All purchases of goods, materials, and services, other than personal or professional services, of more than $100,000 must be competitively bid. The Request for Bids (RFB) is the most common method of soliciting competive bids.

Exception: Only one supplier is capable of meeting University requirements within the time available (sole source).

The Request for Proposals (RFP) may be used in place of the RFB under certain circumstances (see below).

RFPs are required for Consultant Services of more than $15,000.

The customary method for making purchases involving dollar amounts less than that for which competitive sealed bidding is required. Also known as informal purchase, informal bid, small-purchase procedure, or low-value purchase procedure.

May be done orally, by telephone, or in writing, by fax.

For very low dollar purchases, one quotation is sufficient as long as the buyer can establish that the price is reasonable.

For higher dollar purchases, more than one quotation is recommended to establish price reasonableness. (Three quotations are considered ideal.

The standard method for acquisition of goods and services for transactions over a dollar amount specified by statute or ordinance. Known as requst for bid (RFB) and invitation to bid (ITB).

The Request for Bid is in writing and the bids are sealed and opened at a pre-designated time.

Advertising is recommended.

A minimum of three bids is recommended.

An alternative to competitive sealed bids to be used when competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or advantageous.

RFP may be the preferred method of acquisition when the need exists to generate a spectrum of alternative responses to the need proposed and to retain the ability to refine these responses through negotiation.

Allows for evaluation of other important factors as well as price, e.g., experience, approach to the problem and staffing.

UCOP does not endorse the use of RFPs for purchases of goods, materials and common services.

May be conducted orally, by telephone, or in writing, by fax.

The written RFQ contains:
quantity, price, delivery and shipping requirements, and payment terms,
product specifications,
standard boilerplate terms and conditions of the proposed purchase,
the manner in which quotes are to be submitted, although the quotes may be solicited orally at the time the call is made,
evaluation criteria and basis for award.

Who conducts RFQs: RFQs may be issued and completed by departments.

Must be in writing.

The RFB contains:
quantity, price, delivery and shipping requirements, and payment terms,
product specifications,
engineering drawings and other related documents,
standard boilerplate terms and conditions of the proposed purchase,
the place and time for opening the bids,
the manner in which bids are to be submitted (bid envelope must include reference to RFB name, opening date, bidder's name),
conditions for acceptance (minimum requirements),
the weighted criteria for evaluating the bids and awarding the contract.

When the RFBs are opened, the names and prices are made public. (Public bid openings are not required for goods and services.)

Upon receipt, bids should be time-stamped and remain sealed, and kept in a secure place to prevent them from being misplaced, lost or tampered with until time of bid opening.

Who conducts RFBs: All formal bidding for common goods and services is conducted by the Purchasing Department.

Must be in writing.

The RFP contains:
purchase description or specifications
the format or outline in which proposals are to be submitted,
standard boilerplate terms and conditions of the proposed purchase,
the criteria, in order of their importance or individually weighted, that will be used for evaluating the proposals,
the place and time for delivery of the proposals,
complete description of potential discussions, presentations, site visits,
complete description of the award process including the steps of negotiation and final determination of award.

When the RFPs are opened, only the names of the proposers are revealed.

No information from a competing proposal may be revealed to another competitor during the course of discussion.

Who conducts RFPs: For purchases under $100k, RFP may be issued by the department. For purchases over $100k, RFP must be issued by or in conjunction with the Purchasing Department.

Judgmental factors may be used only to determine if the goods, materials, or services meet the specifications.

To the extent possible, all critical factors should be clearly specified in the bid specifications for the purpose of objective evaluation.

Judgmental factors may be used to:

1) determine if the items being offered meet the specifications,

2) to evaluate and compare the quality of competing products or services, and

3) to make trade-offs between price and quality of the products or services offered.

If issuing a written RFQ, evaluation criteria should be included. For example:

Quotations will be evaluated for:

1) compliance with specifications
2) earliest delivery date
3) warranty
4) cost

If soliciting informal telephone quotations, quotations should be evaluated for optimum economy.

Only criteria designated in the solicitation document can be considered in evaluation of award.

Scoring system and evaluation criteria must be established before the RFB is issued.

Each criterion should be given a weight in relationship to its importance to the proposed acquisition or project.

Only criteria designated in the solicitation document can be considered in evaluation of award.

Scoring system and evaluation criteria must be established before the RFP is issued.

Each criterion should be given a weight in relationship to its importance to the proposed acquisition or project.

Once the judgmental evaluation is completed, award is made on a purely objective basis to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.

UCSC: The lowest responsible bidder is determined on the basis of (1) cost alone or (2) on a cost per quality point basis.

Changes to quotations are permitted even after quotations have been received.

(Quotes from vendor #1 may not be shared with vendor #2 in order to motivate vendor #2 to change its quote. This is known as shopping bids.)

The lack of formality allowed for competitive quotations calls for special care to ensure adherence to sound practices.

Avoid:

• favoring particular manufacturer or vendor
• division of requirements
• shopping bids

Sufficient time must be allowed to attract competition.

Specifications should not be unduly restrictive so that certain vendors/manufacturers are prevented from submitting a viable bid.

Adequate period should be allowed for bidders to receive and respond to the RFB. Two weeks is usually the absolute minimum with more time allowed for more complex bids.

Pre-bid conferences should be considered to provide clarification and encourage competition.

Sufficient time must be allowed to attract competition.

Specifications should not be unduly restrictive.

Adequate period should be allowed for bidders to receive and respond to the RFP. Two weeks is usually the absolute minimum with more time allowed for more complex bids.

Pre-proposal conferences should be considered to provide clarification and encourage competition.

Last revised: Jan 11, 2011 (brm)