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Chapter 22. Purchasing
Section 22.1. Purchasing Guidelines

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22.1.7. Competitive Bids

Definition

Competitive Bids: The Purchasing Department’s practice for securing competitive quotations from vendors handling the same or similar products.

Policy

A purchase order totaling $50,000 or more, must be competitively bid unless it is covered by a pricing agreement (see section 22.1.6. Pricing Agreements), is a single source of supply, or an additional quantity of items for which a University standard has been established.

A purchase order totaling less than $50,000, may be bid if the Purchasing Department determines the item(s) as “lending itself” to competitive bidding.

The Purchasing Department may, under unusual circumstances (such as time limitations or limited sources), negotiate a purchase in excess of $50,000 without securing competitive bids. Such purchases must be preapproved by the University’s chief financial officer/treasurer.

The Purchasing Department may or may not accept individual department’s “inquiry” price quotations on items considered for purchase, due to time lapses, quantity changes, or inadequate information.

Procedure

To request a competitive bid, do the following:

  1. On the Purchase Requisition under “Vendor,” suggest potential bidders for the items, if known, otherwise mark “out for bid.”


  2. Complete the Purchase Requisition, along with appropriate signatures.


  3. Submit the requisition to the Purchasing Department.

To accept a bid other than the low bid, do the following:

  1. The department must forward to the Purchasing Department, a memo or e-mail, detailing specific advantages of the preferred item over the low bid item, and any other justification for not accepting the low bid.
History
Prior: 09/14/2001
Adopted: 03/16/2005 Removed "interim" from CFO title
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