Resources / Case study
University · SUNY Binghamton University 2025–26 term

SUNY Binghamton's Physical Facilities Department runs §15‑A on AXI.

How AXI serves as effective assistant MWBE‑SDVOB Program Coordinator for Binghamton University — managing 200+ compliance projects a year, absorbing a 300%+ spring surge, and keeping every quarterly NYSCS filing on time under a fixed engagement with no escalations.

At a glance

237
Compliance projects handled in 2024–25
300%+
Spring surge across March, April, May
443
AXI‑prepared waivers to date — 100% approved
#2
Of 160+ SUNY users on the NYSCS by activity

The program

Binghamton University's Physical Facilities Department runs a continuous procurement portfolio — capital projects, recurring maintenance contracts, and the long tail of PO and PCard spend that supports campus operations. Every dollar of that portfolio is subject to New York State Executive Law Article 15‑A § 310–318, the statute that establishes MWBE participation obligations for state contracting. SUNY's internal companion procedures — SUNY Procedures 7557 and 7564 — translate Article 15‑A into the day‑to‑day work that lands on a Campus MWBE‑SDVOB Program Coordinator's desk.

That work is more than a quarterly report. Each procurement above the Article 15‑A threshold — $100,000 for construction, $25,000 for commodities and services — has to be assessed for goals, sourced against the certified directory, documented with good faith efforts, reconciled with prime and sub payments, and (when goals can't be met) packaged into a waiver request defensible enough to clear SUNY System Administration or the Executive Chamber. Miss the 60% annual goal threshold and the campus enters the remedial process under 5 NYCRR § 141.8.

Binghamton engaged AXI to serve as effective assistant MWBE‑SDVOB Program Coordinator, working under and alongside the campus Coordinator to handle the full operational load.

What AXI handles

The engagement covers six categories of compliance support — the things Article 15‑A requires the campus to do, executed by an outside team that already does them every day for 19 other SUNY auxiliary services, DASNY, HFA, NYPA, Columbia, Cornell, and Stony Brook University Hospital.

01
Goal setting
Project eligibility status and goal assessment using NYSCS, from procurements just over the $25,000 threshold to multi‑million‑dollar capital builds. In regular contact with System Administration to add new codes.
02
Good faith efforts outreach
Tracked outreach to certified firms on the campus's behalf — direct campaigns when waivers are anticipated, and New York State Contract Reporter postings, archived per project.
03
Contracts liaison
Working with every prime and sub so payments and affirmations are correctly reported before deadline. Investigating discrepancies, certification loss, and goal shortfalls.
04
Waiver preparation
Cover sheets, search reports, goal reports, and GFE documentation assembled into a complete waiver package. 443 packages prepared since 2017 — every one approved.
05
NYSCS management
Portfolio audit and reconciliation, existing‑project payment tracking, new‑contract record creation, Utilization Plan and Utilization Report review — and never missing a quarterly window.
06
Quarterly PO / PCard scrubbing
Every line item reviewed against the SUNY Volume 6 Guidance Bulletin for MWBE/SDVOB exemption and exclusion. A smaller eligible base is a more accurate base — and a larger effective utilization percentage.

The volume problem

Compliance work on a SUNY campus is not evenly distributed across the calendar. Over the 2024–25 year, AXI handled 237 compliance‑related projects on Binghamton's behalf — and activity surged more than 300% during March, April, and May, the spring procurement window when capital project obligations stack up against fiscal year‑end reporting.

Compliance projects per month — 2024–25
Spring surge shown in indigo
10
12
13
11
10
10
44
49
42
15
11
10
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug

Monthly counts shown for illustration; the year total of 237 and the documented 300%+ spring surge are drawn from AXI's 2024–25 Binghamton volume report.

That seasonality is the operational reason a flat, all‑inclusive engagement makes sense. The campus does not need a coordinator that bills hourly during the quiet months and then runs out of capacity during the surge — it needs a team that owns the workload year‑round and is sized for May, not for January.

A defensible audit trail under Article 15‑A

The MWBE program isn't audited by feel. The Division of Minority and Women's Business Development (DMWBD) reviews goal plans, exemptions, exclusions, in‑year exclusions, and waiver packages against an objective record — and remedial action follows when an agency falls short of 60% of its annual goal. The whole point of AXI's NYSCS management work is that, for every contract Binghamton has under management, there's a complete chain of evidence behind every decision.

From the DMWBD MWBE Operations Primer

"Procurements that meet or exceed the minimum thresholds MUST be assessed for MWBE goals." For Binghamton's portfolio, that's $25,000 commodities/services and $100,000 construction.

"Agencies who fail to reach 60% of the annual MWBE goal set forth in the goal plan will need to take part in the remedial process required by 5 NYCRR § 141.8." Every quarter AXI files for Binghamton is built to keep the campus above that line.

The quarterly cadence

AXI runs Binghamton's compliance work on the calendar the State actually uses — not on whatever schedule a project happens to land on. Each quarter is the same four moves:

Q · Week 1–2
Portfolio reconciliation
Every active Binghamton record in NYSCS reviewed for missing data — primes, subs, payments, utilization. New contract records created for procurements entered into during the quarter.
Q · Week 3–6
Goal setting & outreach
New procurements above threshold assessed for goals; certified directory searched against scope; outreach campaigns issued and logged. Plan Room postings made where appropriate.
Q · Week 7–10
Contracts liaison & payments
Direct work with primes and subs to reconcile payments and affirmations. Discrepancies, expired certifications, and shortfalls flagged and resolved before the reporting window closes.
Q · Week 11–13
Reporting, scrubbing & waivers
PO/PCard transaction report scrubbed against the SUNY Volume 6 Guidance Bulletin. Quarterly utilization filed in NYSCS. Waiver packages prepared for any contract closing the quarter below goal.

Why a flat fee, not hourly

The 2025–26 engagement is structured as a fixed monthly fee, mutually agreed upon, with no escalations, and services provided on an unlimited basis. The pricing reflects the operational reality the volume data describes: a team that can absorb a 300% spring surge without renegotiating mid‑year is a team that has to be sized for the surge, not the average. The flat structure gives Binghamton's Physical Facilities Department a single, predictable line in its operating budget — and the campus Coordinator a teammate, not a consultant.

Quote · placeholder
"Quote from the Binghamton MWBE Program Coordinator describing the impact of moving from in‑house spreadsheet workflows to an AXI‑managed NYSCS portfolio — to be added."
Name · Title · Binghamton University Physical Facilities

About AXI's NYSCS practice

AXI was founded in 2017 to simplify and improve New York State's MWBE‑SDVOB compliance reporting. The company today provides MWBE‑SDVOB support to 19 SUNY auxiliary services, Stony Brook University Hospital, DASNY, HFA, NYPA, Columbia University, and Cornell University — among others. 

Engage AXI for your campus
Abigail Moyer
Director · AXI System, Inc.