As previously communicated to account holders, the university’s Amazon for Business Account (AFB) will shut down effective June 15, 2021.
This shutdown is necessary to comply with the Illinois Procurement Code due to purchases under the AFB account exceeding the small purchase threshold. The four purchasing offices have worked with the Illinois Public Higher Education Cooperative (IPHEC) to secure State authority through a cooperative purchase to continue the use of the AFB account; however, Amazon has been unable to provide the documentation necessary to secure State approval for continued use of the AFB account.
It is recommended that users search iBuy for products previously purchased through the AFB account in order to transition these purchases to contracted suppliers. Please visit the iBuy resource page for additional information:https://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/iBuy/
Please note that the shutdown of the AFB account does not affect purchases for Amazon Web Services (cloud services) nor the Amazon eCode/Mechanical Turk program (for payments to human subjects). Amazon Web Services are contracted through a competitive request for proposal and have the underlying state authority for its use while the Amazon eCode program is being reviewed for compliance with State authority.
The purchasing offices will continue to work with IPHEC to secure State authority for our AFB account; however, at this time the AFB account will be shut down until State authority can be secured.
Contact
If you have questions regarding the shutdown of the AFB account, please contact your purchasing office.
