State of Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services Announces New Purchasing Program using Amazon Business

-- NEWS RELEASE --

For Immediate Release

PRESTON L. DOERFLINGER
Secretary
Finance, Administration
and Information Technology

MARY FALLIN
Governor

Jan. 9, 2018

State of Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services Announces New Purchasing Program using Amazon Business 

The State of Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) is excited to announce that it has implemented Amazon Business in order to simplify the purchasing process, maintain sales tax compliance and allow state agencies to take advantage of the wide selection and competitive prices on the Amazon Business marketplace. 

Amazon Business is built on Amazon's familiar, easy-to-use shopping experience, and provides access to hundreds of millions of products – everything from IT accessories and lab equipment to education and food-service supplies. By using Amazon Business, approximately 4,600 State of Oklahoma P-card holders can take advantage of features such as competitive business pricing and quantity discounts on select items, business-optimized search and browse functionality, enhanced reporting and reconciliation that offers increased visibility into purchasing data, and convenient shipping options. 

“The utilization of Amazon Business is about more than just the convenience. It is the strategic sourcing capabilities of the Amazon Business marketplace that allow the State of Oklahoma to leverage spend and identify gaps in current contract offerings,” said OMES State Purchasing Director Ferris Barger. “After comparing a similar basket of items, we saw that we could realize savings by purchasing from Amazon Business. Account setup was simple, fast and free so we are able to begin purchasing and saving immediately.” 

OMES Statewide Procurement Manager Allen Cook agreed with Barger. “One of the main reasons we are using Amazon Business is the opportunity for better P-card spend data. We will now have increased visibility into purchasing data, which will give us a clearer picture of what is being spent and by whom,” said Cook. This improved ability to analyze spend will help in measuring savings while at the same time identifying additional savings opportunities. It will also help the state in ensuring compliance and understanding trends. 

Utilization of Amazon Business is subject to the rules promulgated under OAC 260:115 and Purchase Card Procedures, Title 74 and Title 62. Amazon Business purchases will not supersede Mandatory Statewide Contracts. Additionally, the P-card user will still be held accountable to ensure compliance with State Use as well as Oklahoma Correctional Industries.

The Procurement Information Memorandum (PIM) can be found on the OMES website.


Media Contact

Shelley Zumwalt
Director of Public Affairs
(405) 535-5198 | shelley.zumwalt@omes.ok.gov


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About the Office of Management and Enterprise Services

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services provides financial, property, purchasing, human resources and information technology services to all state agencies, and assists the Governor’s Office on budgetary policy matters. Our mission: Supporting our partners through unified business services. For more information, visit OMES.OK.gov.