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Procurement
Guidelines
Orders Exceeding $100,000
Summary
In
accordance with the Procurement Policies and Procedures established
by the University System of Maryland and implemented by UMBC, where
the procurement is reasonably expected to exceed $100,000, the procurement
must be forwarded to the Department of Procurement for processing through
a formal written procurement process. Any of the following
formal procurement processes may be used as deemed appropriate by the
Procurement Officer:
- Competitive
Sealed Bids - for orders reasonably expected to exceed $100,000,
the bid process is a formal written bid process in which bids are
generally sent to an adequate number of bidders to ensure competition.
Specifications are developed working with the department and permit
a bid based on lowest bid from a bidder who is both responsive and
responsible and meets the specifications set forth in the bid documents.
Formal competitive sealed bids are typically processed in 30 - 45
days depending on dollar value, complexity of procurement, and location
of bidders. Solicitations must be published in a manner that best
meets the needs of the solicitation. Publication may be accomplished
by posting the solicitation on the bid board, in the eMaryland M@rketplace , trade journals, etc.
- Competitive
Request for Proposals ("RFP") - two step process in which there
are separately received, evaluated, and scored Technical Proposals
and Financial Proposals. Generally used where the requirements of
the procurement are difficult to quantify and award will be based
on factors other than cost. Due to the complexity of the RFP documents
and the evaluation process, this process typically takes 60 - 90 days.
Solicitations must be published in a manner that best meets the needs
of the solicitation. Publication may be accomplished by posting the
solicitation on the bid board, in the eMaryland M@rketplace ,
trade journals, etc. Procurement will work closely with requesting
department to establish the specifications and criteria for the RFP.
- Sole Source
Procurement may be used if appropriate and justified by the using
department with concurrence by Procurement. Department must attach
a written justification (memorandum to appropriate Procurement Officer)
stating the following:
- Need for
the service or commodity
- Uniqueness
of the vendor's qualifications, experience, commodity
- Attempts
to find other sources or basis for the sole source
- Impact
if this vendor was not selected. Procurement will obtain a written
confirmation of pricing and negotiate to obtain the best prices
and terms for the University.
- Emergency
Procurement - An emergency is a sudden and unexpected occurrence
or condition which the University reasonably could not have foreseen
that requires an action to avoid or to mitigate serious damage to
public health, safety or welfare. An emergency is not a situation
which arises as a result of poor planning or lack of funds. Generally,
time constraints in resolving the emergency situation may require
immediate action that precludes the use of any formal procurement
process, where time permits, the University should attempt to seek
as much competition as possible. Contact Procurement on ext. 2273
as soon as an emergency arises to see how best to proceed.
- Cooperative
purchasing agreements with other institutions, agencies, governments,
etc. - The Department of Procurement may from time to time combine
procurement requirements with the needs of other institutions, agencies
or governments to achieve the maximum efficiency and economies in
making purchases. These contracts would be available for use by the
campus as the need arises.
- Contracts
shared with other institutions, agencies, governments, etc. -
UMBC, as well as other campuses of the USM, inserts a requirement
into bid documents permitting other campuses to use contracts that
have been issued by UMBC. The advantage is that it reduces the processing
time that may have been needed to do a separate solicitation. Where
such contracts are made known to the campus, they are available for
use by departments.
- Once the procurement
process is completed, the purchase order will be issued by the Department
of Procurement.
If you have any
questions, contact the Department of Procurement on ext. 2273.
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