Suppliers that have been entered more than once onto the Supplier database are identified and deactivated by the Accounts Payable (AP) Team. Suppliers that the University does not wish to trade with in the future, for example, companies that have ceased trading or have been declared bankrupt, are also deactivated.
Before deactivating the supplier account, UFS is checked for outstanding invoices and purchase orders to reduce the possibility of deactivating a supplier that is still being used.
In the event that duplicates that require deactivating have open purchase orders, AP will amend the supplier so that no further purchase orders can be raised. They will then contact the relevant department concerning the open purchase order, and will agree the procedure so that the duplicate supplier can be deactivated.
The deactivated duplicate supplier's name will then have two asterisks added before the name so departments will know that they should no longer attempt to use this supplier e.g.
| Before: Lyreco | After: **Lyreco |
When searching for suppliers the system will also indicate in a coloured box if it is deactivated. The deactivated duplicate supplier will also be cross-referenced to the correct supplier to be used by departments in the future.