Travel, Shipping, Purchasing and Reimbursement

For questions regarding the purchasing process, status of orders, status of reimbursements, vendor payments, etc reach out to MAE-purchasing@ncsu.edu.

Always check to see if the items or equipment you would like to order are on the Marketplace (available through MyPack) before submitting an order request.

For all marketplace orders please include the location of where the items will be stored and a detailed justification.

If you purchase from the Marketplace, please be sure to sign into your MyPack portal and receive the order in the system after it arrives.

All purchases must be pre-approved and completed by a member of the purchasing team. Students and Faculty should not be placing orders outside of Marketplace.

Please use MAE Purchase Request for all non-Marketplace purchase requests within the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. For all Facility Work Order Requests please use MAE Facility Work Order Request Form.

Click here if you don’t know what information you need to provide with a purchase request.

These forms will be routed to your supervisor and the appropriate contract manager and/or Business Officer/ Dept head for approvals. This approval will be valid for 30 days. You will receive an approval confirmation email when the request is fully approved that will provide you with a PO number or other directives for ordering. This will be the PO you will provide to vendors.

Senior Design Personal Reimbursement Request
- This form is only to be used by AE or ME senior design students requesting reimbursement.
Faculty Start Up Purchase Request
- This form should be used to request faculty start-up funds.
Personal Reimbursement
- You can either create a new Reimbursement Form or generate one from an existing Purchase Request.

Purchasing Process- Purchases under 5K

1. Discuss purchases with your supervisor.
2. Enter the purchase request into the MAE Purchase Request. You will receive an email that confirms your order has been submitted correctly.
3. Request is routed to PI for approval.
4. Request is routed to Funding manager for approval.
5. You will receive an email when your request is fully approved.
6. A purchaser will process the order within 24-48 hours of approval, depending on workload.
7. You will receive the order confirmation and shipping details as soon as they are received from the vendor.
8. You will receive an email when your package is delivered.
9. When you pick up your package, check the contents to make sure they are correct and not damaged.

Purchasing Process- Purchases over 5K

Orders over $5000 cannot be placed by departmental purchasing and cannot be placed using a departmental purchasing card. They must be placed by the university’s purchasing team.
You will submit your request the same as orders under $5000, except you must include a sole source justification.
Create and attach a sole source justification explaining why the item you are buying must come from this vendor.
- The sole source justification must be on departmental letterhead and must be signed.
- In order to meet state of North Carolina requirements a sole source justification needs to:
  - Give a brief description of the item and its function
  - Provide an explanation why the product or service requested is the only product or service that can satisfy your requirements and why alternatives are unacceptable.

If a sole source justification is not provided, university purchasing will submit the order for bidding. This gives other companies an opportunity to offer a better deal on the same order. The order is posted for bids for 10 days. At the end of the 10 day bidding period, university purchasing will send you the best offer so you can verify all is correct and approve the order.
Orders over $5000 take longer to process than orders under $5000. The MAE purchasing team member will submit the order to university purchasing within 24-48 hours of when the order is fully approved. University purchasing processes orders in the order they are received (It usually takes 3-4 weeks for procurement to issue a PO).
If a sole source justification is provided- it can take around 3-4 weeks from the date submitted for the university purchasing team to process the order with the vendor.
If a sole source justification is not provided- It can take around a week from the date submitted for the university purchasing team to submit the order for bidding. Then the 10 days for bids. After the bids close they will contact you for our approval to proceed with the best offer. Then they can create and send the PO to the vendor. It can take 4-5 weeks to complete this process.

Important Reminders

Verify email addresses
Verify project number
Do not underestimate or leave shipping cost blank
Make sure you have set the sharing settings to allow anyone with the link to access documents. If we have to request access to your document/spreadsheet this can delay processing.
Backorders, Preorders, and Lead times
- Look out for out-of-stock items, backordered items, or items with an extended lead time. If the purchasing team goes to place an order and notices one of these they will put the entire order on hold and contact the requester for further instructions. This can delay processing. Note if you are aware of and approve backordered items in the Comment section so we can proceed. If you know the order has an extended lead time, write that in the comments so we know you are aware of the wait.
Product options
- If there are options for items (color, length, voltage, etc.) be sure to include this in your order request. If it is not provided, we will contact you to confirm. This can delay processing.

Who to buy from

MarketPlace
- Why purchase from a Marketplace vendor?
  - Vendors offer us educational discounts
  - Most vendors offer us Free shipping
  - Easier and more lenient returns
  - MarketPlace Vendor List
Non-MarketPlace
- We Highly recommend you not use an international vendor, unless absolutely necessary.
  - There are hidden costs that you may not see (customs and duty taxes).
  - Shipping is generally slower
  - Returns are difficult
  - Less recourse if items arrive damaged or not as described
  - Take longer to process, especially if the vendor does not have an online ordering system. Time differences, language barriers, payment options, and different international holidays can all delay processing.
- If the vendor cannot accept credit cards, and has not done business with NCSU before, we will have to add them to the university’s supplier center via paymentworks before we can place an order with them. Depending on how fast the vendor completes the online registration it can take some time to get them approved as a new vendor
NCSU has debarred (banned) vendors which we are not allowed to order from debarred vendor

