Procurement Project

The University of Illinois Dining Services is state and government owned, since it is a
part of the public university. It is also self-operated, meaning the production processes have not
been contracted out to a professional facility. Housing Food Stores is largely a food service
operation with the central purpose of feeding campus students and faculty, and it also deals with
some catering and retail transactions. HFS offers services that include providing food service
materials to the various food service operations on campus, providing quick-service meal and
snack options to the on-campus convenience stores, catering services for university events as
well as for private events (such as weddings and conferences), and a food truck that operates
for retail purposes. HFS is located on Oak St, not positioned off of any necessarily busy streets
or highways and only just off campus, near Memorial Stadium. The environment is one
characterized by a sense of efficiency, as there is a loading dock that leads to a warehouse
area.
HFS has a storekeeper at each of the seven dining services locations on campus. It
usually has smaller purchasing duties, such as the purchase of bread, but most purchasing is
done through CBORD by the head chefs. According to the individuals we spoke to at dining
services, Kit Smith is the Assistant Director of Menu Management and Procurement, and is
responsible for managing relationships with vendors. She also has some purchasing duties in
conjunction with the head chefs.
The university has 9,200 meal plan holders, and on average all dining halls combined
serve roughly 6,000 meals per day. All locations serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, with
Pennsylvania Avenue Dining Hall also serving a late-night meal option. The target market is
mainly students, but also includes all meal plan holders, which can include faculty members,
family of students, potential new students and also members of the public, as the dining halls do
accept debit and credit cards. HFS also caters to corporate clients for catering events and
members of the general public for events such as weddings, guest speakers, and other
gatherings. The food truck also caters to the general public.
U.S. Foods is the primary vendor for the University because the state of Illinois has
secured a contract with U.S. Foods that allows them to negotiate bulk pricing and other benefits.
A majority of HFSs food stock is ordered from here, as well as some paper products. A product
is only ordered from another provider if U.S. Foods does not carry the product desired. Food
orders are submitted electronically through the CBORD interface but can also be submitted
directly through the U.S. Foods customer support website. For fresh bread purchases that
include hot dog buns, hamburger buns, rolls, bagels, and the like, orders are first generated in
CBORD, which conveniently determines forecasting and necessary purchasing amounts, and
placed through Alpha Baking via their website, which will then email an invoice to whomever
made the purchase. Other miscellaneous purchases and associated vendors include straws
ordered through Central Stores, china service from Edward Don, and some plates, cups, and
from U.S. Foods.
The process of procurement from U.S. Foods, as that is the primary vendor for the
university, is as follows: The head chef places an order on CBORD or through the vendor
website. If using CBORD, the storekeepers, who keep track of stock in various dining hall

locations, can see what has been ordered so they have accurate accounts of their inventory. If
orders are placed on the vendor website, a printed-paper copy of the order is given to the
storekeepers. Menus put into CBORD automatically generate ingredients needed for the recipes
input into the system, as well as the recommended forecast amounts. The product dispositions
are coded in the system, as well as the inventory currently in stock, and take into account what
else will be served within the designated time period in order to ensure correct purchase
amounts are generated. Furthermore, the specifications for the products are generated
automatically in CBORD based on the specifications of previously purchased items. According
to the HFS employees with whom we spoke, accurate specifications are important not only in
ensuring you get exactly the product that fits your needs, but also in reducing the instances of
miscommunications and therefore fostering better relationships with suppliers.
The purveyor for meat, fish, and poultry is U.S. Foods. Deliveries from U.S. Foods are
available five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 6:00am-1:00pm if necessary, but
deliveries between 6:00am-11:00am are preferable. Orders need to be placed by 5:00pm in
order to be received by the next business day. Payment is made when invoices are sent to the
payment process center in Rantoul, IL where they will be paid. Banner is used to pay invoices,
and at the end of a fiscal period, the accounting information of the orders taken has to be
reconciled with the information input into Banner. U.S. Foods also provides processed produce
and other grocery items to dining services.
