All University purchases are made in accordance with these University Procurement and Contract Policies and Guidelines regardless of the source of funds. A standard set of bid and justification procedures are required to properly document all purchases to comply with applicable Federal, District and University requirements. This documentation shall be sufficient to constitute a complete history of the actions associated with the establishment of the order for the purpose of:

1. Providing a complete background/history on the order
2. Supporting the decision to choose one vendor over another
3. Furnishing essential facts in the event of a dispute

Towards these goals, the following procedures must be followed in order to establish the documentation required for any and all purchases and contracts.

Procurement staff members are available to provide assistance to faculty and staff and can represent the University in a formal solicitation for competitive bids. By contacting PCD before you are ready to solicit bids for a desired product or service, you can take advantage of our professional purchasing experience, capabilities, and technology to help realize the least total cost for the desired product and service. For faculty and staff interested in soliciting quotations directly from external suppliers, we offer the following guidelines when soliciting quotations from potential bidders:

• Each potential bidder must receive the same information and business requirements. Be as specific as possible with requirements. Include manufacturer name and part number if available, a complete description of desired product(s) and/or services, the delivery location and required-by date.
• Provide a copy of the University's purchase order terms and conditions
• Obtain at least three quotations from competent sources of supply.
• Provide a contact name, phone number and e-mail address for suppliers that may have questions regarding the request or requirements.
• Clearly define bid submission instructions and submittal day and time.

At no time should one supplier's proprietary information be shared with another supplier. Please remember to allow sufficient time (usually 2-3 weeks for complex requests) for the supplier to respond to a Request For Quotation, RFP or RFI. Please contact PCD for more information on formal requests and any templates you may need assistance managing. Once bids have been received from the suppliers, analyze the proposals to determine which supplier is able to meet all business and delivery requirements, at the least total cost. Contact PCD if help is required to assess each proposal to determine which represents the best value to the University. No proposals should be signed by end users unless they have first been reviewed by the PCD department. Typically, PCD will issue a Purchase Order and attach an unsigned proposal for pricing and description information only. Procurement and Contracts has templates for the above RFP/Q/I documents.