanced feature is active and available, but you must have login credentials to access this enhancement. If you would like more information or to schedule a review of this functionality please let me know.
Have you registered for NJSTART?
The NJSTART Team is committed to continually enhancing our support for public purchasing entities. To do so, I encourage organizations and users to register using the following links:
Step 1: Use this link to register your organization.
Step 2: Use this link to add additional users (there is no limit to the number of departments or users)
This will also ensure that you receive The NJSTART Quarterly Newsletter which is our primary means for communicating with our user community, invitations to training, and providing support.
Remember to log into the NJSTART system regularly to ensure your account remains active.
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Would you like to schedule an onsite or virtual NJSTART Training session for your organization?
