There is a huge difference between walking down the hall and saying "hey, I need another one of those retorts but we need to increase the helium flow 20%. Pleas

There is a huge difference between walking down the hall and saying "hey, I need another one of those retorts but we need to increase the helium flow 20%. Please charge to account 0123.", vs having to find a reputable manufacturer in another country, writing a precise and concrete specification that doesn't depend on domain knowledge or knowledge of institutional history, obtaining quotes that your finance department will accept, getting all the international payments sorted, and having your research delayed 2 months while waiting for all that to get sorted out. More likely the University will outsource to a local company that in turn handles the communication with an overseas factory.