Fresh produce is purchased from Central Illinois Produce. Orders are made through
CBORD, through the same process as U.S. Foods purchases. The delivery schedule is also
Monday through Friday from 6:00am-1:00pm. The payment process is also the same, as all
payments are made from the payment process center in Rantoul.
The University uses Prairie Farms as the primary purveyor of dairy products.The order
process, delivery schedule, and payment process are all the same as those explained above.
The purveyor of baked products is primarily Alpha Baking. They provide all of the bread
products. Alpha Baking delivers Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 6:00am-1:00pm
each week. However, it is preferred that they deliver before 11:00am. First, those in charge of
ordering will use CBORD to generate the amount of product needed to be purchased, and they
will then use the Alpha Baking website to place the order. All other bakery items are ordered
through U.S. Foods, including ingredients needed to make the items that the dining hall pastry
chefs make from scratch. The order and payment process for U.S. Foods is detailed above.
The University has a contract with Coke, so all products served and sold by the
University must be Coke products, unless Coke does not offer a certain product. Examples of
this would be milk, which is procured through Prairie Farms, and specialty beverages, such as
almond milk, which is procured through U.S. Foods. The order and delivery schedules and
payment process for non-alcoholic beverages is the same as detailed above.
Dining Services does sell alcohol through events held by Campus Catering. The
University has a number of purveyors for alcoholic beverages, such as Orange and Blue Beer
(Miller), Sceff (Anheiser Susch), Southern Wine and Spirits for hard alcohol, and Wertz (Captain
Morgan). There are many venders, because strict regulations prevent vendors from selling too
large of a variety of alcoholic beverages. Beer is typically delivered on Tuesdays and Thursdays
between 6:00am-11:00am and must be paid for at the time of delivery. This is done through a

sort of debit transaction. Money is loaded onto an account with the beer distributor to pay for
orders, and more is added as the balance becomes low. Other purveyors deliver only two other
days a week, but the days they deliver were not specified. Hard alcohol is on an invoice basis
as is everything else. In Illinois, the law is such that if an account with an alcohol distributor is
not settled within thirty days, the liquor commission sends a notice to all liquor distributors that
do business with the state. The account holder in question cannot receive any alcohol deliveries
until the account is settled, no matter how small the balance.
All specialty and prepared products are prepared in-house, the ingredients for which are
largely procured through U.S. Foods, and distributed to all of the dining halls. Examples include
pre-made salads or sandwiches sold for dining hall credits. The order and delivery schedule and
payment process is the same as detailed above.
For Furniture, fixtures, and equipment, any purchases made under $55,800 can be
made directly from a vendor. Otherwise, larger purchases are made through a bid buying
process. A post is made on a procurement website by the state of Illinois, and it is stipulated
that the lowest-priced item that meets the required specifications is to be purchased. The
delivery schedule has to be coordinated specifically with the vendor. The payment process is
the same as detailed above.
Smaller scale non-food items, such as pans, pots, and other cooking equipment are
ordered through U.S. Foods. HFS also has a relationship with Cisco, and it is set up to receive
orders from them if need be. Employees of HFS are also issued expense credit cards whenever
an emergency arises and an item needs to be purchased immediately. Retail outlets are only
used in emergencies, and also for recipe testing that necessitates the purchase of smaller unit
ingredients than could be procured through U.S. Foods. The payment process for U.S. Foods is
the same as detailed above. Use of the expense accounts requires the registration of the
purchase on the University of Illinois services site with 24-36 hours of the purchase. The order
and delivery schedule is the same as detailed above.
The individuals we spoke with at HFS made it clear to us that the primary procedure
when going about procuring products would be to log onto CBORD daily to ensure that all
necessary products for the next weeks menu have been ordered. CBORD logs the recipes that
the menu is comprised of, and in conjunction with the inventory amounts that have been
cataloged in the system, uses this information to generate a purchasing order for a specified
meal period. However, it is still important that the head chefs check CBORD daily to ensure
there is no discrepancy in what CBORD states is true and what the head chef believes to be
true about what particular items needed to be purchased.
