The University of Pennsylvania spends at a scale most people underestimate. It is one of Philadelphia's largest private employers, runs a sprawling research operation, and feeds a teaching hospital system through its health network. That demand flows through one front door for suppliers, and it is not a public bid board. Penn registers and transacts with vendors through Penn Marketplace, a procure-to-pay portal built on Jaggaer (the platform formerly known as SciQuest). If you want to sell to Penn, your real goal is to get inside that system as an approved supplier.
This guide walks through how the University of Pennsylvania supplier registration actually works, what Penn buys, and how its economic inclusion program treats diverse businesses.
How Penn buys: the Penn Marketplace modelPenn does not run most of its purchasing through scattered emailed POs or one-off contracts. Procurement Services routes buyers (called "shoppers" inside the system) through Penn Marketplace, where they browse catalogs and requisition goods and services across the full procure-to-pay journey. For you as a supplier, that has a practical consequence: a Penn buyer can only find and pay you easily if you are an established supplier in the portal.
Strategic Sourcing inside Procurement Services partners with Penn's individual Schools and Centers to recommend suppliers and run sourcing projects. Translation: buying decisions are partly centralized and partly distributed across the medical school, Wharton, facilities, athletics, and dozens of other units. A relationship with one department is useful. Being formally onboarded so any department can transact with you is what scales.
The University of Pennsylvania supplier registration processPenn's registration is an invitation-and-onboarding flow rather than a self-serve sign-up. Here is the sequence.
1. Get on Penn's radar first
In most cases a Penn buyer or sourcing contact initiates the request to add you as a supplier. So step one is commercial, not administrative: you need a Penn department that wants what you sell. That can come from responding to a sourcing project, an existing relationship, or outreach to the right Center.
2. Receive the Jaggaer invitation
Once a request is filed, Penn sends an invitation from Jaggaer to register in the Penn Marketplace supplier portal. This is the system of record for your company's profile, so treat the invitation email as the real start of onboarding.
3. Submit your onboarding documents
The registration asks you to provide:
- Tax ID information via a completed W9
- Insurance documentation
- Payment details (how Penn pays you)
- Order information (how you want to receive purchase orders)
Have these ready before you start. Incomplete tax or insurance information is the most common reason onboarding stalls.
4. Set your PO and invoice delivery
Penn offers two options for purchase order delivery: email, which is the preferred option, or fax. Larger or higher-volume suppliers can also transmit POs and invoices via cXML for system-to-system integration. Pick email unless you have a real reason to integrate.
If you get stuck, Penn's Supplier Support Team is reachable through the online Supplier Inquiry form, at SupplierSupport@upenn.edu, or by voicemail at 215-898-7216. (Confirm that number on Penn's site before relying on it; contact details change.)
What the University of Pennsylvania buysPenn's spend is broad because the institution is broad. Expect demand across research lab supplies and scientific equipment, IT and software, professional and consulting services, construction and facilities, MRO and janitorial, furniture, food service, marketing and print, and the long tail of office and operational goods. The research and health-system side drives a lot of specialized, recurring purchasing, which is exactly the kind of repeatable spend a registered supplier wants to be positioned for.
The University of Pennsylvania supplier diversity programPenn runs a real economic inclusion effort under the banner "Fueling Business Growth." The framing is about using Penn's purchasing power to grow the Philadelphia economy by engaging local, minority, women-owned, LGBTQ+, veteran, and disability-owned businesses. The program's stated work includes expanding outreach to businesses, deepening supplier relationships, increasing opportunities, and addressing financial barriers diverse suppliers face.
Two specifics worth knowing. Penn offers support and training to suppliers that have completed the PA MBEC Supplier Assessment Program. And Penn's Procurement Services works closely with The Enterprise Center in West Philadelphia, home to the MBDA Business Center of Pennsylvania, to identify diversity-owned firms that can compete for university business.
To put your business forward as a prospective diversity or local supplier, Penn directs you to email diversitysupplier@upenn.edu. That is a separate track from the general Supplier Support inbox, and it is the right contact if diversity status is central to your pitch.
Which certifications matter
Penn frames its inclusion program by ownership category (minority, women, LGBTQ+, veteran, disability) rather than publicly naming a single accepted certifier. In practice, institutional buyers in Pennsylvania weigh certifications that document those categories. The widely recognized ones are NMSDC/MBE for minority-owned firms, WBENC/WBE for women-owned firms, and the state's own MWBE certification through the Pennsylvania Department of General Services. Carrying a recognized certification does two things: it makes your diverse status verifiable to Penn's team, and it lets Penn count your spend toward its economic inclusion reporting. If you do not yet hold one, that is the gap worth closing first. Our NMSDC certification guide walks through the minority-business path, and the certifying body directory lists the organizations that issue each credential.
A realistic plan to sell to the University of PennsylvaniaSequence the work so you are not waiting on Penn for things you can prepare now.
- Get certified if diversity is part of your story. A recognized MBE, WBE, or state MWBE certification makes you legible to Penn's economic inclusion team and to any prime contractor sourcing diverse subs.
- Prepare your onboarding packet. Have the W9, certificate of insurance, payment details, and PO-delivery preference ready before the Jaggaer invitation arrives.
- Create demand inside Penn. Identify the School or Center that buys what you sell, and reach out. For the diversity track, email diversitysupplier@upenn.edu and ask about The Enterprise Center and the PA MBEC Supplier Assessment Program.
- Register cleanly in Penn Marketplace. When the Jaggaer invitation comes, complete it fully so you become a transactable supplier across departments.
A certification you already hold also travels well beyond Penn. The same MBE or WBE credential that registers you here qualifies you for hundreds of other corporate and institutional programs. You can see who is actively sourcing diverse suppliers in our supplier directory.
Next stepIf the certification piece is what is holding you back, that is the part worth handling first, because it unlocks Penn's economic inclusion track and a lot of other doors at once. CertifyAll captures your business information and documents once, then prepares and submits your certification applications across the agencies you qualify for. Start there, get the credential in hand, and walk into Penn's onboarding ready.
