Purchasing Manual
Issue 2 January 31, 2002
A. Explanation. This Purchasing Manual (PM) is published and maintained by
Purchasing Policies and Programs, Purchasing and Materials and contains the
Postal Service's purchasing policy.
B. Material Transmitted. Issue 2 contains numerous new and significant changes
in Postal Service purchasing policy and users are encouraged to consult the
Summary of Changes which identifies general and specific policy changes. Issue
2 also contains all changes made to Issue 1 between January 31, 1997, and
November 15, 2001, which are still in effect.
C. Other Directives. Topics addressed in the PM may also be addressed in other
purchasing-related directives such as Handbooks P-1, General Purchasing
Concepts and Practices, P-2, Design and Construction Purchasing Practices, and
PO-503, Mail Transportation Procurement Handbook. Should material in these
handbooks or any other purchasing-related directive (pending their revision or
replacement) conflict with material contained in the PM, the PM prevails.
D. Availability. The PM is published and available to all users on the World Wide
Web at http://www.usps.com/business.
F. Issuance Date/Effective Date/Transition Period. Issue 2 is being issued on
January 31, 2002. Pending the updating of purchasing support systems for
consistency with the new policies contained in Issue 2, purchasing organizations
may adopt the policies and procedures contained herein immediately, or may
follow the policies and procedures contained in Issue 1. The end of this transition
period will be announced in the Postal Bulletin.
If a purchasing organization adopts Issue 2 policies and procedures for any
category or categories of purchases, it must use those policies and procedures
consistently for that category or categories, and not revert to previous policies
and procedures. Contracting officers must ensure that solicitations and other
purchasing documents make prospective offerors fully aware of the authority
(Issue 2 or Issue 1, as revised through November 15, 2001) pursuant to which an
individual purchase is made. Particular care must be taken that previous
versions of provisions and clauses are not used in purchases made under the
policies and procedures of Issue 2, and vice versa.
Keith Strange
Vice President
Purchasing and Materials
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