Purchases in excess of $5,000 (excluding freight and taxes) should not be made nor will a Purchase Order be issued until proper bid action has been completed. At least three bids should be received before a Purchase Order can be submitted. Bids and any appropriate comments should be recorded on the bid forms.

Bidding action is designed to obtain the desired goods at the lowest possible cost without impeding routine operations. Consideration involving the acceptance of a bid should include the following:

• Price

• Quality

• Delivery

• Availability of service, if equipment

If a Purchase Order is submitted to Arch for a vendor whose quote was not the lowest received, justification must be submitted for accepting the higher bid. In some instances there will only be one vendor able to meet the requirements or provide the desired item. If so, this should be noted on the bid form, which becomes a part of the accounting record. TOP

The administrative unit head has the primary responsibility for securing bids. Arch Office will assist as needed in the development of specifications necessary for bidding. Outlined below is general information as to what bid specifications should include. TOP

Purchase Specifications

Buying proper quality depends upon having proper specifications from which to work as well as to refer to when checking material bought against these specifications. Good specifications should be: TOP

Good specifications should be:

• Simple enough to be easily understood, but specific enough to prevent loopholes that will allow a bidder to evade the provisions and take advantage of either his competitors or the buyer

• Capable of being met by several sellers, when possible, without a major sacrifice in quality

• Identifiable, when possible, with some brand or specification already on the market

• Capable of being checked. Specifications should describe the method of checking that will govern acceptance or rejection. A specification that cannot be checked is of no value, and methods vary in accuracy.

• Reasonable in its tolerances

• As fair to the seller as possible

A specification is no more than an accurate description of the material to be purchased. There are many forms of specifications, including:

1. Brand or trade name and model number

2. Blueprint or dimension sheet

3. Chemical analysis of physical properties

4. Description of material and method of manufacture

5. Description of purpose or use

6. Identification with specifications known generally to the trade and to the seller

7. Sample

8. Combination of two or more of the above. In a combination specification, it is important to state which type governs in the event of inadvertent conflicts; for example, No. 4 above could take precedence over No. 1 above. TOP

Brand Preference

Preference for a brand should be supported by written justification. It is usually desirable to give this justification in advance, with the purchase request. However, it may be given after bids have been received and substitute brands offered. Such justifications are most easily accepted when the differences between the preferred brand and the substituted brand are easily measured (e.g. height, weight, thickness, width, accessories, functions, etc.) and can be easily related to the purpose of the purchase. TOP

Instructions for Preparation of Request for Bid

The Request for Bid should include the following information:

1. the desired shipping date

2. the date that the bid is needed for review and subsequent issuance of a purchase order

3. specify quantity required

4. the specifications and complete description of the items for which a bid is requested are to be shown in this space

(Items 5-10 should be completed by the vendor.) TOP