The menu system that the dining halls have employed allows for a lot of flexibility in
terms of the seasonality of ingredients. A few examples we were provided with include the
following: The instance of the bird flu caused the prices for sliced deli-style turkey to skyrocket
from $50-60 per case to $91 per case, causing the dining hall staff to have to think on their feet
in order to adjust for the shortage of sliced turkey that was in direct response to an increased
cost for which the budget would not allow. This includes having to substitute ham for turkey in
some cases.
Catering menus vary greatly by season, for example leading to necessary adjustments in
the side salads that are served alongside dinner entrees. In the summertime, the salads often

feature a strawberry and seasonal fruit option, whereas in the wintertime a heartier (and more
available) walnut or squash variation will be offered.
The fruit platters offered in the dining halls allow for great seasonal variability, as there is no set
recipe that dictates what must be served. There is also a season chefs choice vegetable
featured daily in the dining halls, which allows for chefs not only to incorporate vegetables that
may have been ordered in excess quantity or may be on the verge of going bad, but also offers
greater freedom for chefs to serve whatever vegetable might be the tastiest during a given
season.
U.S. Foods, HFSs main purveyor, rarely has availability issues, but there is an
employee, Kit Smith (as mentioned earlier), whose job is to ensure good vendor relations, so
that in the unfortunate event of a mistake made in the ordering or delivery process, or in the
event of unavailability, the University has a strong enough relationship with their vendor so that
issues may be resolved immediately and thoroughly. Furthermore, the University has been able
to secure bulk-pricing processes for a large amount of its purchases, which aids in the
development of its relationship with its primary vendor (U.S. Foods).
There is an increased student demand for sustainable food sources, and part of the
Universitys response to that has been a relationship with the Student Sustainable Farms that
allows the dining halls to purchase around 95% of the items they produce. The pricing system
they use is based on current market rates, but it allows for HFS to keep its food costs at a
minimum because shipping costs are not a concern. Deliveries are made from the Farms once a
week, and sending an email to the coordinator specifies desired produce items. Extra and
unclaimed produce items are typically sent to the Ikenberry Dining Hall, where the creative staff
finds interesting ways to utilize the produce. Invoices are sent out once a week and handling is
via the same process detailed above through the payment processing center in Rantoul.
Students are also demanding for conscientiousness in terms of allergies, and the system
the University has in place for handling allergy concerns is one of the most sophisticated in the
country. For no extra fee, students can place an order for a meal an hour in advance and a
trained staff chef will prepare that meal with care, in a separate area of the kitchen. HFS
typically responds to these concerns by coordinating with staff to discuss safety practices and to
generate awareness. The University of Illinois Dining Services system is committed to serving
the students, as evidenced by their texting service which allows for students to submit
comments about their experience.
Campus food service has many different locations, with six dining halls, campus
catering, and their own Food Truck. So, products are transported directly to each location.
Storekeepers at the designated location receive the delivery (usually coming from US Foods,
the preferred supplier of UIUC) and check in the product, ensuring to send back anything that is
damaged. The receivers sometimes open the product to check that the right quantity and quality
is supplied. When the items are checked in electronically, they are received into CBORD, which
puts them into the inventory of the system. Using this method, all records are kept within the
CBORD system. Dining hall chefs or managers can log onto CBORD to manage their menus, to
view what is in inventory, and to determine what items need to be ordered. The online system
helps to prevent human error in such a large foodservice operation. After items are received,
they are stored under refrigerated, frozen, and dry conditions.

While most shipments go directly to the dining halls, some deliveries get stored in
Housing Food Stores (HFS). When products are purchased from limited time food buys or a
product has a long lead-time, they are typically stored at HFS. When the dining halls need
product from HFS, they can request an internal transfer by completing the designated
paperwork and then the cost will be assigned to them online. This is all done using the menu
management software (CBORD).
Security cameras located at receiving locations and food storage locations help to
maintain security and prevent theft. The most secure segment of campus food service is with
the storage and sale of liquor. Only three employees in all of dining food service have access to
the liquor cage. Close tally is kept on liquor at all times, as records are kept of all liquor that
leaves the liquor storage. Furthermore, empty bottles must be returned, once events are
finished, in the same numbers that were taken out. If something is not accounted for, then the
event manager will be contacted to determine if disciplinary action needs to take place.
