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Northern Arizona University
Purchasing Policy and Procedure

Bidding Requirements Under $50,000

POLICY:

COST

Procurement requirements will not be artificially divided or fragmented into increments or components costing less than $50,000 to circumvent the applicable competitive sealed bidding requirement for procurements costing more than $50,000. Requisitions for the same item from the same department in a short time period also will be considered an artificial division of a procurement. Procurements less than $50,000 will be awarded to a Small Business.

COMPETITION

For procurements costing less than $50,000, the type and amount of competition necessary will be determined by Purchasing Services' commodity buyer. The buyer will take into consideration:

1. Need
   
2. Market
   
3. Time constraints
   
4. Delivery requirements
   
5. Availability
   
6. Other factors (e.g., value of the item).

Procurement will be based on the maximum amount of public competition practicable for the item or service to be procured.

PRICING

Competitive price quotations may be solicited on the telephone, orally, or in writing. Informal bids need not be opened publicly. Price information received from any quotation will not be disclosed until after award of the order.

$ 1 - $25,000

Buyers will use professional knowledge and best judgment when placing orders under $25,000. If a contract is in place for the requested item or a better source is known, the buyer may change the order to reflect the new source and cost, if the cost is lower than the requisitioned amount. No additional documentation will be required.

$25,000 - $50,000

Buyer will obtain phone quotes, faxed quotes, or informal written bids and document the results in the PO file. When there is a State or other non-University contract already in place, buyer will use his/her judgment as to whether the requirement shall be bid or the order placed against the contract. This decision may be based on the past purchase orders. When lack of available processing time is a consideration, buyer may use his/her judgment as to the urgency of the requirement and either place the purchase order with the suggested source, if the source is known by the buyer to be competitive in their field, or request telephone or fax quotes requiring the prospective vendors to respond in a short amount of time. If the requisitioner is requesting the purchase order be placed without obtaining competitive quotes, the buyer may request a justification and review the merit of the justification before processing the RQS.

Specifications for competitive sealed bids and proposals shall, be generic specifications based on performance, materials, design or operation parameters.

In accordance with ABOR 3-805.B.

All specifications including those prepared by architects, engineers, consultants and others for university contracts, shall seek to promote overall economy for the purpose intended and encourage competition in satisfying the university’s needs and shall not be unduly restrictive.

1. Where brand name only is specified, the reasons for this shall be documented in the bid file and approved by the Director of Procurement.



2. Brand name or equivalent specifications for goods anticipated to cost more than $50,000 shall identify key features of the item unless the reasons for not doing so are documented and approved by the Director of Procurement.
   

All procurements that cost $50,000 or less shall be awarded to a Small Business when practicable.

The University is committed to the development of Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Minority-Owned Businesses and Women-Owned businesses. Buyers may assist in identifying vendors that meet those criteria.