Achieving Competition - 1613.2

Make a Valid Attempt to Seek Offers

Departments must make a valid attempt to secure offers from viable contractors who are able to supply the goods.  A lack of sufficient 1122 contractors or the use of restrictive requirements to select a single vendor will not meet the intent for obtaining offers.

Contacting Suppliers 

Departments shall solicit offers from a minimum of three (3) suppliers.

Departments must document the procurement file in sufficient detail to support the supplier selection as follows:

If a Department Contacts  3 Sources and Receives	Then the Department shall Document the Procurement File with the Reasons Why
1-offer	The other two (2) suppliers did not respond.
2-offers	The third supplier did not respond.

 

Departments that contact more than 3 suppliers and obtain more than 3 offers shall document their files with all responses, determine best value and then proceed with the purchase document execution.

Documenting the Results

Departments must document all suppliers that were contacted, provide a recap of their offers and record how the selection was made, including criteria for determining “best value”.

The recap documentation must be uploaded in FI$Cal and retained in the procurement file.

If the complete GSA 1122 contract is not maintained in the procurement file, buyers shall document, within the procurement file, where the complete contract is located.

Only One Source Known  

If a department knows of only one source that meets its needs (i.e. multiple offers cannot be obtained) the department shall:

• Conduct a competitive solicitation, if suppliers are known to exist outside of the LPA programs or
• Execute the response as an NCB contract if no other sources are known outside of the LPA program being used.  Refer to Chapter 6 for NCB processing requirements or
• Execute the response as a transaction that is exempt from obtaining multiple offers by either statute or policy and document the procurement file in sufficient detail to support the basis of the exemption. (Examples: authorized dealer letter, proof of copyrighted material, officially licensed good or patented product)

Purchases less than $5,000.00

1122 orders valued less than $5,000.00 may be executed without obtaining multiple offers if fair and reasonable pricing has been established and documented.

The ordering department must execute the State of California - General Services Procurement Division, Purchasing Authority Purchase Order (STD. 65).

Documentation to support fair and reasonable pricing must be retained in the procurement file.

Purchases $5,000.00 - $100,000.00

The ordering department must solicit a minimum of 3 written offers.

The department must ensure the State’s current Terms and Conditions are agreed upon and accepted by the supplier and their acceptance must be documented in the procurement file.

The ordering department must use the PO generated from the FI$Cal system or utilize the State of California - General Services Procurement Division, Purchasing Authority Purchase Order (STD. 65).