Inventory is both done on a perpetual and a physical basis. CBORD is able to take
inventory as items are received at the different locations. Physical inventory is also taken once
per month at each location. The major regulation of inventory taking is that the person that
orders the food cannot count the inventory. The unit manager is the one in charge of inventory
at the end of the month, and he or she assigns the task to a storekeeper. The storekeeper
counts the inventory using a list generated from CBORD. Most units have the same list month to
month. The manager then reviews the inventory, and any discrepancies between physical
inventory and the online inventory must be evaluated. Accounting also monitors the inventory
process.
The Housing Food Stores food purchasing process was outline process includes two
main branches. First, they electronically order their products, and then the order is imported to a
vendor. Once the vendor gets the order, he creates a bill of lading, which is a document that
details a shipment and gives title of that shipment to a specified party. The bill of lading will then
be delivered, and the next step is to reconcile the CBORD receiving worksheet with the bill of
lading. When the order is imported to the vendor, the vendor also creates a duplicate invoice.
This invoice is then mailed to Rantoul to the Invoice Processing Center, and the University of
Illinois pays the the invoice. The final step is for Accounting to reconcile what was received in
CBORD versus what was paid in the Banner. We feel that this process is not the most
convenient because it involves multiple steps. Although Rantoul has the closest Invoice
Processing Center, mailing the invoice takes time that could be cut down if someone were to
periodically drive up to Rantoul to personally deliver the invoice, or if the vendor could find a
way to fax the invoice to the center. However, we do think that one invoice a month is good
because that time they have to wait while it is in the mail only happens sparingly.
The facility mainly uses CBORD, which is a very effective method of ordering. It contains
forecasts and purchasing amounts, so it is convenient for the head chefs to order from.
However, the facility uses two ways of ordering: CBORD and vendor websites. We think that it
would be more efficient to simply use one form of ordering instead of multiple just for the
convenience and lack of confusion. CBORD is a great tool however, because it also stores
recipes, and it will let the head chef know the ingredients necessary to purchase for the menu.

We think the facility should just use CBORD to order instead of any other miscellaneous
websites.
HFS has a very efficient receiving and loading dock on their property. We think that it is
very efficient to have shipments get dropped off at each specific location where they are needed
instead of at one and then allocating them to each property from there. This of course requires
planning ahead of time, and HFS employs an organized system on CBORD to do just that.
Products are checked for any damages when they are received and sometimes opened. We
wish that there were more of a strict process for checking for damages.
There is good storage practice in the facility. The facility uses security cameras at each
receiving site. Perishable items are kept at the correct temperature for the right periods of time.
Any overflow food items from the Dining Halls can be stored in Housing Food Stores, so that
there is always ample storage available. Because of this they can take advantage of bulk buys
and limited time offers
All inventory is kept on CBORD which is a great way to make keep track of everything in
one place instead of looking in multiple areas for items. It makes the inventory process efficient,
fast and user-friendly. When inventory is checked once per month there are often discrepancies
found in the system. For example, a purveyor may change the size of a container, but they will
not inform HSF of this change, or it has not been updated in CBORD. Any discrepancies are
evaluated and adjustments are made in CBORD if necessary. Overall, the system does a great
job in keeping track of such large quantities in the university-wide operation.
One might imagine that having one primary vendor (U.S. Foods) might be very limiting to
a food service operation. However, in the case of the University of Illinois, we see quite the
opposite. Since the operation is so large, U.S. Foods is always showing off new products to test
the large market available on a campus of our size. They are looking to hook college students in
the hopes of gaining life-long customers. Offers are more aggressive because purveyors know
that the university serves food at such a high volume. Dining Services also receives free
products to test out in the dining halls. Overall, Dining Services receives great deals and the
latest products on the market. Their system is far different than food service provided through a
contractor like Sodexo, which serves pre-built cycle menus. Instead, the dining halls adjust with
the season and have room for creativity in order to meet the needs of the wide variety of
students that they serve.