Mr. Bob Ashby, the purchasing director at the University of Las Vegas, has been offered an exclusive supplier partnership agreement by the Nevada Office Supply Company. The agreement would make NOSC the sole provider of office supplies to ULV and other educational institutions in exchange for integrated ordering, discounted rates, and a 2% rebate on purchases over $1 million. However, NOSC does not want the rebate to be known by other educational institutions. While the partnership could reduce costs through streamlined ordering and delivery, it risks creating a monopoly if adopted widely. Mr. Ashby must carefully analyze the legal and ethical implications of the exclusive agreement.

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A Supplier Partnering Agreement at the University of Las Vegas
A suppliers Partnering Agreement at the University of Las Vegas
By
Christina Cecil
An assignment submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for MGT 608
School of Business Management
National University
Gary Solomon
11/28/15

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A Supplier Partnering Agreement at the University of Las Vegas
Background
“Mr. Bob Ashby is the purchasing director at the University of Las Vegas (ULV)”
(Ashby, C.P.M.). He was offered a partnership agreement by the Nevada Office Supply
Company (NOSC). Only given 15 days to accept the offer this article focuses on what the
proposed agree would entail. ULV had already had plans on reducing the number of suppliers to
one or two for all of their office supply needs. By forming this partnership it would reduce waste
of paperwork, the number of delivery trucks and time spent looking for the best price on the
products. Not only would this partnership allow then one integrated ordering system but the
University would also be given discounted rates on purchasing. In Ashby’s research so far there
has never been a fixed-price agreement between any office supply companies and ULV in the
past. So this partnership would be something entirely new for the University of Las Vegas to
enter into. With already purchasing at least 50% of all their supplies from NOSC this partnership
could be beneficial for ULV. The details of the agreement are listed in the article as well as any
special conditions relating to the possible partnership.
What legal issues, if any, might be involved in NOSC’s proposal?
The only issues I see with the University of Las Vegas entering into an exclusive
agreement is if all the other educational facilities follow suit then it would give NOSC full
domination of the market causing a monopolization of the area. The other issue I see is the 2%
discount “ULV would a 2% rebate from all combined purchases by them and the other
educational entities if their combined purchases exceeded U.S. $1,000,000 per year. NOSC
would monitor these transactions and provide reports to Mr. Ashby quarterly. NOSC does not

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A Supplier Partnering Agreement at the University of Las Vegas
want the other educational entities to receive the 2% rebate and, in face, does not want them to
even know of its existence” (Ashby, C.P.M.)
What are the ethical issues involved in NOSC’s proposal?
The ethical issue is the face that NOSC does not want the other educational facilities to
know about the extra 2% rebate they are only offering to ULV. From a business point of view I
saw no other ethical issues.
Is this a true partnering agreement? Discuss.
I believe that this is a true partnering agreement since the University of Las Vegas will be
able to order and get all supplies quickly and at a discounted rate. A great example of a
partnership is “Boeing [when it] introduced…outsourced parts for its 777 aircraft or General
Electric used when outsourcing technology services, form strategic partnership with your
suppliers is on the top of the list for outsourcing” (Reifer, 2004).
How should Mr. Ashby analyze the proposal?
Since the only real issue I found here was the 2% rebate not being extended to all
educational facilities. Mr. Ashby could agree to a limited partnership with the stipulation being
that pricing will stay the same the length of the contract and that the 2% rebate be extended to
the other educational facilities as well. By allowing the supplier to integrate their system for
buying into the main system it makes ordering less costly and not efficient. So by entering in this
partnership both companies would over all win.

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A Supplier Partnering Agreement at the University of Las Vegas
References
Reifer, Donald J. (2004). Seven Hot Outsourcing Practices. IEEE Computer Society,
1(21), 14-16. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MS.2004.12592166.
Bob Ashby, C.P.M, CPCM. (ashbybob@sbcglobal.net ).
http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/CurrentCourse/Week_1/A%20supp%20agreement%2
0with%20UNLV%20wisner_case_pt02_08.pdf