On May 5, 2025, the Purchasing and Contract Management Offices were notified of Sigma-Aldrich’s intent to begin adding a 7% tariff surcharge to all future orders, regardless of whether an ordered item’s supply chain was impacted by import tariffs. In contrast to other vendors who proactively reached out to the university to strategize around ways to partner to mitigate tariff impacts, Sigma took this unprecedented and unjustified step without any prior discussion with the university. This is not the level of service and partnership that we expect from any vendor, especially an awarded catalog vendor, and subsequent discussions with Sigma did not sufficiently resolve our concerns. Accordingly, the university will be responding by removing the Sigma catalog from the iBuy showcase. The university is actively involved in discussions with peer BTAA institutions that are also planning similar actions against this supplier.
Even with the Sigma catalog removed from the iBuy Showcase, users will continue to have multiple options for sourcing their scientific needs. The university’s spending history with Sigma has been analyzed and compared against its market competitors. We found most items sourced from Sigma are available from other catalogs currently available in the iBuy Showcase, and we encourage users to order through those alternative catalogs whenever possible, such as Fisher Scientific, VWR, Thomas Scientific, Bio-Rad, and Neta Scientific. We validated that pricing should remain in line with what users have typically paid (and without an additional tariff surcharge).
There may be select categories of items that are only available from Sigma. In those rare cases, please work with your campus Purchasing and Contract Management Office to process a non-catalog order on the Purchase Requisition or Standing Order form as appropriate.
Thank you for your understanding, and we will continue to maximize the utilization of vendors that are serving as true partners to the university during these challenging times.
Important to Note: The Sigma catalog will be shut off on July 7, 2025.
Contact
If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact your Purchasing and Contract Management Office at:
UIUC: UIUC Purchasing and Contract Management Office at urbanapurchasing@uillinois.edu or 217-333-3505
UIC: UIC Purchasing and Contract Management at uicpurchasing@uillinois.edu or (312) 996-2850
UIS: UIS Purchasing and Contract Management Office at uispurchasing@uillinois.edu or (217) 206-6651
System: System Purchasing & Support Services at procurement@uillinois.edu or (217) 333-9BUY (9289)
