It is the objective of the Postal Service to curb unauthorized contractual commitments and maverick purchases. An unauthorized contractual commitment occurs when a Postal Service employee who has not been delegated contracting or local buying authority, or who exceeds such authority, takes action to cause another party to deliver goods or services. Because such actions may not be an appropriate or advantageous business arrangement for the Postal Service, management attention is warranted. In addition, unauthorized contractual commitments do not include the required terms and conditions necessary to protect the interests of both parties. Unauthorized contractual commitments range from simple misunderstandings to serious deviations from Postal Service SPs and Ps. Procedures for ratifying unauthorized contractual commitments may be found in the Management Instruction AS-710-1999-2, titled Unauthorized Contractual Commitments.
A maverick purchase occurs when Postal Service employees purchase supplies or services from a source other than from a supplier with whom the Postal Service has negotiated a framework agreement and, therefore, specific discounts. Maverick purchases prevent the Postal Service from leveraging purchasing power and ensuring the integrity of the supplier evaluation and selection process. For this reason, the client and SM must work together to actively monitor and eliminate maverick purchases.
