Effective Date: June 20, 2023
Last Reviewed: June 20, 2023
Policy & Scope
The purpose of this policy is to establish a threshold dollar amount for purchasing products/services which will require a formal bidding process.
POLICY:
The bid policy is established to ensure that where high value items are concerned there is an established set of guidelines for ensuring that fair and equitable procedures are followed in procuring the best quality item(s) for the dollar spent.
Bid Policy
A competitive bid with three vendors (whenever possible) is required for purchase orders of $25,000 or more under the guidelines of the Stonehill Purchasing Policy. Bids are not required for items bought through consortium agreements, where the bids are performed by the consortium in advance. Bids for recurring large dollar purchases or services (i.e. painting) can be done on a yearly basis. There are two types of bids:
- Request for Quotation (RFQ)
- Commodity items – “off-the-shelf” catalog products sold by more than one supplier
- One-time purchases of tangible goods
- Bids that do not involve substantial “value added” effort on the vendor’s part – such as complicated logistics, installation efforts or vendor instructions
- Request for Proposal (RFP)
- Services
- When a substantial part of a commodity purchase involves “value added” vendor services
- When the total projected value of the vendor relationship exceeds $100,000 or more over a three (3) year period
- When the service or goods is part of a large construction project where a competitive bid process will be used on all goods and services.
Bid Guidelines
When dealing with vendors under a bid process, it’s important to conduct a fair and ethical process. Here are some key points to remember:
- All vendors must be provided with the same information and deadlines to avoid any advantages for any vendor.
- No information on the bids submitted (especially price) may be disclosed to the other competing vendors except for the name of the company.
- You should not tell any vendor the amount that should be submitted.
- You should not allow any vendor to resubmit a bid. Resubmission bid requests must include all vendors.
Any vendor associated with the bid process that has a relationship with the College or an employee of the College must disclose the relationship in a conflict-of-interest statement prior to the bid process.
Competitive Bid Summary and Justification
Once all bids have been reviewed, A justification will be required if the bid is awarded to a vendor that is higher in cost than the lowest bid by either 15% or $10,000, whichever is lower, and must be approved by the Vice President for Finance and Treasurer.
No Bid Justification If a competitive bid was not completed for purchases of $25,000 or more under the guidelines of the Purchasing Policy, approval must be granted by the VP of Finance.