Planning Multi-Site Research Purchases

Multi-site groups benefit from a single purchasing owner who places orders, files COAs, and distributes tracking updates. Parallel “shadow orders” create duplicate payments and inventory confusion.

Shared email aliases for purchasing can help, provided someone actively monitors them for confirmation and tracking messages.

Maintain a short list of approved shipping addresses and verify room numbers. Carriers do not resolve internal lab politics — incomplete addresses simply delay science.

If campuses have different receiving docks, note hours and any special delivery instructions in the account profile before checkout.

After delivery, push COAs and lot numbers into a shared drive the same day. Waiting until a paper deadline guarantees missing files.

Use consistent folder names by project or by year so new staff can find records without asking the original purchaser.

Decide who may create storefront accounts and who may approve spend. Research storefronts that require accounts for pricing help reduce anonymous ordering, but they still need internal access rules.

When staff leave, rotate passwords and update the inventory owner field so support requests still have a reachable human.