General Information

Purchasing and Bid Regulations

Purchasing Principles

  • ITB - Invitation to Bid; a formal request to prospective vendors soliciting price quotations or bids; contains, or incorporates by reference, the specifications or scope of work and all contractual terms and conditions.
  • RFP - Request for Proposal; all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting competitive proposals.
  • RFQ - Request for Qualifications; an informal solicitation or request for information, where oral or written qualifications are obtained from vendors, without formal advertising or receipt of sealed bids; used only where statutes do not require formal sealed bids, such as small or emergency purchases, construction projects, etc.
  • E-Bid - Allows vendors to receive solicitations electronically.
  • Sealed Bids - A bid submitted in response to an ITB. Bid is submitted in a sealed envelope to prevent dissemination of its contents before the deadline for the submission of all bids.
  • FOB - Free on Board
  • ARO - After Receipt of Order
  • Amendment - A revision or change to a document; often used to correct a solicitation.
  • Modification - An agreed addition to, deletion from, correction or modification of a document or contract.
  • Tabulation - The recording of bids and bidding data listing items offered prices, delivery schedules, etc., submitted in response to a solicitation for the purpose of comparison, analysis, and record keeping.
  • Award - The presentation, after careful consideration, of a purchase agreement or contract to the selected bidder or offeror.
  • Responsive Bidder - A vendor who has submitted a bid which conforms in all material respects to the requirements stated in the solicitation.