IT Purchases

ALL IT orders (hardware/software) or License agreements needing signatures must be submitted for approval by Lance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I want to use a service provided by NCSU? For example, Surplus
- An order request must be submitted. Once approved, we will provide you with information to give to them.
What if I need to add another item(s) to an order that has already been submitted to MAE Purchasing?
- It is best to submit a new order request.
What if I need to cancel my order?
- Please email MAE-purchasing@ncsu.edu asking the order to be canceled.
What if packages are expected to be delivered over the weekend or on a holiday?
- No deliveries will occur at the University because we are closed. Deliveries will occur the next business day.
Can items be shipped to my home?
- No, it is against University Policy.
Can I pick up an item that was delivered to Main Campus Mailroom due to USPS?
- No. The University Main Campus Mailroom receives a large volume of mail/shipments daily.
What are packing slips?
- A packing slip is a document included in a package that lists the contents of the package.
Where can I pick up my shipment?
- Most shipments are delivered to EB3 Room 3002, if it is too large to be delivered to room 3002, the front desk person will assist you in locating your shipment. Large shipments for MAE West will be shipped to 3240 Ligon Street.

Travel Processes

Travel Authorizations Must Be Approved 30 days Before the Travel Occurs.

Travel Reimbursements Must Be Filed no later than 30 days After the return date from travel.

Any travel reimbursement filed 90 past the return date are subject to not being reimbursed (any travel reimbursement filed over 30 days past return date MUST have Department Head signature, as well as an explanation for the late filing).

Travel Checklist

Go to the Travel Center in your MyPack Portal and create a Travel Authorization. It is suggested you do this at least 30 days ahead of time so that it has time to be fully approved before your travel. Your supervisor and the funding manager will need to approve the authorization request.
Once your TA (Travel Authorization) has been approved you can make purchases for that trip (flight, hotel bookings, rental car, etc.).
Note: Once your TA is approved you have the option to seek the assistance of an MAE Purchaser to help you with your conference registration. Flights and hotels cannot be purchased by the purchasing team, those will need to purchased by the traveler and filed for reimbursement through the travel reimbursement system.
1. MAE can only pay conference registration in advance (via an order request – BUT you must include the TA with the request) MAE will NOT pay in advance for flight or hotel (these will be reimbursed through travel reimbursement).
Make sure you keep a copy of all receipts for all purchases, except meals.
1. Meals are reimbursed on a per diem basis. This means you get a set amount of money reimbursed to you for each meal, regardless of what you actually spent on meals. You do not need to keep meal receipts. You will only be reimbursed for meals not covered by the conference/meeting. If a meal is covered by the conference/meeting it should be excluded from your reimbursement.
2. Meals are only allowed when in overnight travel status. They are calculated on travel begin and end time on a per diem basis, so make sure your entered dates are accurate. There are different rates for In-State, Out of State, and Out-of-Country Travel.
Once you return from Travel, go to the Travel Center in your MyPack Portal and create a Travel Reimbursement.
1. You will need to scan and upload your receipts to the Reimbursement, except meals. Your supervisor and the funding manager will need to approve the reimbursement request.
Once your TR is fully approved, you will be reimbursed via Direct Deposit.

Travel Tips

Travel Authorizations
- Must be submitted in the Travel Portal or by AP104 at least 30 days in advance of travel. The amounts, unless known at the time before your trip, are estimated such as taxi rides and meals.
Conference Travel
- Always upload an agenda. If meals are included in the registration fee you need to exclude these on your meal calculation section.
Hotel Receipts
- A booking confirmation is not a receipt. A Folio is required from the Hotel which itemizes charges and shows proof of payment.
- If sharing rooms with another traveler and you are splitting expenses, have the hotel issue separate Folios. If one traveler pays for both parties, the entire amount will be reimbursed to the payee. Do not have your other party pay you for their half. This complicates the reimbursement process.
- Remove any room service or hotel restaurant charges from the lodging total.
3rd party / non-commercial lodging
- An example is Airbnb. This requires pre-approval before departing on your trip. Whoever will pay for the airbnb will need to submit the Third Party Housing request following the instructions in the Travel Authorization page (the Information button beside of the Third Party Lodging check box). Each traveler will need to check the third party housing link and reference each other TA’s in the comments section so they are appropriately linked.
- To obtain approval to utilize 3rd party / non-commercial lodging, submit a request for approval prior to incurring expenses or traveling by completing the Pre-Approval for 3rd Party / Non-Commercial Lodging Usage and Expenses Form. Upon clicking submit, the form is forwarded electronically to the University Controller’s Office for review. The review will begin once the fully completed form with all required documentation is received. Incomplete forms and missing documentation will delay the start of the review. Once the review is complete, the University Controller’s Office will email the outcome to the contact indicated on the pre-approval form. Please allow at least 7 business days for processing within the University Controller’s Office.
Airline Receipts
- Boarding passes are not necessary. Include the flight agenda and proof of purchase. If a flight was changed resulting in an e-credit, include the original flight receipt and the adjusted one.
Personal Travel
- For example, when you have finished a conference and want to take personal time before returning home. Note personal travel days in the notes section and include the actual return flight departure day in your travel end time. You will need to exclude meals during your personal days.
- Attach 3 flight comparisons of flights leaving after the conference ended. This can be uploaded to the Travel Authorization before your trip. If it is after the trip, attach 3 comparisons of a future date with the departure day being the day after the conference.
Original Receipts
- Original receipts are required for taxi, gas and other miscellaneous expenses. A credit card transaction detail is not acceptable.
Meals
- Meals are only allowed when in overnight travel status. They are calculated on travel begin and end time on a per diem basis, so make sure your entered dates are accurate. There are different rates for In-State, Out of State, and Out-of-Country Travel.
- Do not send receipts for meals purchased.