(orders not requiring additional information or a request for bid/proposal)
Step 1: Requestor enters requisition and forwards it to the Approver’s
work list.
Step 2: The Approver signs into PeopleSoft and approves the requisition.
Step 3: The requisition goes through an overnight process to verify
the chart field string(s) entered on the requisition have budget(s).
Step 4: The requisition appears on the Campus Procurement worklist.
Step 5: The requisition is printed and given to the appropriate buyer
within Campus Procurement. The buyer reviews the information on the requisition
and approves the requisition. If additional information is needed, the buyer
will contact the requesting department and processing the requisition into
a purchase order may be delayed.
Step 6: A purchase order is created.
Step 7: Another budget check is run and the purchase order is dispatched
in real time.
Note: Any purchase order that exceeds $500,000.00 must be approved by the
system Chief Procurement Officer.
University policy requires bid requests or request for proposals when the cost of an acquisition is $10,000 or more. Exceptions to this are purchases approved as a sole source purchase or items already on contract. These bid requests and request for proposals for acquisitions for UMKC are issued by UMKC Campus Procurement. Acquisitions costing $25,000 or more must be advertised in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the state of Missouri.
Any contract resulting from solicitation of bids or proposals that exceeds $1,000,000.00 requires Board of Curators approval.
A sole source purchase is when an item or service is only available from one source. If a product is available from multiple distributors, it is not considered to be a sole source.
Requests for approval as a sole source purchase must complete the form located at: http://www.umkc.edu/adminfinance/procurement/documents/Sole%20Source%20JustificationRev16-6-06Final.doc
Any sole source contract that exceeds $100,000 requires approval from the
Chief Procurement Officer located at the System Office.
A requisition containing a description of the items and item technical specifications/requirements is typically the starting point for the bid/RFQ process. If the specifications are lengthy, the requisition may contain a general description of the item(s) to be bid and the detailed specification information can be sent as an attachment to an email to the appropriate buyer or umkcprocurement@umkc.edu. The email with the specifications should reference the requisition number.
Specifications, in general, should be broad enough to foster competition in bidding and still meet the needs of the department. A brand, catalog number, or model number may be called out for each item but will typically be followed by the words “or approved equal” in the bid request documents. Companies submitting bids may bid on brands and models other than those listed but should in that case, also furnish descriptive literature that will allow the requesting department to evaluate the items to determine whether or not UMKC can approve them as equal.
A list of potential bidders is prepared by Campus Procurement with suggestions from the requesting department. Bid requests are then prepared and transmitted to each of those potential bidders on the list. A copy of the bid request document is sent to the requesting department the day before the bid requests are transmitted to the potential bidders. Requesting departments should review the bid and immediately report any errors to Campus Procurement so that corrective action can be taken. Bid due dates are established when the bid request is prepared and that information is included in the bid request documents. The number of working days involved from the date the bid is transmitted to potential bidders until bid due date is normally 10 working days but the nature and complexity of such bids may necessitate up to 20 working days or more. 5 day fax bids may be requested if the need is urgent. After bid requests are issued, and prior to due date, any inquires received by the requesting departments from potential bidders should immediately be referred to Campus Procurement.
At the bid due date and time, Procurement staff opens the bids received, checks the calculations shown by the bidders, review the bids for obvious potential problems, tabulate the bids in ascending order and mails the bids along with the tabulation sheet to the requesting department. It is the requesting department’s responsibility to review the bids in an effort to identify the lowest bid meeting the bid request specifications. In general, a bid award should be made to the bidder submitting the lowest price meeting specifications. There are policies that cover instances in which there are more than one (1) bidder meeting specifications at the same price. Campus Procurement should be contacted for guidance in those cases. Requesting departments indicate their recommendations for bid awards on the bid summary sheet that accompanies the bids and sends all bids and that sheet back to Campus Procurement. In situations in which the requesting department recommends an award be made to a bidder that has not submitted the lowest bid, the department must provide detailed reasons on the bid summary sheet or attachment why the lower bid(s) does not meet the specifications of the bid request document. Usually, the sooner the bids are returned to Campus Procurement, the fewer problems encountered in awarding bids due to changing prices, changing product lines, etc. Therefore it is desirable that evaluations and recommendations be made and returned to Campus Procurement within approximately 7 working days whenever practical. Campus Procurement professional buying staff reviews the department’s recommendations and if in agreement, the requisition is converted into a purchase order to award the bid. If there is not immediate agreement and/or it is judged that the proposed award could be successfully challenged in a formal protest, the buyer will contact personnel in the requesting department for clarification or further information.
Requesting departments are encouraged to contact Campus Procurement if problems are encountered with orders resulting from bids such as late delivery or proposed substitutions of brands and models.