purchasing 

office Supplies

Standard office supply purchases should be made with WB Mason, as Procurement has negotiated contract pricing with this vendor that is based on volume spend of commonly used office supplies that are purchased by most campus departments. These purchases must be made through RISD’s E-procurement Workday system.

*Of note, please do not access the WB Mason online catalog through a general internet search, as those are public prices that will not reflect RISD’s discounted contract pricing. This applies to other vendors as well (B&H, Grainger, etc.).

Furniture puchases

• All Departmental furniture purchase inquiries/requests must be directed to Purchasing. 

• Please note that the standard lead time on commercial furniture is 5-6 weeks from order date, so it is important to submit your furniture inquiry well in advance in order for effective sourcing and bidding (if applicable) to occur, and for delivery and installation to take place by the department’s need-by date. 

• RISD has established relationships with several service-oriented, commercial furniture vendors and designers that are able to source numerous lines of high-quality, warrantied furniture. 

• Procurement can assist departments by facilitating on-site vendor consults for needs assessment, sourcing, and identification of options. 

• The process for large, capital furniture projects is that Campus Planning/Facilities engages Procurement, as early as possible, especially for those projects that require an RFP process.

computer & IT Purchases

For computer and network printer purchases, please refer to the ITS Department.